Miss Nesbit's Ramblings

Recap of the Week

2012-02-05T23:04:00.021-06:00

Well I'm sad to report that nothing TOO dramatic happened (bahahahaha you know cause it's a drama class???) in my acting class this last Monday. We had some experimental performance artist come and present on her work which was... interesting. Then we only had time for 4 people in the class to present their own performance pieces because our professor kept talking and then making them change and redo stuff after each person. I felt so bad for one girl because she read a story she had written, which was beautiful and touching, but because she hadn't "performed" it and just read it, the professor made her redo parts of it and do it different ways over and over again. She is already a super quiet girl, and an undergrad no less (in a grad class), and she looked like she might burst into tears by the end of it.

The only thing that made me mad was that our professor held us over. I mean it's already a 3 hour class that gets out at 9:45 pm, so holding us till 10 and then telling us not to pack up when it's past time is kind of annoying. I didn't get to perform my piece, so now I get to re-memorize it, and hopefully I'll get to do it tomorrow. I'll let you know how that goes.

As for the rest of the week:

My roommate and I bought a bunch of fancy cheese and it was delicious. CLICK HERE
I finally watched The Walking Dead, and it is pretty much awesome. CLICK HERE
I kind of love my screenwriting class (and lucky for me, those annoying people dropped the class, so there's only 11 of us now), and I love the idea I have for my script. I'm just hoping that I can execute it well.
My family really likes to group text, which ends up being hilarious. CLICK HERE
I did my first of three presentations to my professors on my thesis, and afterwards it turns out I'll be doing a blog instead of a huge paper, which I'm kind of more than okay with. I'll probably still have to write a paper, it just won't be 40 pages. :) Once I get the blog for it up and running, I'll let you know about it.
Speaking of academic stuff, March is going to be crazy because I got accepted to curate another piece for the online journal In Media Res (like I did HERE only this time it's just me), and I'll be presenting my paper then too.
Yesterday we celebrated my roommate's birthday and ate delicious sushi and saw The Woman in Black, which I thought was good and not as scary as you might think.
I made some scones today, and they were delicious. CLICK HERE

And I did sort of not really pay attention to the Super Bowl or the commercials. I mean, I know who won (the Giants), and I saw some commercials... But, really I only ever watched the Super Bowl for the commercials anyway, and now that you can see most of the commercials before hand and afterwards on Hulu, I just don't even bother watching them as they air now.

That was pretty much my week. I will warn you now though, I've been slacking pretty badly on my thesis work, and so I may not update very much. I'm going to try really hard because I enjoy blogging as it kind of gives me a break, but no promises. I have a stack of about 30 books I need to go through, so I'm not going to have much of a life outside of that for a while. Wish me luck!

The Final Frontier

2012-01-24T01:32:00.000-06:00

Like I do at the beginning of every semester, this is my analysis of the first day of my classes. This semester I have my capstone/thesis course/paper to work on (YAY!), and then I'm taking two other classes.

The first is a screenwriting class, which I had last week. The professor seems pretty cool, and it looks like we'll be watching a lot of film clips, which if you know me, you know I'm totally okay with. We'll also be reading full screenplays as well, and since I've never actually read a full screenplay I'm kind of excited for it. I can already tell that there are going to be a few people in there that are going to annoy me though.

For example, the professor said that we are going to be focusing on films (no TV shows) and have them in a 3-act style. He then asked if everyone was familiar with a 3-act play, and everyone pretty much nodded and a few people rose their hands. He called on one of the dudes who rose his hand, and the guy says, "Well, do you mean theatre or films?" (And PS I spelled it that way on purpose because that is how this dude is acting. Like a pompous know-it-all.) And the professor says, "Well, either." Then someone else says, "Umm doesn't it just mean it has a beginning, middle, and an end?" To which the professor says, "Yes." Do you mean theater or film? Seriously, dude? Get over yourself. But other than that, I'm excited to see what I come up with. I have a few vague ideas, which is apparently okay for the moment since we just have to come up with premises. I'll let you know what happens. I will say though, the professor did say, no vampires.... or zombies. So there goes those ideas! (KIDDING! Totally wasn't going to write about either of those.)

The other class is titled Creative Performances, and because I could not type fast enough what I wanted to tell you about the ridiculousness of this class, I recorded me talking about it. Yes, it is 10 minutes long, for which I only partly apologize. But seriously guys, the class was INSANE, you're really going to want to listen to all of it because it just gets better and better. I like can't even believe what happened. So much so... that it might become a regular weekly segment on the blog. Yes, it's that good. LISTEN TO IT:

Rant about my class by missnesbit

Then of course the Master's thesis, which if you want to hear about the fun starting on that CLICK HERE. It's going to be a great semester, full of writing, and hilarity, and if I can make it through to the end, I'll be DONE!!!!

Let's hope I can hold on. :)

Because This Is SUPER Important

2012-01-18T16:16:00.000-06:00

I'm sure you probably have heard and/or noticed that several sites (including mine) are blacked out/shut down/have pop ups that tell you to contact your congressman to help stop the SOPA and PIPA bill. I can't express enough how devastating this will be if these bills pass as they are. Basically the Internet that we know and love will be censored and shut down. I don't want to go on a rant about copyright law, censorship, and piracy, so I will just stop now (cause y'all know how passionate I am about this issue).

If you are confused at all about what this means or why you should care, watch this video:

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

Help do your part by protecting your digital freedom of speech and the Internet and contact your congressman.

For more info and to tell your congressman CLICK HERE.

Look At Me Being All Academic

2012-01-09T21:19:00.000-06:00

I helped write/curate a paper about America's Next Top Model for In Media Res, an online journal of sorts, and it got published today! See?

CLICK HERE

I'm like totes published/famous now. (Not really, but it makes me feel special and scholarly.)

I'm even thinking about submitting another piece soon (on my own) for this journal. If it gets accepted, don't worry, I'll totally let you know.

Not to mention, in March, I'll be presenting with a friend of mine a paper/project we did in our first semester of our program at a grad student symposium.

Look at me... I'm all academic and stuff.

And I get to be more so because my LAST semester starts next week. WOOT!

When I Wander Around Anthropologie

2012-01-03T22:57:00.000-06:00

This is what I think about (it's on my Tumblr):

CLICK HERE

In other news, I only have a few more weeks till my last semester starts and instead of trying to get things ready (like I was supposed to have all break) for my thesis, like you know finding books and articles and get the groundwork laid out), I'm trying to watch as much TV as possible.

Nothing is left in my Hulu queue, I'm all caught up on Doctor Who, and US Being Human, and a couple other shows that I had postponed watching because of school. I guess I'm trying to make my break as fulfilling as I can.

If only I didn't have to go to work, then I'd have TONS of time to watch tons of shows.

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S!

2012-01-01T02:04:00.000-06:00

My new year's this year wasn't all that exciting although I had multiple events I could have attended/did attend. I think what it was was that I didn't get to hang out with the people I really wanted to be with, although the people I did end up being with were lovely, so it was fine. But it wasn't as great as I was hoping, you know?

Oh well. There's always next year I suppose.

The point is that it is now 2012, and I have exciting things planned/coming up for this year. It's going to be awesome.

See, even the Doctor agrees and thinks you will have a great year too!

Because I'm So Excited-Part 2 AKA: My Family Is Awesome

2011-12-30T21:29:00.057-06:00

I've already shared my excitement over what my friends got me for Christmas and now I can't wait to show off what I got from my family this year. Some I knew were coming, but some were a surprised, and some were fake (more on that later), but the real presents were great and Christmas was lovely.

Part 2: If my friends know me well, I'd say my family knows me even better.

My parents got me a cover and this adorable decal for my new macbook air, which I bought after Thanksgiving. (Wait did I not tell you guys about that? Yeah... I bought a macbook air. Umm the end.) Yes, I asked for these things, but I still loved getting them anyway. :)

My family also bought me all of the series of Doctor Who with David Tennant as the Doctor (because remember I basically love him?) as well as last year's Doctor Who Christmas special with Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor. I had asked for these things, but what I had not asked for was Sherlock and I was so excited when I opened it. To which my mom said, "I got that at a discount because I was buying all those other things." Love it. My mom is great.

Then my brother Cameron, who is also a huge Doctor Who fan and had been bugging me for the longest time to finally sit down and watch it, bought me this awesome mug in the shape of the Tardis as well as this awesome T-shirt:

For those unfamiliar, "Allons-y" is French for "let's go" and it's a phrase that the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) says all the time throughout the series.

I also got the Michael Buble Christmas CD from my little sister and some great jewelry and makeup from my Aunt, some PJs, and of course some gift cards and money from the grandparents, which is always greatly appreciated by me.

Oh yeah... the fake gifts. STORY TIME:
So, a few years ago I had bought a bunch of dishes that were on sale with the intention of using them when I moved out on my own. Well now that I am on my own, I had left the dishes mostly cause I forgot but also because my roommate already had tons of dishes and we kind of don't have a lot of room. Well my brothers thought it'd be hilarious to take those dishes and crappily wrap them and put them under the tree for me and say they were from random people like "Hobo Joe" or "Fate" or "Destiny" etc. It was mildly amusing, only I figured out what they had done before Christmas, and so my brother was very upset that I knew what they were. Well... at least he tried I guess.

Overall this Christmas was most unlike any other Christmas we've had, but it was still great. We didn't end up doing any of our normal traditions, which I'm usually adamant that we do, but this year I really didn't mind at all. Now that I'm no longer under the same roof with my family, I just mainly really enjoy being with them, and so that's what I liked the most about Christmas. We just hung out together, played games, watched The Nerdist, the Doctor Who Christmas special, and some other Christmas movies. I loved it.

So how about you guys? Did you guys have a good Christmas? Do anything exciting? Get anything that you want to show off?

Because I'm So Excited-Part 1 AKA: My Friends Are Awesome

2011-12-28T23:24:00.001-06:00

I want to show off what I got for Christmas because I was so excited about what I got this year. It was perfect and while some weren't surprises at all, I absolutely loved them all the same.

Part 1:I'm going to show off what I got from my friends because basically they are awesome and know me so well and I was so excited by what they got me.

My friend Alison bought me some awesome makeup and since she's an expert on these sorts of things, I know what she got me will be perfect. I already can't stop using the Burt's Bees tinted lip balm she gave me. Seriously, that stuff is amazing.

My friend Rhia made me the most adorable mug cozy that is so Christmas-y I love it. I'm going to find excuses to drink hot chocolate all the time just so I can use it. (Not to mention the delicious goodies she put in the mug that are pretty much already gone.)

My roommate Aibi made me a jar, that is "My Stache" in which to put money to save to go to one of my favorite places of all time that I've wanted to go to for as long as I can remember. London. She put tons of London themed stickers and everything all over the jar:

Not to mention that she even drew a TARDIS (the blue police box) on it too!!! I LOVE IT. Now I have to find money to put in it. She also got me nail polish and Bridesmaids on Bluray, which is also amazing.

My friend Erica, who has been aware of my increasing obsession over David Tennant and my growing love for all things Doctor Who, bought me a tea towel with the Tardis on it AND a DVD copy of Hamlet, played by David Tennant. There are no words for how much this gift completely took me by surprise and how much I loved it.

Unfortunately I couldn't take a picture of it (because sometimes my phone is retarded and I left my camera at my parents), I also got delicious candy, pen and planner, sexy red nail polish, and a freaking sweet tiger figurine (I wish I had a picture of the tiger because it is lovely) from my friends Anna and Marissa.

Seriously, all of the gifts from my friends were amazing and I absolutely loved them. I love how well my friends know me and know what I'd like. I have some pretty awesome friends, and I'm grateful they are in my life.

And if you think these gifts are great, wait till you see what I got from my family (Part 2)!

When I'm Rich, I, Too, Will Have A Custom-Made Christmas Statue

2011-12-22T14:24:00.000-06:00

Every year my family goes to look at Christmas lights. We used to do it on Christmas Eve, but the places we normally went got so crowded and jam-packed that we have since moved our traditional Christmas light sight-seeing to an earlier weekend.

In recent years we started going into the fancy neighborhoods in Dallas to look at lights. You know... the houses where they hire people to put up lights instead of doing it themselves. While they are all very pretty to look at, there are two houses in particular that we try to find every year to look at.

The first one is HUGE and they have lights and animated things everywhere AND it plays music. They are conveniently located in a spot where you can drive/see around their entire house (mostly) so you can follow the drive around and still be looking at the same house. I wasn't able to take a video of it this year (and couldn't find the one my roommate took last year), but because youtube is awesome, I found a few videos other people took of this same house:

My second favorite house we almost couldn't find this year (we always forget the address every year), but I was determined to find it and we weren't allowed to leave the neighborhood until we did. AND luckily we turned the corner and there it was in all it's glory.

Unlike the previous house with all the lights and animated figures and music, this house has only one thing, but it's so great I love it. All it has is a giant custom-made statue that they put out every Christmas:

If you notice, every present has a name on it, for I'm assuming, every person in the family. I'm assuming those kids are also made to look similar to the kids in the family as well, but who knows. But, my favorite part of this statue, is the creepy butler dude chasing after Santa and the kids he's clearly kidnapped in his sleigh:

I mean I realize that he wants to make sure "Debbie" gets her gift, but what about all the other presents for everyone else lying on the ground not in the sleigh? I don't know I just get really happy every time I see this statue every year because it just cracks me up. That butler guy is seriously the greatest thing. When I'm really rich someday and can have a custom-made statue with all of my family members names on it that I only pull out during Christmas and the rest of the year store in my spare house, the creepy butler will have to be incorporated somehow.

Oh, and here's my brother showing his love for the statue as well:

The Annual Family Christmas Photo

2011-12-19T00:04:00.000-06:00

Every year my mom thinks of this "great" thing for us to do for our yearly family photo to be included in the Christmas cards she sends out to everyone. Usually these photos consist of us being match-y in some way or another, and there is always hilarity that ensues when we try to take the photo.

A while back I remember we tried to take a photo of ourselves in front of our house. The resulting pictures were hilarious. In fact, I thought they were so funny I made a Facebook album of them complete with commentary. CLICK HERE if you want to see the album.

Well this year, we decided to take our own photo again (as opposed to last year when we had a professional take the pictures and they turned out fabulous) to save some money. My mom got us all hats that were made to look like different animals (don't worry, you'll see everyone else's in a minute).

Cameron modeling his hat.

Cameron trying to be serious in his koala hat.

Apparently, no one in my house owns an actual camera anymore (because we all just use our cell phones) except for me. Only, I forgot mine and I wasn't going to drive 15 minutes back to my apartment just to get the camera and come back and take one picture.

So my dad pulls out his ridiculously old digital camera. No really, it's old. It only goes up to 3 megapixels and the battery is so unique for it that they don't even sell that kind of battery anymore (we looked) and my dad couldn't find one in the house either.

However, my little sister has a camcorder that takes pictures, so we decide to use that. Only her camcorder is kind of cheap and doesn't really take the best pictures:

See? It's kind of a bluish tint. (Also, now you can see the other hats).

I should mention that all during this time we're trying to figure out the flash and the timer on my sister's camera and we're arguing about where people should stand etc. After we decide the bluish pictures are not going to be okay (ok so my mom decides this), I say that we just use one of our phones because it'll have a higher quality and it won't be blue. So I download an app that has a self-timer (the first one that was free) and just set my phone on the tripod and click the button and run back over to get in the picture.

This is our first... only my Dad's making a weird face.

Only after we stand there for a minute, we realize that we don't know when the phone takes the actual picture since none of us are staring at the screen (so we can't see the countdown) and there's no light that flashes on the opposite side to let us know. So we try it again:

You should know that Cameron ALWAYS makes some silly face in every single one of our family pictures. It bugs the crap out of my mom.

So then we decide to take a silly picture. You know, cause that's how my family is. We enjoy being funny. Only we're not quite sure when the timer goes off again, so we think we've waited long enough and so I go check and find out:

Yeah... hadn't waited long enough.

So we try the silly picture one more time, only I wait to see the countdown start so I can count it in my head so we know we've waited long enough. And this is the final result:

Ahhh I just love it when my family tries to take pictures together. It's always an adventure.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, Y'ALL!!

A Weight Has Been Lifted... Sort of

2011-12-12T01:51:00.000-06:00

On Thursday night I finished everything I had to for school, and once that happened, I seriously can't tell you how relieved I was. The week or two leading up to that point I had been stressed out of my mind. I had spent several nights in a row staying up till 4 in the morning trying to finish papers/projects/studying. (Although I'll admit, some of it was spent distracting myself on the Internet. I almost don't want to tell you, but I was trying to avoid working on a paper so much that I watched eleven, count it--ELEVEN, really crappy youtube lessons on how to fake a Scottish accent.*)

My plan once I finished the semester was to consume as much TV/movies as possible. I'm so behind on my shows because of school and have discovered a bunch of other shows and movies I want to watch but have been resisting because I didn't want to get obsessed and become more distracted from school (at least more so than I already was). I was so excited to be a total couch potato for a month before my last semester starts.

Yeah... I don't think it's going to work out how I planned.

I mean I have watched some shows, but I already have to get started on my master's capstone thesis. I also have to work on a group project because our paper proposal got accepted for this online journal called In Media Res, and it's due at the beginning of January. Not to mention there were some projects/videos that I started but wasn't able to finish (luckily my professor didn't care so much, so I didn't have to rush to finish them before the end of the semester, but I still feel I need to finish them since I started them already).

So.... looks like I won't be much of a couch potato during Christmas break.

Dang it.

*If you're curious I can kind of say "rural" and "loch," which I learned means lake which I think I knew already but for reason him saying it made more sense to me suddenly), and I have attempted to say "provocative" while rolling the "r" and it umm sounds far from provocative.

I Feel So Cool Cause I Did a Guest Blog Post

2011-11-28T20:40:00.000-06:00

My friend the fabulous Jessica asked me to do a guest blog post on her awesome, nominated for some bloggie awards, amazing blog, and I was so honored that she asked me that I immediately said yes. Then spent the next week debating on what I would talk about.

I decided to go with my strong suite, movies, specifically the movie Mother. And if y'all know me like I think you do, you know how much I adore this movie.

You don't?

Well go check out my guest blog post on Thee Burgdorf Brunette!!

CLICK HERE

For those that are new to my blog, welcome. Feel free to poke around in the archives and look through the topics I mainly post about on the right. I've got some good ones there, I promise. :)

So Much For A Super Productive Thanksgiving Break

2011-11-26T23:07:00.001-06:00

First off, I apologize for slacking on this blog. I do update my Tumblr more often because, I'll be honest, it's easier to do. But, I've even been slowing down a bit on that one as well. Why?

Well, I'm nearing the end of the semester, so I've had tons of final projects and papers that I have needed to do. In fact, the plan for this Thanksgiving break was to get tons of stuff done on these projects and papers.

Did I stick to this plan?

Yeah... no.

I'd like to blame my family, but let's be honest, one day I decided to go shopping instead of working on stuff, so it's my fault too. I'm kind of mad at myself about this, but I can't do anything about it now. It's already Saturday, and I really haven't done much. I've worked on a few things here and there, but nothing's really completed.

I wish I could extend the break longer, but when I think about it, I'd probably just waste my time on the longer break and not get anything done again. I just want to fast forward to December 9th because it means the semester will be over, I'll have finished everything, and I can have a break from school.

Gosh, where is The Doctor and his Tardis when you need 'em?!

With 10 minutes left to spare...

2011-10-31T23:52:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd wish all you lovely, beautiful people a very happy Halloween.

This Cool Thing I Made

2011-10-26T23:31:00.001-05:00

First off, I know, it's been awhile. I have seriously been so stressed that I have not wanted to do anything, not homework, not blogging, not hanging out with people. All I've wanted to do is either sleep or watch Doctor Who (which is another post in and of itself). I think I'm starting to come out of this stress-induced coma-like state, and figured I'd let y'all know that I'm still alive and not actually in a coma.

One of the projects that I finally got around to finishing was a soundscape that I had to do. Because I know y'all totally want to hear it, I figured I'd share it.
Soundscape for EMAC by missnesbit
All of the sounds in the clip were ones I recorded except for the jungle sounds.

Now because I had to enlist the help of a few coworkers to get the office sounds, I shared the finished piece with them, and one of them was so inspired (or incredibly bored, but we'll say inspired) wrote a little story to go with the piece. I loved it so much I asked her if I could share it with you guys, and she said of course! So here it is by Lynn C.:

John strolled into his building at just a few minutes past his usual time, but he still wasn't hurrying. His shoes made a regular sound on the polished tile of the building's lobby that sounded businesslike to him, and he wasn't going to mess the rhythm up by rushing when he didn't have to.

Two other people were already waiting for the elevator when he got there, and it still took a while for one to announce its arrival with the usual chiming ding, pneumatic doors whispering open in dispassionate invitation to enter the blank little box they guarded. John got in, noticed which buttons had been pushed, and moved to the back of the elevator. His floor was going to be last, as usual. There was another floor above his, but he'd never seen anyone go up there in all the time that he'd worked in the building. They heard sounds from the upper floor - his floor's ceiling - sometimes, but never saw any people to go with them.

First stop was the third floor, announced by the elevator's female computer voice that always sounded vaguely Star Trekish to John, and the doors slid open to allow in an odor of burned coffee and copy toner. The woman who got off there walked into the maze of cubicles without a backward glance,apparently unaffected by the solid wall of busy business noise that made the two men in the elevator wince. Whatever was going on in that office, there was apparently a lot of it.

The burnt coffee odor lingered once the doors had closed again, but it fled when the computer announced their arrival at the fifth floor and the doors slid back to reveal verdant jungle. The air that poured into the little metal box felt almost liquid, humid and warm and green. A parrot flew by, complaining loudly, and the other man in the elevator rolled his eyes. "I hate that thing," he commented, sliding off his suit jacket and folding it over his arm and then taking a machete out of his nice leather briefcase before stepping out into the wild tangle of green. He immediately began hacking his way further in. "Janet!" he called out, echoed by another ugly squawk from the parrot. "Has my ten o'clock called yet? Because I think the Harris case is going to run long..."

The doors slid shut, and John adjusted his tie, grimacing at the sticky feeling the law office's jungle humidity had left under his collar. Thank goodness his office wasn't like that. Although he did kind of like the parrot; he kept hoping it would fly into the elevator some morning, but it never had.

“Fifteenth floor,” announced the elevator some thirty seconds later. The doors slid open...to a violent downpour. John jumped back with a curse. He considered the rain for a moment, then decisively pushed the close button followed by the one for the first floor; his cuff was damp and the sleeve of his jacket spotted when he pulled his hand back. The doors took their time closing, letting even more rain get in, and then the elevator was heading back down to the ground level. John brushed stray droplets off his pants, grimacing at the spots and streaks they left on the light gray fabric. He'd just go get his umbrella from the car and then go in, his boss wasn't going to yell at him for being late with the weather like that.

Cause I'm Tired

2011-10-09T23:48:00.000-05:00

All you shall get tonight is a link to Tumblr post I just wrote.

I'm sorry. I'm tired, and I would have written more for you, but... you know. I'm tired.

And lazy.

Tired and lazy.

Here ya go: CLICK HERE

Some Highlights From Tumblr

2011-10-01T23:53:00.000-05:00

As I'm sure y'all know by now, I have a Tumblr, and it's pretty awesome.

So awesome, in fact, that my dear friend, whom I absolutely adore, love, and admire and wish I was as beautiful, charming, and amazing as her and also that I had her life cause she gets to do so many awesome things, Jessica, added my tumblr to her "Can't Stop Reading" blogroll, which makes me feel uber special and honored.

Y'all should follow Jessica's blog because she's cute, funny, insightful, and her posts are always amazing!

And no, Jessica did not pay me to endorse her blog in any way... that you know of. (KIDDING!)

But anyways, I've had some entertaining things on there recently and thought I'd link to them on here in case y'all were leery of reading my Tumblr. :) I've got some good posts, like:

It's riveting stuff, folks. Truly.

Also in other news, I hung up all my paintings and framed pictures and calendar/dry erase board in my room today. I mainly did it cause I was tired of seeing them on the floor, but now they're up and my room doesn't look so blah and boring anymore. YAY!

Also, also, I made an attempt to get rid of some of the boxes I still have in the middle of my room (yeah I moved in July, don't judge me), and immediately gave up because I found MORE books when I thought I had already gone through all my books. I don't have anywhere to put them, and I've already kept 2 boxes packed of books to go to storage. When I found more, I broke down and gave up, so the box is still sitting open taunting me with more books that I don't know where to put.

It may be time to get some kind of eReader... dang it.

Because I'm So Enraged

2011-09-21T23:09:00.000-05:00

I decided to do a repeat blog post about the movie I saw today. If you follow my Tumblr (which I'm guessing most of you don't), I just posted this and I did in fact just copy and paste it from there. You've been warned:

Save Your Money And See Something Else Besides Contagion

No seriously, guys. I even had a coupon, and I’m a little sad I wasted it on that. I mean I love me some Matt Damon, but he just could not save this dreadful movie.

What I want to know is how in the heck did it get a rating of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes?

I mean yes, it has so many famous faces:

Not to mention tons of other people that you’ll recognize as that dude/chick in that one movie but you can’t remember their actual names (like the old dude with glasses from Ocean’s 11 aka Elliot Gould).

But seriously, when you get too much talent on one screen, it gets to be a bit overwhelming and disconjointed if they are in various story lines UNLESS the director/writer is VERY good and keeps you going through them all and intertwines them. I mean clearly all these people are intertwined because of this virus that is spreading like wildfire, but other than that…

The problem was is that I didn’t care enough about any one of the characters to hope they didn’t get sick and die. The only one that came close was Kate Winslet’s character and *SPOILER ALERT* she doesn’t make it. And you know why I cared? Cause she seemed like the only character that was actively trying to do something to help others and didn’t care about her own health in the meantime (the other peeps… not so much).

I will say though, the movie makes you SUPER aware of everything you touch and what everyone else touches. I wanted to come out of there avoiding anything and spraying hand sanitizer on every hand rail, but then at the same time, I almost wanted to cough on everything I saw and everyone. Because you know, no one in the movie seemed to care that they were spreading a deadly disease to their passersby. I mean for reals one dude was ON HIS WAY TO WORK and he looked like he was about to keel over right then when Kate Winslet called him and stopped him, forced him off, get this, THE BUS, where he proceeded to touch all the railings, and cough on everyone, get out and then cough on everyone at the bus stop and pass out (after Kate Winslet expressly tells him not to touch anything or anyone).

He was on his way to work.

I like can’t stress this enough because it boggles my mind. If I’m even aching or coughing pretty bad I don’t go in because umm I don’t want to work while I feel like crap or even sort of feel crappy (or go to work in general). And this guy looked like death frozen over and he was riding a bus to work?! He be crazy yo.

Anyway, aside from making anyone with OCD freak out even more than they already do, or making someone start becoming OCD, this movie was so not worth it. I’m thinking I should have just seen The Lion King in 3D instead… At least I would have known what to expect from that one.

I Don't Want To Speak Too Soon...

2011-09-19T00:03:00.000-05:00

But... I'm sort of, kind of, slightly regretting my decision to leave my old single's branch for this new one.

All this summer leading up to me leaving the branch (for those that don't know it's a church congregation of single adults from ages 18 to 31, can also be called a ward), I felt like it was time for me to leave and move on. I was moving to an apartment and a new town and I figured that with that I'd just start going to a new single's ward that was closer to my apartment. I was sad to be leaving the people I'd been going to church with for 2 almost 3 years now, but I figured I'd still see them at activities and stuff because I'm only 15/20 minutes away. I was excited to meet new people and get a change of pace etc.

Well, now that I've been in the new ward for 2 weeks (hence why I didn't want to speak too soon), I really miss the branch. Not that this new ward is like psycho, although the past two Sundays have had some strange occurrences, but at least with the branch I knew what to expect and the strange occurrences that happened were entertaining. Ok, here's what happened in the new ward so far:

Last Sunday the first speaker decided she was teaching a lesson instead of giving a sacrament meeting talk, complete with passing out candy and making this poor dude do the equivalent of 90 pushups in his Sunday clothes at the front of the chapel. Then the 2nd person decided to talk the REST of the sacrament meeting, but we still sang all 4 verses of the rest hymn and then the 3rd speaker spoke. Normally this part of church ends at 2. We didn't get out until 2:20. Sunday School was okay although I had to go to the "special" new people class, which was fine, and then the relief society lesson was a little weird too. Not to mention the ridiculously forced conversation (not on my part) I had with a guy during the potluck afterwards (I was like, seriously dude, I'm not into you, I'm trying to meet people cause I'm new, if you don't want to talk to me, just say so. AND THEN, after I decided to talk to other people and let him be since it was like pulling teeth getting him to answer my questions, he stops me on my way out to tell me that it was a pleasure meeting me and then shook my hand. What?!)

Today wasn't quite as odd although pretty sure one of the speakers there (a high councilman I think) said that it was the duty of women to learn sewing and cooking etc. I say pretty sure because I wasn't exactly paying attention before then, but then I heard that and was wondering what the heck he was talking about. Even the guy next to me said, "Umm did he just say sewing was a gospel principle?" Yeah, no clue.

A friend of mine from the branch came with me to church today and she said something that made me realize that I did miss the branch: The branch has its weirdos and its crazy people, but they're our weirdos.

It's true. I think the thing about this new ward is that I don't know who the weird people are and I don't know who anyone is in general (aside from the few I know from the past). At least in the branch I knew who the crazy people were and who my friends were. Granted, I'm sure I'll learn with this new ward eventually, but right now, I really miss the crazy antics of the branch and my friends, and having people to talk to during church. Hopefully I'll get some people like that in the ward soon. I need some friends in the ward.

School is a Vacuum Cleaner: It Sucks Up My Life

2011-09-12T01:53:00.001-05:00

Y'all, I'm sorry for not posting sooner. This week has just been crazy and I've been going non-stop and haven't felt like I could just stop and breathe, let alone sit down and type out all the blog posts I want to do. And sadly... I don't think that feeling is going to go away any time soon. At least not till the semester is over. Sounds like it's time for the promised semester overview:

First Class of the Week
So on Wednesday nights I have what is officially called "Approaches to Emergent Media and Communications" but what is really just a research class. Which REALLY means that it's going to be super boring and a TON of work. I have a homework assignment that I have to turn in every week and we have 3 exams and a final and then we have the final research paper. I thought grad school was all about discussion and the occasional paper/assignment/final project? I can already tell this class will be a pain in the butt. PAIN IN THE BUTT!!!

Luckily, however, most of the people in the class are my friends so we can complain about the class together afterwards. Like how the professor spent 20 minutes and went OVER class time (which means I didn't get out of class till 10pm) about plagiarism, complete with examples and comparisons. It's grad school, if someone has plagiarized something, kick them the heck out of the program and school; they are complete idiots and SHOULD know better. I get that this is a problem and might need to be addressed, but, you don't have to spend 20 minutes talking about how people shouldn't do it and showing what it means to plagiarize. Alls you gots to say is, "Don't plagiarize in any way, shape, or form. If you're confused by what this means or have questions, come see me after class and I will gladly explain." That's it. It's a freakin' Master's level class, no need to treat us like we're in high school. But... I digress.

Second Class of the Week
Then on Thursday I have to leave work early (yup... which means I get to make up the time on Fridays that I normally wouldn't work. I'm quite upset by this fact) to go to my "Literature, Science, and Culture" class, which is all about game theory, itself and found in the literature we're reading. The first meeting of this class I missed (cause I was in Utah), so I met with the professor in his office when I got back. When I first met him, I realized he was an adorable old British man who apparently likes to wear super thick turtleneck sweaters and shorts (yeah that's what he was wearing) in his office. I talked to him about the class and I introduced myself and what not and then he laid this piece of knowledge on me (after he asked if I'd read The Lord of the Rings after me saying I like reading and have an English degree):

"I met Tolkien when I was at Oxford. He looks like Gandalf, just a miniature version of him."

I was too dumbfounded to ask him anything else (like what does he mean by he looks like Gandalf? the description of him in the book? Sir Ian McKellen himself or as he's dressed up as the character in the movie? Did you also meet C.S. Lewis???) so I didn't. The class so far has been filled with a lot of discussion that goes off on tangents and that sometimes appears to be over my head. Not to mention I can tell that a few of my classmates are going to be super annoying. This class just requires a lot of reading, and as far as grades it's based on participation and weekly reading quizzes (and I'm pretty sure I totally bombed my first one) with an OPTIONAL term paper and that's it. No final, no midterm, no required paper. This is both good and bad for obvious reasons. Let's hope I'll get in the groove of this class and not tune out what he's actually saying because I'm lulled by his British accent. Let's hope.

Third Class of the Week
Then later on that evening on Thursday nights, I have "Emerging Media Studio" which is essentially a film class with a little extra things EMAC related. I think this class is the one I'll have the most fun in and will probably learn the most. I'm not that great at filming, so I'm looking forward to learning more about it and geting some more hands on projects as opposed to just learning about it in generalities. We have an assignment (video or otherwise) every week, and then we'll have a final project at the end. So far though, the assignments have been fun and/or easy to complete. For example, the class's focus is on online identities, so the professor asked us to create a fake personality on any platform we choose and about anything we want. SO, if y'all are looking for a little extra entertainment in your life, feel free to check out my alter ego Betty Sue who lives in a trailer park in Oklahoma, loves country music, huntin', and NASCAR, and tweets some pretty funny pictures.

Bonus Class of the Week
AND THEN because I'm an idiot and like to torture myself, I'm auditing an Independent Study class that meets on Friday nights (not every Friday night just most of them) on Fashion and Media that would be really awesome if only I could invest more time and effort into it and could be getting credit for it. I warned my professor I probably wouldn't be able to contribute much, which she said she was cool with, but I'm hoping I can at least do one of the projects: make some kind of wearable computing/tech fashion thing. We'll see how it goes.

In Conclusion
And that my friends is my semester. Basically I'm going to be spending most of my time running around like a chicken with my head cut off, but other than that, don't mind me. Blogging is my release, so don't think I won't update at all, but just know that it might not be as frequent as I'd like it to be.

FOTW: Sherlock Edition

2011-09-02T01:09:00.000-05:00

So after putting it off FOREVER, I finally had time to sit down and watch Sherlock (and the fact that it was streaming on Netflix helped a lot). It is only 3 episodes (but the new season should be coming out soon!!!) but they are awesome. It is of course about Sherlock Holmes, but it's a modern day version where Watson is an army doctor recently returned from Afghanistan suffering post-traumatic stress and Sherlock is a consulting detective who mainly only communicates through text message. Not only are the actors superb, but the design, costumes, and graphics are so unique and awesome and makes the show so enjoyable to watch both for the humor and the mystery.

Ok... so now that I've thoroughly convinced you to watch this show if you haven't already, let's get back to the actors:

One of my faves Martin Freeman plays Watson (first set of pictures in slideshow). Most of you probably know his previous work, but most notably he plays Tim in the British Office (British counterpart to Jim in the American version) and is Arthur Dent in The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He's appeared in other things like Love Actually, Shaun of the Dead, and Hot Fuzz, and he will be playing Bilbo Baggins in the upcoming The Hobbit movies! He is definitely not like a super sexy gorgeous man, but he is cute and the characters he plays are so endearing (so I mean clearly that's how he is in real life of course). And, any man who says, "Why does everyone have to pretend to be stupid and not know long words?" is after my own heart and I will love him forever.

Then as Sherlock we have someone whose name I just love to say: Benedict Cumberbatch. I mean come on, just his name alone is awesome. Not to mention that he is a VERY good Sherlock and actor in general. So good, in fact, that after seeing Sherlock (and falling in love with him and his character), I didn't realize I had seen him in another movie. I was explaining to a friend about my new found love, and she reminded me that he actually plays a super creepy pervert dude in Atonement. After remembering that that was indeed him, I was devastated! I mean clearly he played that character well enough for me to second guess me liking him, which after I got over my initial shock, made me like him as an actor even more. He's been in The Other Boleyn Girl, Amazing Grace (which I've been told is very good and I should watch it) and even played Stephen Hawking in Hawking. He's also going to be in the new Hobbit movies as the voice of Smaug/Necromancer! Interesting fact: He apparently taught English in a Tibetan monastery. Cool right?

I'm way excited for the new season of Sherlock to come out and obviously for The Hobbit to come out as well! These two actors work very well together and play an excellent Watson/Sherlock pair.

Although my heart will always belong to RDJ whose Sherlock Holmes sequel comes out in December, I think Benedict Cumberbatch might be one of my favorite Sherlocks.

I Have Much To Say

2011-08-31T23:41:00.000-05:00

But it'll have to wait (because I am SUPER tired). However, here's a few things you can look forward to:

A FOTW post (warning, it does involve men with accents again)
Recap of my whirlwind trip to Utah (complete with pictorial representations)
Overview and initial feelings of how the semester is going to look including professors/classmates/course work etc.
Nostalgia post (because why not?)
An insightful (not on my part) and eye-opening post on dating/marriage
A confession (nope, that's all I'm telling you!)

See? I got exciting stuff planned... I just need to type them all up. Hope you guys are doing well and have a FABULOUS Labor Day weekend!

I'm such a nerd

2011-08-24T23:26:00.000-05:00

Today was my first class this semester and not going to lie, I totally missed school. Not really all the work and reading involved, but all my classmates and feeling like I was learning new things and engaging in stimulating, thought-provoking, philosophical conversation. Not that I didn't have those conversations this summer but it's just different in a school type setting with people that know what you're talking about.

I didn't realize how much I missed seeing my classmates till we had a mini reunion before and after class. No seriously, we all gave each other hugs and asked how the summer went, etc. Last year a few classmates and I would always end up standing in the parking lot after class to have a discussion on the most random topics, but we would love the discussion so much that we'd end up staying out there really late. We had one tonight, and though we didn't have one as long as usual, I loved every minute of it. We laughed, complained about our class or the stupid and/or annoying people in it, and just enjoyed each other's company and stories. It was refreshing, not to mention that it was actually cool outside for this parking lot convo.

Of course, I might be changing my tune and complaining about how I'm going to die or how I'm super stressed as the semester progresses, but someone remind of this post and how I said I missed it, okay?

Also, I leave for Utah tomorrow, so hopefully I survive that straight-through 21 hour drive. :) Don't miss me too much while I'm gone loves!!

The Thing I Told You To Keep Your Eyes Peeled For...

2011-08-23T01:05:00.000-05:00

I'm going to Utah THIS WEEK!

Yup. It's going to be a SUPER quick kind of last-minute trip, and while it's a long story about how it ended up working out, the important thing is I'm going and I'm excited. I'm mainly going to help out my brother Cameron bring all of his stuff back down to Texas because he decided not to continue going to Utah State in Logan and instead move back home and transfer to University of Texas at Dallas (where I'm going for my Master's!).

BUT while I'm there I also get to see a few friends I haven't seen in literally years! I'm going to be able to go see my friend Libby at her wedding open house/reception (and she doesn't know I'm going to be there BT Dubs). I haven't seen Libby since before she left on her mission, which was like 4 years ago. Also there will be other people I know at the reception/open house that will be there as well that I'm so stoked to see, but besides Libby I'm psyched to get to see my friend Wes, whom I also haven't seen in like 4 years either. (I'm secretly hoping I get to see Academy Fantasia, Wes, so I sure hope you do it within the like 2 hours I'll see you.)

Among the peeps at the open house, I'm hoping to get to see my friend Carey, that is if our schedules can mesh and she can work me in around working with the BYU football team. :) I'll also see mi familia in Provo since we're staying with them and all... and of course I'll get to briefly drive the streets of Provo and remember all the good times I had in college.

Sounds like this trip will be awesome, right?

Well... here's the downsides (for all involved):

I will have to drive (because I'm hauling my brother's crap, remember?), but my dad, who is ALREADY in Utah with my brother at this very moment, insisted that he drive with me since he doesn't want me driving alone. So, I'm picking him up from the airport (after flying in from SLC) on Thursday and then heading out on the road where we will drive straight through, no stops, taking turns, until we arrive on Friday at the Bubble that is Provo, UT. Then Saturday morning we'll wake up super early and drive ALL the way back to the Promised Land of Texas, luckily stopping this time in the Land of Enchantment that is Albuquerque, NM for the night and continuing on on Sunday. Also, I have to miss the first day of 2 of my classes, but I already emailed my professors and they say it's cool. :)

Yeah... I'm pretty much going to be dead by the time this is all over. AWESOME! Just in time for the start of the semester too. It's going to be great.

So Much for Straight A's

2011-08-19T21:51:00.048-05:00

I just checked my grades for my summer class and I have mixed emotions about it. I'm a little disappointed because it means that I now no longer have straight A's for my grad school career (don't worry it's not failing or anything and it's kind of close to an A). Y'all know me, I'm such a perfectionist. I dropped my Honors Geometry class in high school and went to regulars after 2-3 weeks because I had gotten a 70 on our first test. (Yes. True story.)Yet at the same time, I was kind of expecting it and knew I hadn't done that well.

BUT I did learn something.

I in no way want to take a business or marketing class EVER AGAIN.

I hated this class. I wasn't interested in anything that I was supposed to be learning, everything was incredibly boring and confusing because I have no experience in business or marketing (everyone else in the class was in their 5th semester in the business program), and because it was online it was harder for me to motivate myself to actually study/read, not to mention that getting a response (both quickly and one that actually answered the question/made sense) from the professor was like pulling teeth. So I just winged it the whole class. Luckily I had a fairly strong group that knew what they were doing (for the most part), so I just did my part to help out and took whatever grade we got (cause it was better than the grade I would have gotten if I had to do it on my own).

Whatever. It's over, and at least I passed (gosh, never thought I'd be okay with that phrase...). Fall semester starts next week, so maybe I can bring my GPA back up over the next 2 semesters. My last 2 semesters.

P.S. I have some fun/exciting things going on in the next few weeks (well next week actually) that I want to tell you all about, so you know... keep your eyes peeled.

FOTW: Tyler Hoechlin

2011-08-17T23:46:00.003-05:00

As a new resident of Richardson, my first order of business was to get me a library card. I was mainly getting it so I wouldn't have to shell out money to buy our book club pick this month, but also because I hear that the Richardson library has a great selection of DVDs. And you know I loves me the movies.

Anyways, I dragged my roommate with me as well and after we both received our cards, I went straight to the info desk because I didn't want to go searching around for the book I wanted (Matched). Well turns out there were already 16 people on the waiting list for it, so I gave up and decided I'll just have to buy it (I downloaded the audiobook actually). So, since we were conveniently right by the DVDs/CDs, we walked around and browsed.

I picked a few CDs I liked, and then while looking through the movies I came across Road to Perdition. Now this movie I've always been meaning to watch. I had seen it, but it was the CleanFlicks version so I was super confused and didn't know what the heck was going on because they had cut so much stuff out (don't get me started on what CleanFlicks did to my beloved Love Actually). After that I swore that I would watch the actual movie so I could understand it. After telling my roommate this story, she convinced me to get the movie.

On the weekend I decided I had some time and decided to watch it (that and it was going to be due soon). I'm happy to say I now know what happened and I do think it was a good movie. After watching it I decided to look it up on IMDB (what you don't do that?). I was mainly looking it up so I could see if this boy had done anything else after filming Road to Perdition:

He seemed like a cute kid in the movie and I wondered what happened to him and what he looked like now. When I clicked on his IMDB page and found the following, you wouldn't BELIEVE how shocked I was. No seriously, mouth hanging open, eyes popping out of my head shocked:

Yeah. See what I mean?

Turns out the kid's name is Tyler Hoechlin and he is only a year younger than me (with his birthday being on 9/11 which has got to be difficult, right?). He was apparently in 7th Heaven, but I never watched that show. He is, according to IMDB of course, an amazing baseball player and got into his college on a baseball scholarship. Since he's been pursuing baseball, he hasn't done much acting, but was close runners up to Shia LaBeouf in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, AND Robert Pattison in Twilight (I hope he's counting his lucky stars he didn't get that role). But he was most recently in the new Teen Wolf, which I've also never seen (umm it was on MTV and I don't ever watch that channel), but now I'm slightly intrigued.

His next film Melvin Smarty is in post-production and looks rather obscure, but if he looks like this in it... I might go see it anyway.

The Apartment Saga--Boiled Down Short Version

2011-08-15T23:51:00.001-05:00

Now that I'm past all the ridiculousness that happened with my seemingly cursed apartment, it doesn't seem like too much of a saga now. I'm really hoping, praying, and keeping my fingers crossed that we are on the other side of this hill and things are looking up. In short, here's what happened:

Some drama happened with me and my family because I wasn't exactly packed yet and they decided to move all my stuff and pack it for me even though I didn't ask them to, which led to them being mad that I wasn't prepared and packed already.
Because of said drama, I wasn't in a particularly pleasant mood and was rather distracted when signing the lease, which led to us signing the lease without looking at the apartment first (not a good move on my part).
Once we had the keys, our initial looksie seemed okay, but as we started moving things in and taking a closer look we noticed a few things:

Like how there was a giant cochroach on the ceiling, which was of course a tell-tale sign that there were others like it lurking all up in the kitchen and my roommate's bathroom/bedroom, which means umm we didn't use our kitchen (and really still haven't) or unpack anything in it.
The pipes under the sink leaked (and still does actually) and we noticed that apparently this is a continuing problem because that one cabinet has been painted to cover up the water damage.
The screen door was installed backwards (the lock was on the wrong side so couldn't latch) and the screen fell out, which to their credit, the complex did fix very quickly.
Also we had a slight problem with our gate keys and of course couldn't get them working after the office was already closed, on the weekend.
We couldn't get satellite because of the way our apartment faces and because the complex wouldn't let the satellite be outside the patio or attached to the railing.
Of course you guys remember my little Internet problem. Well, since then, we found out that AT&T can only give us their basic DSL package (which is not what we had signed up for), which is incredibly slow, because our phone lines are too old to allow them to give us a faster package.
There were other things with each of the issues, other little things that just compounded and made dealing with it all at once right when we moved in a HUGE pain.

Most of these problems, in fact, were noticed after the office was closed or required other people (pest control, AT&T peeps, maintenance people, etc.), which means we had to wait on all of them to get things fixed. And I hate waiting.

Since then, the pest control people have come and sprayed/powdered and done who knows what else, and I'm happy to say that though I've seen plenty of dead roaches I haven't seen any live ones, which I would like to keep that way. We have unpacked most everything in the kitchen and even bought groceries! (We still haven't used the kitchen as in cooked anything because it's been too freakin' hot to do that.) After I bugged (haha!) my roommate because I'm too used to the fast Verizon Fios of my parents' house, we are switching to the much faster (at least than what we have now) Time Warner Cable so that I can watch a 20 min. episode of the Colbert Report in 20 min. (hopefully) instead of the 30-40 min. it took me a few days ago. (They are coming this Friday, so hopefully all will go well.)

Again, I don't want to jinx anything, but it appears as if things are looking up. Now if only I could find the time to actually unpack my room instead of having stacks of boxes everywhere...

VERY Belated FOTW: Harry Potter Edition

2011-08-11T00:50:00.001-05:00

So I meant to post this a while ago, but the whole moving and lack of Internet at my apartment thing prevented me from doing much of anything. Not to mention, I needed to take my final and you know... study. But rest-assured, I have been thinking about what/who to put in this post, and I'd like to think some of these may be somewhat unexpected and all of them are from Harry Potter, you know in honor of the final movie coming out and all. (For some awesome pictures of me dressed up at the midnight showing and description, check out my friend Anna's blog.)

First up is Tom Felton who played Draco Malfoy. I would like to say, I think he is way more attractive as himself than he is as bleach-blonde Draco:

That hair makes him look super washed out. But, with his normal hair, he is definitely cuter. Of course Harry Potter wasn't his first gig. Does anyone remember him as Peagreen in The Borrowers??? Cause I certainly do. :) Anyway, he plays the annoying, bratty kid pretty well. So well, in fact, that he plays a much similar character in the upcoming Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which I totally want to see! I'm excited to see what other roles he'll take on now that his Harry Potter days are behind him, and I hope he'll get to play the good guy every now and then.

Next up is the very handsome and sexy Jason Isaacs who plays the evil Lucius Malfoy (aka Draco's dad). Again, I hate the way he looks as Lucius:

I'm sorry but long blonde hair only looks good on women or Legolas. But look at those pictures when he's normal!!! He's very attractive. He's been in lots of other things, probably most well known in America (after HP) is probably the new live action Peter Pan (he played Captain Hook/Mr. Darling). He's apparently in the new upcoming movie Abduction, which stars Taylor Lautner, and let's be honest, I'll probably end up seeing it just so I can see Taylor Lautner with and without his shirt on. So, we'll see how he does in that one. He is very attractive, so I hope he appears in more films for American audiences because I'd love to see him in a movie where he doesn't have to wear a wig.

Last and biggest shocker of them all is the incredibly hot Matthew Lewis, who played Neville Longbottom and used to look like this (!!!):

and this:

and now looks like this:

and this:

Granted, I think they made him wear false teeth in the films once he started growing up, but still! I mean COME ON! If you are not completely shocked/drooling over Matthew Lewis, I'm seriously going to question your sanity. I REALLY REALLY hope he gets thousands of acting gigs playing the leading man because he clearly looks like one now. But for reals though. When I saw the pictures of him from the HP premiere start coming up on my Tumblr feed, I was amazed! "That's the dude that plays Neville?! No freakin' way!" And now I absolutely love him and I don't even know him and have only seen him play a secondary character in one film series (who happens to have a kick-a scene in this last film).

And on that note, I sure hope that if you haven't seen the last most epic HP film by now that you don't even speak to me until you do (I sure hope that is none of you). The men of HP (all of them including the leads: Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint who while I may or may not find attractive, I did not include because I figured they're getting all the attention anyway) have grown up (or grown more attractive in my eyes as the case may be), and will hopefully continue their acting careers in other great films. I love Harry Potter, both the films and the books, and I'm sad that with this last movie it's basically over. But thank goodness I can read the books and watch the movies over and over again.

And on that note I say: Good luck to the kids of HP, may they not be forever typecast into roles because of the ones they held in Harry Potter!

Hallelujah, Praise the Lord!

2011-07-28T22:12:00.000-05:00

That's right y'all!

The AT&T guy came today and after working his magic finally got our Internet working! I'm posting this from the comfort of my bedroom in my apartment and I can't tell you how happy I am. I don't want to jinx myself, but it looks like things may be looking up in this whole apartment saga (which remind me, I'm telling you all about later).

I would write more, but mi familia is putting me in charge of the dog while they eat delicious Mexican food from Nellie's and awesome burgers at Roscoe's. So, I'm chilling at their house for the weekend to spend time with this beautiful puppy:

I'll update tomorrow with a very belated FOTW. :) Yay for the interwebs!!!

Guys, I still don't have Internet.

2011-07-26T15:11:00.001-05:00

I KNOW!
Don't even get me started. To see what happened, you should go here:

My Tumblr

It explains a lot and comes complete with funny GIFs that really illustrate my points and emotions through the process. The technician is supposed to come out on Thursday, so if there is any goodness in the world, I'll have Internet by then. But, knowing my luck, I doubt it. If you don't hear from me on Thursday, you'll know what happened.

Life Without Immediate Internet Access

2011-07-24T23:15:00.000-05:00

IS HARD YO!

I haven't had Internet at my apartment (and won't have it until tomorrow night), and I am currently at my parental's house posting this. Who knew not having instant access to the Internet whenever I want would be so hard. It's not like I'm completely without it. I have it while I'm at work, and I have an iPhone for crying out loud, and I recently discovered that I could walk about 2 minutes (probably less than that; I'm not good at guesstimating) to my apartment complex's pool and access their free wifi (which I have done twice now). But, despite being able to access stuff on my iPhone, there are just some things I'd rather do on a computer (like blogging for example). And as much as I wanted to blog away at work... I figured my first week at the new job would probably not be the best time to be blogging.

SO, this is a short post letting you know that I've missed you guys and my ability to post whenever I want because I had 24/7 access to the Internet. Never fear, I have some FOTWs planned that are going to be AWESOME and some personal blog posts that I'm sure you're dying to read about my apartment and moving and the new job and what not (don't lie to me, I know you've been wondering).

As soon as I have the Internet hooked up tomorrow after 8pm, I will be blogging up a storm.

FOTW: The Men of Drop Dead Diva

2011-07-13T19:26:00.025-05:00

Ok, because I owe you guys like three weeks worth of FOTW because I've been a total loser and haven't posted anything, I decided to highlight the men of one of my favorite TV shows: Drop Dead Diva.

It only comes on during the summer and YES it is on Lifetime, but I just love it so much. Perhaps it's because I can sort of relate to the main character and perhaps it's because the characters are just so likeable and often hilarious, and perhaps more than likely it's because the three main men on the show are just so great to look at. Josh Stamberg, Jackson Hurst, and (my personal fave) Ben Feldman:

The first three pictures are of Josh Stamberg who plays Jane's (the main character) boss. He does play a bit of a jerk in the show, but you can tell he likes/appreciates Jane's character. Plus he is a very handsome older gentleman. He's been in some other things but none that I can recall, but he is quite attractive I will say.

The next three pictures are of Jackson Hurst who plays Grayson, Jane's main love interest (that she can't get) on the show. He is gorgeous and as a fellow Texan (born in Houston), I love him even more. His character is just so sweet and kind and you just want so bad for the two to get together (but then at the same time hope they don't so the tension can keep the show interesting). He is definitely one of the men on a show that I wouldn't mind seeing more often on screen.

The last three pictures are of Ben Feldman, who I'm not going to lie is one of my favorite characters on the show. If you couldn't tell from some of my FOTWs, I tend to go for the sweet, cute, adorable, and kind of nerdy characters/guys. Ben Feldman's character, Fred, definitely fits the mold. He is Jane's guardian angel (long story, check out the synopsis on the IMDB page), and as such he is very naive in many ways when it comes to love, which just makes him adorable. He is also incredibly funny in many ways. Briefly in the first season they "kicked" him off the show, which made me so upset because I loved him! I'm not sure if it was just a writing device or if enough fans complained, but they brought him back towards the end of the 1st season and he's been on ever since (thank goodness!).

Anyway, if you've never seen this show, I highly recommend it because it's just a cute and funny summer show that I love to watch. It airs on Lifetime on Sunday nights (at 8pm I believe, but I always just DVR it) and the episode is also available on Lifetime's website the next day. It's on the 3rd season at the moment, so if you need to catch up, I'm sure there are plenty of other websites where you can find the show (check out Project Free TV; Google it, and it should be one of the first that pop up).

So for this FOTW: Not only is the show fun, but the leading men are just beautiful to look at, don't ya think?

A Quarter of A Century Old

2011-07-12T23:22:00.001-05:00

Today is the anniversary of the day I came into this world. I am 25 years old. It's pretty crazy to think about. Especially regarding how many significant life changes that have happened/will happen in this week alone. I didn't plan much for this birthday this year because of how much stuff I had to do/worry about this week. But luckily, I have some pretty awesome friends and a fantastic family that helped ensure my birthday was a good one.

Yesterday several friends took me out to dinner and I loved it! I enjoyed talking with all of them and eating delicious food. Then today, my family took me to Macaroni Grill and bought me some birthday cookies. They also bought me a chef's torch which I am SUPER excited about because now I can be all fancy and make creme brulee!!! (They had bought me ramekins for Christmas, so now I really can make creme brulee.)

Also, several other friends posted sweet and occasionally hilarious notes on my FB page/texts and I loved it. I talked about a few on my Tumblr today that made me laugh:

Like when I got a text from a number I didn't know and the convo that ensued (click here)
And some highlarious FB notes I got today (click here)

I really do have some pretty awesome friends and family, and I'm so grateful you are in my life! I have a lot planned for my 25th year of life and I'm so glad I get to share it with all of you.

Thanks for making my 25th birthday so great!

My apologies

2011-07-10T23:36:00.019-05:00

Guys, I'm sorry I haven't posted anything in a few weeks. Life has been pretty crazy as of late and I just haven't had time to sit down and get some blogging done. I had a midterm for my online class that I was freaking out about so the weekend of the 4th of July was spent studying and then taking the test. Then this weekend I had my pre-Harry Potter Harry Potter party, which was a huge success and I had tons of fun, and also some good times out in the boonies with a few friends where I swam, ate fresh blackberries, and shot some guns. Pretty awesome.

Sadly, I'm not sure how much I'll be able to blog this week either because I'm MOVING this Friday!!! I know, I so haven't filled you guys in on things. I'm such a terrible blogger. :( But, I'm hoping that I'll be able to write up something soon. Until then, here's a brief recap on a few happenings and thoughts:

I'm super excited and sad for the upcoming HP movie since it's the last one (Of course I'm going to the midnight showing)! Looking back at the older movies, those kids were so little then and are SOO grown up now! ALSO, the kid who played Neville is now incredibly hot. No, really.
I only have about a month left of my class, which I'm glad about because I want it over so bad.
Speaking of school, I met with my professor to discuss my idea for my capstone project, and she absolutely loved it, so I'm way excited to get started on the research for it and everything. It's going to be off the hook!
I got a new position at work. Before, I edited journals, but now starting tomorrow, I'll be editing books and also helping out on the wiki they want to start. I'm excited and hoping that this new position (with a new boss and new cube) will be a good thing for me.
This Friday is the day I can officially move into my apartment. It's in Richardson, so it's not too far away from my house, but it does mean I'm closer to work and school and also in a different YSA ward. I have mixed feelings about this fact.
Also... I haven't started packing. I've packed 1 box and my room is a total disaster area. I might not be fully moving in on Friday... it might have to be in phases.
On Tuesday I will be 25 years old. A QUARTER OF A CENTURY. I can do exciting things at this age now... like rent a car without having to pay an extra fee. And... that's about it. But, yeah, I can't believe I'll be 25 in 2 days. It's kind of crazy. I might have an existential breakdown... or at least I'm considering it.

See? I've had a lot of things going on lately... I hope you guys are doing well, and I promise as soon as things calm down a bit or I get a spare moment, I'll try to post some more things. I will say, I tend to post more frequently on my Tumblr if anyone cares to see what I'm up to on there....

FOTW: Chris Pine

2011-06-22T23:36:00.000-05:00

As promised, I do have an American guy this time around (although, I will add, he can do an excellent English accent and also studied acting in England).

Chris Pine

I fell in love with him when I saw him in Princess Diaries 2, and I've loved him in everything I've seen him in ever since. I mean, have you not seen the new Star Trek? How could you not be in love with the man? And yes, I even watched that terrible Just My Luck film he did with Lindsay Lohan JUST because he was in it.

Although I'm sure my dear friend would fight me for him, he'd be worth it. Honestly, he is gorgeous, and his blue eyes are amazing. ALSO, may I just add that he has an English degree?!!!! I mean hello, we were meant for each other!

So anyways, this week's FOTW is Chris Pine: absolutely dreamy and loves literature. Sounds like a match made in Heaven to me.

*Side note: I promise to do a real/personal post soon. A LOT of stuff has happened recently that I want to tell you all about, but it's also prevented me from typing it all up in a post. But, I promise it's coming... Be ready.

FOTW: Two For One-Second

2011-06-15T20:27:00.032-05:00

Here's your 2nd FOTW for this week!

I recently saw this delightful young man (bah... umm he's only 3 years older than me!) in Thor, and it reminded me how much I loved him in the 5 minutes at the beginning of Star Trek that he was in before his character got killed off.

You know who I'm talking about:

Chris Hemsworth

Can I just tell you, it was so hard to pick from all of the amazingly sexy pictures on Google of him for that slideshow? No, seriously, they are like all really good and I just want to stare at all of them.

However, I will say, I definitely like him now in his Thor, bulkier, muscular self than in his younger, skinner "Home and Away" self (it was a TV show he was in in Australia). He looked very boyish, which isn't bad, but I definitely like him more manly and studlier.

Also, I think he is more attractive than his younger brother Liam* (who is the same age as my brother!) Although they are both cute, don't get me wrong:

*Who, as a side note, will be playing Gale in The Hunger Games movie.

But anyways, Thor was great, and I'm excited to see him in The Avengers as well. And... really anything else he's in. He is just so beautiful to look at AND he's Australian. Look... I'm sorry I have a thing for guys with accents. Next week I'll try to pick an American guy... :)

Bonus FOTW: Chris Hemsworth, way cuter than his brother Liam (and from what I can tell tons cuter than his older brother Luke), and definitely looks better beefed up.

FOTW: Two For One-First

2011-06-12T22:24:00.001-05:00

So... I'm a total slacker and I missed my FOTW for last week. Don't get me wrong; I totally had one in mind and lined up, but I never got around to actually typing it up and getting it posted. So, lucky for you, you get 2 FOTW this week (I'll post the 2nd one a little later in the week)! I know... pretty exciting.

If you've been around me or follow me on Twitter/Tumblr, you'll know that ever since I saw X-Men: First Class that I absolutely loved it and fell even more in love with James McAvoy. But, since I've already had Mr. McAvoy as a FOTW, I decided it'd be best to give other beautiful men a chance and not have a repeat. Well, I also fell more in love with this man in X-Men: First Class:

Michael Fassbender

The X-Men movie was not the first thing I was lucky enough to see that handsome man in. No, I saw him in Jane Eyre and I LOVED his Rochester (and I've seen lots of versions of that movie):

He was also in Inglorious Basterds, but I have yet to see that movie. Before that he was in some crappy films, and in a lot of TV series and TV movies. But he is great and very sexy. Yes, he plays Magneto, the "bad guy" in X-Men, but he does a very good job. And the friendship that Magneto and Professor X have in this new X-Men (before Magneto becomes evil) is amazing and they (James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender) do such an excellent job in portraying their relationship. Also, they are incredibly cute together in interviews, and you can tell that they really are friends. (Click here for one such interview, where they interview each other.)

So, a little belated, but the first FOTW: Michael Fassbender, handsome, versatile, and did I mention that he too has an accent? :)

FOTW: 80s Edition

2011-06-03T11:08:00.000-05:00

So, I don't know if you know this, but I have a Tumblr. It's kind of like a blog but kind of like Twitter, and I love it. I've "met" so many cool people on there and learned more about those I already knew. I like it. Don't worry, I won't be abandoning you for Tumblr, but I enjoy it. Anywhos, they have a bunch of 30-day challenges that float around on Tumblr that you can do, and being bored and in a Tumblr lull, so to speak, I decided to do one of the challenges. I picked one about movies (of course).

One of the questions (and the fact Joy Luck Club was on TV a few days ago, which I totally forgot he was in), reminded me how much I adored (and still kind of do) this man:
Andrew McCarthy

He is in one of my guilty pleasure 80s movies: Mannequin. I love it. For more explanation click here.

So yeah, I always thought Andrew McCarthy was way cute, and he's definitely not terrible looking now-a-days (see the last picture in the slideshow). In the 90s, (after his hey-day "brat pack" years in the 80s) he sure did make a lot of made for TV movies. And apparently he's been in some TV shows recently, but I haven't seen them. I still like to remember him as his 80s self. :)

FOTW: A blast from the past and a reminder of how some 80s movies will live on forever. :)

While in San Diego...

2011-05-29T21:23:00.000-05:00

I pretty much decided that I want to get married here:

San Diego LDS Temple

And then have my reception/stay the night here:

Lodge at Torrey Pines

Also you should watch this incredibly over-the-top video they have advertising their lodge: Click Here. (And yes, there really are kilt-wearing men that open your car, and REAL bellhops all dressed up like they are in movies with a hat and everything that take care of your luggage). (Side note: I felt super sorry for the kilted men because it was REALLY cold outside... I hope they had some covering on underneath unlike real Scottish men.)

The lodge was where my family had a luncheon after my cousin's graduation (the reason why we went to San Diego in the first place). It's famous for its golf course because it's where they had the 2008 US Open (cool, but ummm don't care about golf). It has a view of the ocean, it is beautiful, and the food was freakin' amazing. I would definitely love to get that food again (hence the wedding reception idea).

To me, I think this is a wonderful plan, except for the whole... I need to find a man to marry first. Oh and the fact that this would cost a FORTUNE, and therefore either I need to come into some money through a long lost relative or publishing a best-seller/becoming famous OR my future husband has to be rolling in some Benjamins himself.

Yeah... we'll see if my wish actually comes true. But, other than that, San Diego was beautiful and cold which I loved since when I came back to Texas it was disgustingly hot (in comparison) and I wanted to go back immediately. I actually don't think I'd mind living there either, but we'll see if that ever happens either. Here's a few other pics to enjoy:

Me at the beach on Coronado

Some beautiful plants on the University of San Diego campus

Went to the Mormon Battalion historical site (which was way fun and interactive, definitely recommend if you're in the area)

My awesome family purposefully taking an awkward family photo

FOTW: Chris O'Dowd

2011-05-27T17:33:00.002-05:00

This week's FOTW was a last minute change. As you might have noticed, it's coming a little later in the week than normal. I didn't have a post already lined up and I was trying to think about who it should be. I had a few in mind that had come about because of recent conversations, but now I'm REALLY glad I didn't just put one of them up (they'll get on here eventually, I'm sure). Why?

Because I saw Bridesmaids last night, and not only did I laugh my butt off, but I fell in love.

First off, if you haven't seen Bridesmaids and you are a female between the ages of 20 and 70 and not morally opposed to Rated R movies, you need to go see this film. Not only is it hilarious but it is also touching and has a great message.

Second, the man who plays the main love interest is ADORABLE!!! The whole time I kept thinking, this main is cute, has an accent, and his character is just so dang precious! As soon as I came home, I looked him up on IMDB. Chris O'Dowd (the last picture is him in my favorite part in Bridesmaids):

Turns out, I've seen him before, only he had a full beard and played a bad guy (it was Gulliver's Travels, which I'm sure none of you saw. What can I say? I'm a fan of Jack Black.). He hasn't been in much stuff, at least nothing I've really seen, but he is cute. Not a hunk, but adorable nonetheless.

Now, it could be because of the character he plays in Bridesmaids, which I would like to add I was not the only one who fell in love with them in that theater because there were several women behind us that were ooh-ing and aww-ing right along with me. His character is so sweet and tries to do well and be supportive/encouraging to Kristen Wiig's character, and you just can't help but love him.

Also... did I mention he has an accent? Because he does... he's Irish!

So a little belated but well worth it, the FOTW is Chris O'Dowd.

FOTW: Lee Pace

2011-05-18T17:23:00.011-05:00

A while ago some friends told me that I should watch Pushing Daisies mainly because it was cute and funny and because it had Kristen Chenowith in it, who I think is pretty amazing. Then my mom watched it and told me the same thing. Then I discovered it was on Netflix Instant Streaming and got really excited!

Thanks to Netflix, Pushing Daisies has turned out to be the TV show I watch while I make my cakes and the decorations for them. I don't know why this is, but it is. And, since I made some decorations this last weekend, I of course watched a few episodes of this awesome show (honestly, you should watch it too because it's cute, and I'm so sad it got canceled) and was reminded of how cute, handsome, and adorable the main character is:

Lee Pace is cute, and what I love is he isn't like GORGEOUS like a hunk, but he is very cute and handsome. I'll be honest though, I am pretty much only basing this judgement on his appearance in Pushing Daisies. I looked him up on IMDB, and I really haven't seen anything else he's been in, or if he's been in it, I can't recall his character in it (When in Rome, for example). BUT, he is going to be in Breaking Dawn (meh) and The Hobbit (WOOT!).

However, after some research (aka googleing and IMDB bio reading), I discovered some things about him that make me like him even more:

He was born in Oklahoma (which is not as good as being born in TX, but it's close!)
He grew up in Houston (see he did finally get to Texas!!!)
The man was so good at acting he went to Julliard. JULLIARD PEOPLE!!!

So this week's FOTW is Lee Pace: mostly Texan, Julliard graduate, and all around handsome man.

The Glorious Weekend of Nothingness

2011-05-16T22:37:00.000-05:00

Ok, I lie, it wasn't really nothingness, but it was the first weekend in a long while that I didn't have to worry or procrastinate doing school work!

Yes, on Wednesday, I finished my first year of grad school. Pretty crazy huh?

I survived!

And now that I was done I got as much social interaction with others and doing things I like as I could:

Wednesday night I hung out with some girlfriends until much later than I should have since I had work the next day.
Thursday... I don't even remember what I did, which of course means it must have been awesome and chill (I probably just chilled at home with the fam, honestly... actually now that I think about it... I think I went shopping).
Friday I had off and got my hair did and then went to a party and then the movies with some friends.
Then on Saturday I went garage-saleing with my dad, little bro and sis (which was an adventure) and then I spent the rest of the day shopping and chatting it up with one of mi amiga mayor. :)
Sunday was... you know Sunday, but I did get to sleep in and then I spent the night making cupcake decorations for a baby shower this weekend.

I know... you're pretty jealous. Well, don't be... you could be one of these friends in the future because I'm only taking one online class this summer, so I'm going to live it up as best I can.

Who wants to party next?!

FOTW: James McAvoy

2011-05-11T18:01:00.036-05:00

If you know me but at all, you know that I have a great affinity for a man with an accent. This week's FOTW is definitely a man with an accent, more importantly, a hot man with an accent:

When I first saw James McAvoy, it was in The Chronicles of Narnia, where I'll admit I said to myself, that is one pretty cute half man, half goat:

But, I soon forgot about him, until I saw him in Penelope, which was cute. BUT they made him have an American accent, which I was not okay with.

And then it happened. I saw him in Becoming Jane, and I fell in love. The movie itself is not a super awesome movie, but James McAvoy is pretty good. And he does so well at flirting, and they have the best near kiss ever:

Then Atonement was awesome (we'll just ignore that Wanted movie that I was so close to seeing because of him but heard terrible things about so I never saw it), and I'm super excited to see him in The Conspirator (despite him having an American accent; thanks Annaleese for telling me about that movie!) AND X-Men: First Class as Professor X.

So, this week's FOTW is James McAvoy--blue eyes, dark hair, and a Scottish accent? I'll take it!

FOTW: Zachary Levi

2011-05-04T20:44:00.028-05:00

Clearly, I'm on a "nerd" trend as of late. Zachary Levi is best known for his role as Chuck Bartowski (aka Charles Carmichael) on the NBC TV show "Chuck" (which if you have not seen, you are missing out because the entire show is cute and charming, and full of heart, as well as love, action, and comedy :) ) (He also appeared on a TV show called "Less Than Perfect" also, but I unfortunately have not seen that show. Wonder if it's on Netflix...).

Anyway, I love Zach on "Chuck" because he is so cute and honest and nerdy. And, I'm pretty sure that his character is not far from his real-life personality (I follow him on Twitter; I can tell). As evidenced by the Star Trek pose in the slideshow, he is a HUGE nerd and he loves video games and has even created his own shirts/products/site: The Nerd Machine.

THEN it gets even better, the man can SING. Have you seen Tangled?? That's totally him singing as the voice of Flynn Rider. See:

Want to see more of him singing (because honestly who wouldn't)? No problem, click here, and here, and here.

Ahhh he's adorable. And I heart him.

This week's FOTW is Zachary Levi: He can sing, he's a nerd, he's gorgeous, he seems pretty down to Earth, and he's only 6 years older than me! (BONUS!)

Alone at the Movies

2011-04-30T23:29:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday I decided that I would go to the movies by myself, something I'm pretty sure I have never done in my life. Somehow I always think I'll hate it or I'll look like a loser if I go alone. That and I always want to talk about the movie afterwards, and how can I do that if I went by myself?

Well, I had a coupon for a movie that would expire on Thursday, so I had to use it on Wednesday, my only available day, and since my mom decided she'd rather study and take practice tests, I went alone.

It wasn't that bad.

It helped that I went and saw what turned out to be a rather cute/good movie (Water For Elephants). But, I got a rather good seat since it was just me (something I found out when I was getting seated to be on Jimmy Fallon in New York), and the ladies next to me were pretty nice.

The movie was surprisingly good. I haven't read the book (although it was on my long list of ones I'd get to someday), and with that said, I really liked the movie (not sure how it compares though). I love Reese Witherspoon, but I am not a huge fan of Robert Pattinson. BUT, someone must have taught him how to act because he wasn't half bad. And, I've decided he definitely looks way better when he has some color in him and doesn't look like he's in pain all the time.

So, I recommend going to see Water For Elephants, and being willing to go to the movies alone. It wasn't terrible, and I might do it again. Who knows?

FOTW: Sam Huntington

2011-04-27T21:49:00.039-05:00

I know some of you might be thinking, who the heck is Sam Huntington? I know, at first I could only recognize his face but I never really knew his name. But, once you see him, I'm pretty sure you'll know who I'm talking about:

Looks familiar, right? Still can't recall where you've seen him? Well, I'll help you out.

I first remember seeing him in a little film called Jungle 2 Jungle with Tim Allen and Martin Short:

He plays Mimi Siku!

He's also been in Sleepover (which although incredibly cheesy, I still think is adorable, but he's so cute and funny in it AND it's got Jane Lynch!!!) and in Superman Returns. He's been in various other things and TV shows (Veronica Mars, that ridiculous commercial turned TV series: Cavemen) including, most recently, Being Human on Syfy. In the TV series (which my mom discovered and told me about) he plays a werewolf who lives with a vampire and a ghost:

While I'll admit that his vampire counterpart is also very attractive, there is just something about Sam here that is just cute and kind of nerdy. His character is hilarious (more so than the vampire who always has to appear serious and brooding all the time). He just seems way more real to me, which makes me love him all the more (Team Jacob anyone?).

So this week's FOTW is Sam Huntington--a little nerdy but very funny and handsome!

I'm Super Excited for These

2011-04-26T13:59:00.001-05:00

When I was avoiding doing homework this last weekend, I started watching movie trailers on IMDB. I am really psyched to see the following (in no particular order):

X-Men First Class:

The Green Lantern:

Thor:

The Three Musketeers:

The Help:

Captain America:

And of course, HARRY POTTER!!!:

And I am slightly intrigued for the following:

Abduction:

Cowboys & Aliens:

Super 8:

Larry Crowne:

Two Words

2011-04-24T23:14:00.000-05:00

I'm tired.

The end of this semester could not come any faster. Friday I was so tired that the following things happened:

While in the shower that morning, I couldn't remember if I had actually washed my hair or not. (For the story click here)
I stared at a note I had written to myself the day before for 5 minutes and still didn't know what it meant. (For the note click here)
My flip flop broke and then I forgot my fob (what I need to get into work) in my car when I got back from lunch and was too tired and lazy to go back to get it. (For the tragic details click here)
I didn't feel like going out and doing anything (not to mention I had homework to do), so I stayed home while my family went to the mall and declined an invitation to watch a movie with friends.

Saturday was more of the same. I stayed home and worked on stuff while my family went out. Then I got so tired of staring at my computer that I refused to do anymore work and watched Easy A on Starz on Demand with my mom and little brother while the windy storm blew our lawn furniture across our backyard and cut the power to the cable several times (we had to restart and fast forward Easy A three times).

Today was pretty good. I did nothing productive until about 10pm because I thought watching Last Cake Standing and Food Network Challenge with my family was more important.

Basically, I'm tired of having to be anti-social, and I want to be done with school, but I'll settle for the semester being over at least.

19 more days till May 13th.

Flavor of the Week

2011-04-20T21:47:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine has a Tumblr in which every week she admits who her secret celebrity crush is and why she likes him. Because I love reading her Tumblr so much, I decided that I'd start a little admitting myself as to who my celebrity crushes are.

New series: Flavor of the Week

Every week (whenever I darn well feel like it), I'll admit to you who I'm having a secret celebrity crush on. I'm sure there'll be a few that are pretty obvious, but I'm hoping there'll be some obscure ones that you might not have thought of or even know who they are. :)

Because I want to start out the series strong, I've decided to pick someone with whom I've had a crush on since I was little and who is pretty much awesome. It will come as no surprise because I've already shared with you my undying love for this person in a previous post.

That's right, Robert Downey, Jr., or as I like to call him: RDJ. Behold the sexiness:

Yeah, he's had some rough years, but he is so much better now, has actually fixed his life, and clearly he doesn't give a crap what you say. AND that's what I love. He admits he had a problem that he was messed up and he can joke about it now that he's better. The man is hilarious as well as handsome and a great actor. I don't care how crappy the movie is, I'm going to see it because he's in it.

I heart him, and I always will.

And so RDJ is my FOTW forever. :)

Perhaps It's For The Best

2011-04-16T13:15:00.000-05:00

A few posts ago I mentioned how my awesome plan to graduate by May 2012 was going to have to be altered. Now that I've started thinking about it, I'm thinking it's probably okay that I wasn't able to take any classes in my program this summer. I am taking one class over the summer (a what-might-turn-boring-real-quick marketing class), and it's online! YAY!

Basically, I need a break. This semester has really got to me and I'm only 2 weeks away from the end (minus final projects/papers) and I am just dragging myself to the end. It's been fun and enlightening, yes, but it's also been a ton of work and reading and creativity. And I'm just ready to not have to be so philosophical and intellectual all the time. I love it, but sometimes you just need to read fluffy teen books. You know what I mean?

Anyway, I am ready to finish up some craft projects this summer, read my fill of cheesy fiction/fantasy books and watch all the ridiculous comedy movies I've been missing because of school. Never thought I'd say this, but Friday May 13th can't come soon enough. It'll be my lucky day. :)

I Clearly Have A Problem

2011-04-06T23:53:00.000-05:00

After today, it has become clear to me that while I am in my car I am subconsciously a bird killer. Let me explain.

I went with my mom to Panera, and when we came out, my mom found this in the front of my car:

I don't know how it got there or when it actually happened, because it's not like I examine the front of my car every time I get in or out of my car (despite what they teach you in driving school). But, somehow I hit a small defenseless bird with my car and it got stuck.

But, if you'll recall, this isn't the first time I accidentally hit a bird with my car.

So, obviously, I am an accidental murderer of birds.

It's freakin' terrible, and I'll be honest I was more grossed out than upset about the bird (so maybe something is wrong with me!?) although I was upset about the bird too. But it gets better, I had to drive with the visible guilt evident on my car for at least 6 miles while my mom taunted me saying that other people were probably wondering why I had a bird stuck on my car, that it got sucked in after it pooped on my windshield and the like.

The worst part, though, was when my mom and I arrived at our final destination and we asked the older gentleman who was present to please remove it for me. So, he got a stick and flicked it out. Then he started swishing the stick around and all these feathers came out. Yuck.

What stinks is I just had my car washed. Now it's got bird poo, feathers, guts, and blood on it, AKA the evidence of my latest killing. Birds beware, you don't know when I'll strike next!

My Brilliant Plan is Falling Apart

2011-03-31T21:35:00.001-05:00

I may have told some of you, but my plan for grad school was for me to be done by May 2012. The program is 33 hours long (including the final capstone class/project). I started school last August, and my goal was to finish with school as fast as I could. Here was my plan:

Take 6 credit hours (so not quite full-time for a grad student, that'd be 9 hours) for every semester except for one semester in which I'd have to brave 3 more credit hours and be a full-time student working full-time. I'd go without a break, meaning I'd take classes during the summer as well. But, it'd be okay because I'd graduate by May 2012.

That plan is now quickly falling apart.

Why? Because my program is not offering any classes this summer. I had not accounted for this, and now my plan is going to have to be this:

I'm taking one 3 hour elective class over the summer (hopefully I can get that approved since it's outside of my prescribed electives for my program), and then I'm taking a full-time student class load of 9 hours for both Fall and Spring semesters so that I can still graduate by May 2012.

In other words....

By this time next year, I might be dead.

Ok, I'm being dramatic, but I seriously am freaking out about how I'm going to be able to handle a full-time class load with working full-time. I could spread it out, but I can't tell you how bad I want to be done by next May. I have a count down already. I want... nay, NEED, to be done by then. I HAVE TO BE!!!!

Lots of people have done it right? I can do it. I CAN do it... I hope.

Crafts, Books, and My Imagination Running Away With Me

2011-03-20T23:00:00.000-05:00

Recently, I've been on this crafting kick and I've been reading/following on Tumblr a lot of crafty blogs and crafty-type people for inspiration. I don't know why I do this to myself because we all know how I am about finishing projects that I start. But, anyway, I came across this video that explains how to make a cool invisible shelf that makes it looks like your books are floating on the wall, like so:

Pretty cool, right? So I decided I desperately needed these shelves, because not only do they look pretty sweet, but it would help me get all the piles of books that I have laying on the ground off the floor. Since the video made it look pretty easy, I figured, what the hey. Now because I did not have any big heavy books that I was willing to sacrifice, I decided to go to Half Price Books (oh how I love thee) to find some in the clearance section or there abouts that looked pretty cool that I would not care about cutting into.

Then I came across these lovely beauties:

Awesome right? Perfect for looking nice on the wall since the spine is really all I care about. Well, if you've never heard of Half Price Books, it's a used bookstore that buys and sells (at half price) used books. It is a real treasure trove and I love going there because 1. it's cheap and 2. it's got books and 3. I always find some pretty cool/unique stuff. I love going there just to see what I can find when I have no particular book I'm looking for, like for this project, for example.

Anyway, as I started looking through these red books to see how much they were ($6) and which ones I wanted (I couldn't buy all of them at $6 each!), I noticed that many of them had an inscription on the inside cover (another thing I love about looking through used books). Then I noticed it was all the same inscription over the period of 3 years and for various holidays:

They are all for "Mom" from "Neal" and sometimes from "Neal and Sally." It dates back from the mom's birthday in 1969 to Valentine's Day of 1971. Out of the 12 books in the collection available at Half Price books, only 4 of them did not have an inscription. Despite the lack of an inscription on 4 of them, I feel it's safe to assume that it was an entire set once owned by "Mom" and given to her from "Neal" (and a few from "Sally"). But, here's where my imagination ran away with me.

As I started thinking more and more about the inscription and why this whole set would be at Half Price Books, it made me kind of sad. I'm guessing Neal was the son (I know pretty crazy guess, huh?), and this woman either loved book collections, Newsweek, art, or art museums. In the hopes to get a great gift that he could spread out in several gifts (I'm sure they were expensive, since I just saw that the set is going for $135 on eBay.), Neal decided to get his mom this set of books to show his mom all of these great places and the art contained inside them since most likely she would not be able to go to these far off exotic art museums.

I'm also guessing that Sally was a sister. My mom thought that perhaps she was Neal's wife or girlfriend, but because Sally only shows up in two inscriptions: that for Christmas 1969 and June 14, 1970, I think I'll stick with my sister assumption. I'm curious, however, about the June 14, 1970 inscription, since it's the only specific date in the set. Is that "Mom's" birthday? An anniversary of marriage? Death? Why is this date so significant? The details are too few that I can't venture a guess on this one.

And finally, why did this entire beautiful collection wind up at the Half Price Books in McKinney, TX. Sadly, I think that "Mom" is no longer with us, and as "Neal" was forced to go through all of the things that once belonged to his mother, he couldn't bare to keep this book collection. Maybe they were too heavy, a waste of space, he felt he'd never have a use for them, or maybe they reminded him too much of his mother and all of the occasions and memories he had of her receiving each book and her reaction as she opened the present. Knowing he and the books might be better off in a new home, he sold them, along with others, I'm sure, to Half Price books.

Where a few have just become my new bookshelves...

Spring Break--Evening Edition

2011-03-15T00:11:00.000-05:00

This week is my very first spring break in my entire college career, and sadly it means nothing. I always thought spring breaks were cool, party-filled, friend-filled extravaganzas... perhaps I was misinformed. Or maybe it's because I'm a lame-o and still have to work. Spring breaks just don't mean the same thing when you're working a full-time job without a whole lot of vacation time.

While at BYU, I never got a spring break (although I didn't complain about it... too much... because we got out at the end of April). Now that I have one... not only do I have to work, but I have tons of homework to do. Dang graduate degrees!

Anyway, despite the fact that I'm working all week (although I do get Friday off, so yay!), I'm trying to make the most of my evenings without class:

Tonight I went to the dollar theater with a few friends and saw The Fighter. While I wouldn't say it was the best movie, it made me heart Mark Wahlberg even more (yes, I'll admit... I have a secret crush on Marky Mark). Side note: If you go to see it in the hopes that you'll see Christian Bale and his handsome physique (which does not get me up in the morning, mind you), you will be sorely disappointed.

Tomorrow I'm planning on catching up on some homework (I got to one of these days) and some Hulu and Netflix.

Wednesday night I'm going with a few friends to see The Adjustment Bureau. I don't care what anyone says about it, I'm going solely to see Matt Damon (another secret crush of mine).

Thursday and Friday are still tentative, but I'm sure it'll be something cool and exciting.

Saturday I'll have book club and that is always fun, since I hear we are having tons of various cupcakes. :)

So, even though it's been 6 years since I've had a real full-fledged spring break, this year will just have to be the evening edition.

What Did I Just Do?

2011-02-22T00:22:00.000-06:00

For my 1st project for one of my EMAC classes this semester, we were required to write a text-based piece that was 900-1200 words that had something to do with the ideas or concepts we had read about in this specific book. It could be creative, it could be an essay, it could even be a data visualization or a word cloud, as long as we talked about it etc.

Well, I was nearing the due date (meaning, the night before my class), and I had been thinking about doing something creative. I always feel like sometimes (with certain subjects) it's easier to pull out something creative because I can write it up faster, it's more personal, and it usually gets a better grade because it's "creative." :) When I had first started thinking about the assignment, I decided that I'd probably write a short story kind of a thing because that'd be easy for me to write for one, and I'd get the word count, no problem. After reading the section of the book we were assigned, I had an idea on what I'd do, and I just started writing.

Sounds good, right?

Unfortunately, this one piece will get incorporated into a final portfolio at the end of the semester that includes 3 other projects, and they all have to have an overarching theme/point. Which means, I'll have to continue this story throughout the semester and reframe it through the different projects. Which means...

I just tricked myself into writing another novel/novella.

At least this one I'll be forced to finish, so I can get a good grade (and for my point to come across because this 1st assignment turned into just being more like an intro to the story and for the characters). But the whole time I kept thinking:

What did I just get myself into?

What I Love Today

2011-02-14T14:04:00.000-06:00

I love the weather today. After the crazy ice and snow and ridiculousness we had the last couple weeks, today is BE-A-U-TIFUL!

I love that today I had a relatively quiet work environment. :)

I love my friends who send me really funny emails, tweets, links, messages, photos, etc. that make me laugh so much and be grateful we became friends.

I love my family for the support that I don't give them enough credit for and the love that I pretend they don't give me even though I know they do.

I love my classes and professors and classmates even though sometimes I get stressed, or I feel completely inadequate while talking with them. But, despite that, I enjoy learning from them.

I love the freedoms and privileges I enjoy by being in this country, living during this time, and earning what I do.

I love knowing that there are people in this world and beyond that care about me, love me, and want me to be successful in this life. And I love knowing that I can know that through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I love the person I have become and the experiences I have gained to be that way. In other words, I love being me.

And I love that tomorrow all that Valentine's candy goes on sale!

He's back and better than ever!

2011-02-09T17:12:00.000-06:00

You are welcome.

I've made real progress...

2011-02-05T17:54:00.036-06:00

As some of you may have heard, the lovely state of Texas was confused by the powers that be for some other state like Michigan or Wisconsin, and us poor Texans didn't know what to do and pretty much shut down the state for four days. School was canceled, my work was canceled, most of the shops and stores either closed or were only open for a few hours, and the grocery store shelves were emptied of all staple foods. The local news was dominated by footage of icy road conditions, and much like police chases, we had continuous coverage of semi trucks jack-knifing on the icy highway along with breaking news of snow and ice falling from Cowboys stadium (you know because the Superbowl is going to be there tomorrow). We had rolling blackouts to conserve the energy and maintain the integrity of the power grid, and most of us holed up inside of our homes, only venturing out for the necessities, which of course led to mean cases of cabin fever. Some went days without seeing another human being.
Everyone had decided this was....

THE SNOWPOCALYPSE!!!!!!

For those in other states where snow and cold weather is the norm, I'm sure this was your reaction to us:

Well, I don't know about you guys that were stuck in the house, but I used my time to work on all those things I wrote about in my last post. I was super proud of myself because I mostly just wanted to sleep and watch TV (which I did plenty of, mind you). I edited 2 chapters of one of those books, worked on school and church stuff, and made real progress on my dad's stockings (I have now finished more than half the colors that are used!).

I do have some bad news though...

My mom's stocking is never going to be completed (at least not by me).

I had a friend who volunteered to help me get started on my mom's stocking, and even she was telling me I'm never going to have it done in time. It's a counted cross-stitch, and the pattern is a bit complicated, at least for the cross-stitch dabbler. Well, my mom can't go without a stocking, so I searched online for a new kit that was more like my dad's (read easier to do cause I don't have to count anything and just have to fill in the colors that are already painted on the material).

So, this is my mom's new stocking, currently on its way from Utah to Texas:

Hopefully this pattern will be a little easier and I can finish it within the year.

Yes, I've made some real progress all thanks to the SNOWPOCALYPSE!!!!!

2011--The Year of Finishing

2011-01-31T00:50:00.000-06:00

And no, I don't mean this year will be all about races, faux painting my walls, or getting new flooring.

This year I've decided that it will be the year that I finish all (or most) of the unfinished things/projects I have in my life. A long time ago I told you about how I always make a list every summer of things I'll try to finish, but I never end up completing anything (or very few). Well, as I started thinking about all the things on those lists and what my new year's resolutions should be, I decided that I should combine them because clearly, I have a problem.

My problem is I get really excited about something, or I decide to try something, and I have to do it right then. But, if it ends up taking too long or I lose interest, I tend to put it away or stop, thinking I'll pick it up later when I have more time. But of course, I never seem to have enough time, other things get in the way, there are more important things to do, I forget about it, etc. I have a pile of books that I've started and haven't finished, arts and craft projects that are half complete, and various other things that I've been meaning to get to but haven't started.

So in an attempt to make myself a better person, and one that finishes what she started, I've decided that I'll make a master list of the things I've been meaning to finish, and I want to get a majority of them completed by the end of the year. Some of them I HAVE to finish, others I'd like to finish, but I won't be too upset if I don't get to them. After all, I've got a lot of projects on this list (and if you'll notice, a few of the projects will seem familiar, since I've had them on other lists. See, I really am terrible at this).

And because I'm a big believer in making yourself accountable for your goals, I'm sharing these projects I need to finish with you, my blogger friends. Hopefully, you can bug me about getting them done, and as I complete and mark things off my list, I'll let you know. Well, here they are:

HAVE TO FINISH THIS YEAR

The 3 books I had agreed to edit for a few family friends and my grandfather. Why does this have to be done? Well... I'll be honest, all 3 authors are fairly old, and I want to get their manuscripts back to them before something terrible happens, if you know what I mean.
The Christmas stockings for my parents that I started in high school. It has been ridiculous how long it has been since I started these and have yet to finish. My parents ask me every year, and they've had the same stockings since they first got married. The waiting has got to end, and I have to finish them. By Christmas.
Finish writing one of the novels I've started. I have started about 3 novels, with ideas for a few more, and I have yet to actually sit down and finish writing them. Some require some research, which is why I've stopped, but the one I'm hoping to finish (I started it when I was a junior at BYU) is the furthest along and doesn't require any research (at least not yet).

LIKE TO FINISH THIS YEAR

My BYU graduation album/scrapbook. I have the pictures, so it's not like they are going to go anywhere, I'd just like to finish the scrapbook so I can put all the scrapbook crap away in a box.
The various books I've yet to finish. Again, I'm pretty good at remembering where I've left off on a book even if it's been awhile, but I'd like to be able to put away this pile of books by my nightstand. (I'm hoping audible.com and librivox.org will help me in this endeavor.) Also, I'm pretty sure my little sister would like me to finish the one I've borrowed from her (An Abundance of Katherines by John Green). She keeps bugging me about where I am in the book, and every time I tell her I'm in the same place since the last time she asked me, she gives me this exacerbated sigh and walks away.
My New York collage/poster. I had this bright idea to make a collage poster of all the bags and postcards I got while on my trip to New York City last year. I should probably actually do that since they are all sitting in a bag in my room.
Print out/make a book out of my blog. I like to use my blog as a journal, if you couldn't tell, and a while back when I abandoned my Xanga (yes, I'll admit, I totally had a Xanga that I updated fairly regularly), I made a word document of every Xanga post I had with the plan that I'd print it out and bind it so it'd be my journal for future generations to read and admire (read: mock and criticize). My friend Mary did this with her Xanga posts awhile back and I thought that was a good idea. Again, the word document ain't going no where (I have it saved in like 3 different places), but I'd like to actually print it out and finish it. This one should be fairly easy for me to accomplish this year. Yay!

I could probably come up with a few more if I think about it some more, but I feel like this is a pretty good list that I can actually accomplish this year. Let's hope I can do it. I don't want to go another year with my parent's stockings looking like this:

Dad's stocking: I realize it's hard to tell, but only the red and green and Santa's skin are done.

My mom's stocking: Haven't even started.

Life has been crazy

2011-01-24T21:20:00.000-06:00

I have been behind on a lot of things, blog reading, blog posting, school reading, etc. You know how when people get so much stimuli they just shut down? This month has brought so many changes in my life that I pretty much don't know what to do, so I watch TV or do something very unproductive because I don't actually want to do what I should be doing. I'm starting to get over it, but I just wanted to give a report on said changes, you know in case anyone was curious.

I got a new calling at church. I am now the Relief Society secretary. I'm excited and kind of overwhelmed since the previous secretary was pretty non-existant, so I'm having to basically start from scratch with everything and reorganize everything. I'm hoping things will calm down more and it won't be so much work once I get everything squared away. Let's hope I'm right.

I started my second semester of grad school. I'm still only taking two classes, but they are both going to be very intense, and I might die from the workload. One of them is Digital Textuality, which in all honesty, I'm still not sure what that even means and I'm on my 3rd week of class. It's one of those "we'll figure it out as we go along and decide as a class what we want the requirements to be" kinds of classes, and if you know me but at all you know that I DO NOT do well with those types of things. My other class is about media and democracy/government, and our professor basically told us that we'd spend half of the semester talking about Wikileaks. Again, if you know me but at all, you know I don't like talking about politics and government stuff because, well because it just does not interest me. Also, the workload for this class is a TON of reading, and the professor is one of those that if no one says anything 2 seconds after he asks a question he just calls on someone and puts them on the spot. Ugh. Lord, help me survive this semester. After this I'll just have 3 more to go. YAY!

Today they "restructured" my department at work. Because of the rumor mill, I kind of already knew it was coming and had a pretty good guess about what'd go down. But even despite knowing how it'd probably end up, it still was kind of a shock when it actually happened. It doesn't affect me too much except for the fact that I now have a new boss. We'll see how things go, but it doesn't make me any more excited or happy, I'll tell you that. I'm trying to have a positive outlook on it all (something I'm trying to work on and make a habit as one of my resolutions), but sometimes that is really tough to do.

I'm also starting to contemplate, well more than contemplate, moving out of my parent's house and into an apartment. It probably won't happen until August, but I have to start saving up money and go through things to keep, throw away, or store. I've lived with my parents for 3 and a half years now, and it's definitely time to skedaddle. But, in that 3 and half years, I've collected a lot of crap (not to mention the crap I had brought with me from school). So now I got to go through all of it. I was always planning on moving once I graduated, so I'm just moving out 6 months or so earlier.

Speaking of graduating, I should be graduating by May of 2012, if all goes according to plan (which it sure as heck better especially because of that restructuring I told you about), which means I have to start looking into what I can do with that degree and where I'd like to work/move to etc. Granted this is still aways away, but it's just one more thing I've been thinking about recently.

With all of that said, life has been crazy. Although, I'm not sure I'd like it boring, so I guess crazy is better than that. I might not have much of a social life or blog life this semester (although my school blog will have 2 posts from me every week!), but I will try my best. I hope everyone else is doing great and embracing the new year with excitement. Me? I'm already wanting it to be 2012.

My Dichotomous First Semester

2011-01-02T22:29:00.000-06:00

As I'm soon about to start my second semester of grad school next week, I thought I would report on how my first semester went. Let's just say I loved it and hated it. I took two classes, and one of them I absolutely despised and the other I absolutely adored.

The first class was my aesthetics of interactive art class. I know I've already told you a little about this class, but basically, by the end of the semester I was counting down the days till it was over. The teacher was unclear on what she actually wanted when it came to assignments, I only got to know a few students that seemed relatively nice and normal and the other ones either didn't talk, or if they did I didn't want to hear about them. The intellectual hipster dude really pissed me off at the end of the semester with his final presentation, and I was so glad to be done with that class. I wouldn't say that it was a hard class because it wasn't actually. It was fairly easy. Just some reading assignments, a few presentations to do and that was it. But, being in class was agonizing and a huge waste (most of the time I played angry birds on my phone or did reading for my other class). I really didn't learn much from the class, and what I did learn it was from the reading and research I did for the presentations. I came home after that class every time complaining about how I'd want it over already. I like school, but I have never hated a class so much in my life like I did this one. All I can say now is, I'm glad it's over, I'm never taking a class from that professor again (and luckily I don't have to since it was an elective class outside of my program); and if that hipster dude is in another of my classes (which I'm praying he's not), I'm slapping him. No, really, I mean it.

Then there's my other class. I absolutely LOVED it. It was the intro into my program (so that's a good sign that I liked it so much), and my professor was awesome. She was new to the University, but she did an amazing job and I learned so much in class and outside of class. There were a few classmates that bugged me, but I made so many other friends with everyone else that it was easy for me to ignore the few annoying ones. Have you ever sat in a class or been somewhere and you just felt that that was exactly where you needed to be? That's how I felt sitting in that class. After taking that class, I realized that even though I might not know what kind of job this degree will get me or where it will take me in my life, it was something I was supposed to be doing and that if I was dedicated enough to it, it would get worked out in the end.

Let's hope that this next semester is less of the former and more of the latter.

Christmas Memory 10: My Gift to Jesus

2010-12-25T20:17:00.004-06:00

My grandmother used to have this tradition that we used to do every year on Christmas eve when we were over at her house. She had a white gift box that she placed on the fireplace, and in it, it contained pieces of paper all written by us from the year (or two) before that was our gift to Jesus. We were supposed to write down something that we would do better in our lives that next year as our gift to Jesus. We would promise to pray more, read our scriptures more, be a nicer person, think of Christ more, etc.

The following year, we would open up the gift and read what we had written and decide whether or not we had done what we said we would, and then we would write a new one. This was a tradition that never really carried over, but I still like the idea of giving a birthday present to Jesus and having it be something I will do better the following year.

This year, my gift will be to be more Christlike through and through; read my scriptures more, pray more, and just be nicer and less judgmental of people. It'll be difficult, but it's for Jesus, so I'll try my best.

Happy Birthday Jesus, and Merry Christmas to all of you!

Christmas Memory 9: Secret Santa

2010-12-24T19:58:00.055-06:00

Every once in a while my family would pick two or three families to play Secret Santa for and drop off some goodies. When I was younger, I remember there was one time at one of the big family reunion Christmases that it was supposed to be my turn to take the basket and ding-dong ditch the house. I was too scared to go because I was afraid I'd be caught, so my aunt ended up going, and I still kind of regret not doing it.

Luckily I've had more opportunities to do it since then, like there was one time that for Young Women's we were supposed to each take turns doing one of the "12 days of Christmas" for a family in the ward. We had made all kind of stuff for them, ornaments, food, I even think we made them a tree skirt. That drop off was fun, until when I was running away I slipped in some mud and totally fell and got mud all over me.

But, one of my all time favorite secret santa dropoffs wasn't exactly for Christmas time. My freshman year at BYU, me and a few friends decided that we were going to do the "12 days before finals" for one of our favorite professors. He had had a party at his house, so we knew where he lived, and we had paid attention through the semester to see what he liked. We did crazy stuff, like we knew his favorite state was Massachusetts, so we got a bunch of things that MA was known for (Boston baked beans, the first post office-stamps, etc.). I even think we made him a mixed CD of some Christmas songs.

I was the get away car, since I was the only one in the group with a car, so I had to park down the street aways and duck down. At first, they got away with just running back to the car, but then our professor got hip to our arrival and he started coming out and looking for who it was, so they'd have to stay hidden. He would send his son out to go look around the house and investigate. Then he started making comments in class, like he was going to set the dogs out. No one else had any clue what he was talking about, but we did. We almost got caught several times, but we didn't let that stop us.

Towards the end of the 12 days, we had 11 of our classmates write thank you notes to him or things they appreciated about him etc, and then the last day we gave him a really nice framed photo/painting (or maybe it was a figurine, I forget now). The last day, he had left a note on his door for us. Telling us that they'd really like to know who was dropping off these presents because they wanted to thank us in person. They told us to knock and stay so that we could come inside and enjoy some hot chocolate etc. I think we did decide to stay, but when we knocked, no one came to the door. So, we figured it was for the best and just left.

He figured out it was us since we took another class from him the next semester and he asked us. He told us that he was very thankful for our kindness because he hadn't been doing very well and was considering retiring and not teaching anymore. But he said that because of our gifts, he realized he needed to keep teaching because he was making an impression after all.

Favorite Secret Santa moment ever.

Christmas Memory 8: Some I Don't Remember But Are Told About Every Year*

2010-12-23T18:11:00.008-06:00

One of these I do remember, but these other memories, my parents tell me about almost every year.

My mom told me that my very first Christmas I had gotten put in a pile of all the Christmas wrapping paper, and I got so excited that I started flinging it around and sucking on it. Here's a picture of proof:

When I was four, I had (apparently, because I have no recollection of it) really wanted a doll house. But, my mom found this girly Lego-type house and playground instead (because a dollhouse was too expensive). My parents always want everything set up from Santa, unwrapped, so that it's all cool and awesome when you first see it. My dad decided he wanted to put the house all together for me. So, my Uncle (this was one of the big family reunion Christmas years) told my dad that he should superglue it all together so he wouldn't have to build it again. So my parents and my aunt and uncle stayed up till 2 or 3 in the morning gluing and putting together this dollhouse (that I don't remember at all. Awesome, right? Totally worth it.).

Funny thing was, they had to break it apart to put it back in the tub so that we could go home with it. Hilarious.

The last one that I do remember was one year I really wanted this:

I absolutely loved that thing. It came with hot chocolate mix and tiny cups and stirrers. I made my dad put it together and then make me hot chocolate so many times, and I made him drink out of those tiny cups that he got really tired of it. But he did it anyway because he loves me. :)

*Note: Some assembly required.

Christmas Memory 7: A Christmas Gift I Remember

2010-12-22T18:11:00.000-06:00

I know after 24 years of life, I've gotten plenty of Christmas gifts. Some I still remember, some I vaguely remember, some I still have, some have been long forgotten or have been repurposed (I'm pretty sure several of the stuffed animals that my mom now has under one of our Christmas trees were previous Christmas gifts to me). But, after thinking about gifts I got when I was really little, there was one I remember all too well.

When I was three, I got this little gem:

I used to play with this thing all the time. And I mean ALL the time. I went around the house singing any tapes I could get my hands on. I'm pretty sure it was a Bryan Adams tape and a Wham tape (but my mom doesn't think so, but I remain convinced those are the tapes). I do know I had some kiddie tapes as well, including this:

In fact, I listened to that chipmunk tape so much, that my parents got super annoyed and threw it away and convinced me that it got lost.

Oh the lies of Christmas.

Christmas Memory 6: Gorky/Bernard The Elf

2010-12-21T16:12:00.004-06:00

Remember how I talked about how my family has the tradition of the elf bringing us pajamas every year? The reason for the tradition was mainly when we were younger, so it could get us to go to bed. So when Gorky (or after The Santa Clause came out, Bernard) brought our pajamas, we knew it was time for us to go to bed because Santa was on his way.

I always loved it because the door bell would ring and we would open the door to find a basket of pajamas for all of us. We would rush outside and look in the sky to see if we could see the reindeer or sleigh that the elf had borrowed.

I always thought it was great how Gorky/Bernard always knew our sizes and the kind of pajamas we wanted. Although as the elf and us got older, sometimes he'd forget what pants were for who (read my mom couldn't remember which pants she bought for which kid). My parents got tired of the elf for awhile and would always say that the elf had died in a freak accident and couldn't do it anymore. But we'd always say that Santa had plenty of other elves to help out, so we still got pajamas anyway. When I discovered the truth about Santa and therefore the elf, I got to be the elf a few times.

The ploy would be that my mom had the basket already to go and sitting in an inconspicuous garbage bag in the garage. Then, my dad would demand that I take the trash out. I would begrudgingly take the garbage outside to the trash can and also pick up the "other" garbage bag. After disposing of the evidence, I'd sneak around to the front of the house, set the basket down, ring the doorbell and run like hell to the back of the house again. My parents would always stall for me so I'd have some time to come back inside, and my younger siblings would all ask if I saw the elf since I was outside. I'd make a big show about how I saw something so that's why I had run back in (since I was breathing heavy from ding-dong ditching my own house). They'd tell me I missed it and he totally brought pajamas while I was taking the trash out, and I'd act sad that I hadn't seen anything.

Once my other siblings discovered who the real elf and Santa was we each had to take turns being the elf. The last year when Marin found out, she got to be the Elf and we had to pretend because she hadn't gotten a turn. Now that we all know, my mom just pulls the pajamas out of her closet and doles them out to us (still confusing whose pants are for who). Ahh the joys of pajamas from Bernard the Christmas Pajama Elf.

Christmas Memory 5: Why We Have a Fake Tree

2010-12-20T15:56:00.001-06:00

So according to my mom, when I was really little we used to have a real tree every year. But, then my parents discovered how much neater and cheaper a fake tree was, and for as long as I can remember we've always had a fake tree. But, there was one year when we decided to venture into the long forgotten world of a real tree.

I could be wrong, but I think we got inspired when we went to have Thanksgiving in Chicago with my Aunt and Uncle and we went with them to chop down their Christmas tree (I was amazed you could even do that. I always thought that was only in movies like Christmas Vacation). We decided that we wanted a real Christmas tree too, so the next year we drove out somewhere in Nowhereville, Texas to a giant Christmas tree lot to pick out a tree. We went the already cut route, and took it home with us.

Our family always decorates the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. So, that's when we got the tree and decorated it. It looked beautiful with the ornaments and lights. My mom even let my dad put tinsel on it (which she hates cause it's messy, but that's what my dad's family always did on their tree), so it made it all shiny and sparkly. The nice pine scent was in the air, and it wasn't because my mom had lit a pine-scented candle. The picture perfect, real-life Christmas tree.

The problem was that we had to keep the tree alive till Christmas. Turns out that it was a huge problem.

About a week and a half before Christmas, that beautiful, picture-perfect real-life Christmas tree was looking like a decrepit, mug-shot, dead as a doornail, pathetic Christmas tree. A ton of the needles had already fallen off, all of the branches were drooping to the ground, causing many of the ornaments to just fall off. It was pretty sad. So, we took all of the ornaments and lights off and threw the tree in the backyard and put up the fake one.

And that's why my family has always had a fake tree ever since.

Christmas Memory 4: Lights

2010-12-19T09:53:00.005-06:00

So, as I mentioned in my previous Christmas memory, my family always goes to look at lights. I feel like this will be something that we'll always do no matter how old we are. Although, as of late we've grown cranky and impatient in our old age and have gone earlier in December so we could avoid the crowds. But there have been specific houses and lights that I remember loving to go see:

When I was younger we used to go to my grandparents' house in El Paso every other year for Christmas (it essentially was our family reunion). And every time we went down there, on Christmas Eve, we would go to this one neighborhood that would be lit up. So many people would come see it, that they made you park outside the neighborhood and walk around inside; no cars allowed. For some reason, I like walking; you can appreciate the lights for a longer amount of time and not worry about hitting the car in front of you while you are looking at them. Anyway, there was one house I loved because they made it look like the top of their Christmas tree had to stick out of the top of the roof. Favorite house, every time.

When my family moved to Plano, we discovered this neighborhood off of Legacy, called Deerfield. At the time, it was a new developing neighborhood and to try to get people to buy the houses, they decided to have everyone put up Christmas lights to get people to come. It's become a tradition ever since, and nowadays it's just kind of gotten annoying because they have carriages, limos, and buses, not to mention all the regular cars that come. Don't ever go to Deerfield on Christmas Eve in a car. You'll get stuck and be in that neighborhood for hours. Anyway, there's a few houses that I love seeing in Deerfield: there's one house that has a big window above the door with several wooden archways inside that makes it look like a castle. (This one has nothing to do with lights.) The other house is one that every year they make a snowman, a Santa, and a toy soldier all of balloons. I don't know how they do it or keep them together or if they have to redo it because the air goes out of the balloons, but I love it, every time. There's a new house in recent years that has been featured on the national news that has over a million lights (or some ridiculous number like that) and it's all set to music. It's very bright and cool, but I still like the balloons.

The last house I used to love going to actually doesn't get decorated anymore. My parents discovered it, I forget when, but we started going every year. But, about 5 years ago or so, the owners of the house decided they were getting too old to put everything up (they started in October every year taking everything out and setting it up) and stopped. But, this one house was on a corner, and every square inch of their front yard would be covered in display cases and lawn displays and lights. They had a case of penguins, peanuts characters, a flipping TMNT, some Looney Tunes characters, several Santas, angels, a few nativities, and tons of other things. This was one you definitely had to get out of the car and walk around because it would be decorated all the way up the walkway. It was intense. I loved that house. I'm just glad it wasn't mine.

Christmas Memory 3: Traditions

2010-12-14T15:17:00.000-06:00

There are certain traditions that my family does every Christmas Eve (in no particular order):

Our big Christmas dinner where we have steak and shrimp and lobster and/or something else equally delicious.
We read the Christmas story (you know the important one about Jesus).
We go out and drive around to look at Christmas lights.
We open one present on Christmas eve, which for me always ends up being the card one of my grandparents sent because I want to save the cool stuff for Christmas day.
My dad reads The Polar Express, and it has to be my dad, and he has to ring a bell when he's done. (If you've read it, you understand why).
We all know when it's time to go to bed because Santa's elf comes and brings us pajamas! (Although this one we've kind of altered since we know the truth, but this tradition will be better explained in a future Christmas Memory post).

And the thing with these traditions is that if we don't do these I get upset. I don't know why, but I do. Last year we went to another family's house for dessert on Christmas eve and while it was fun, I didn't want to be there that long because we had to get home to do all of the traditional stuff! Yeah, I know. I'm weird.

But one of my favorite traditions is singing Christmas carols, but not just any Christmas carol. It has to be The Twelve Days of Christmas. I think this is one my grandparents started doing, and I like it so much that I make my family keep doing it every year. (It's just not Christmas unless we sing it.) But, it's more than just singing. There are actions that go with all of the verses, and you go faster and faster as you go along so by the time you get to the 12th day, you're ready to sit down because you're tired and out of breath. I remember when I was younger singing it at my grandparents' house and watching my dad, uncle, and grandfather all constantly pulling up their pants as they performed the song. What's hilarious is we always forget all of the verses every year, so we're always stopping and trying to remember.

This one was recorded a few years ago, but here's the last verse to give you an idea:

Christmas Memory 2: A Little Humor For the Holidays

2010-12-10T01:22:00.000-06:00

Being the oldest child, I was the first to find out the truth about Santa Clause, but I also got to keep up the charade the longest for my siblings. Sometimes it was fun, getting to help set out my siblings presents, eating a few of Santa's cookies, and filling the stockings while they had to go to bed (although, my parents always made me go to bed before they put out my gifts so it'd still be a surprise for me too).
Other times it was hilarious:

One year my brother, Cameron, was about 9 or 10 years old and he desperately wanted a scooter. But not just any scooter, a Razor scooter. It had to be a Razor and it had to have blue wheels. He had been bugging my parents for one and had told Santa in person and in letter form exactly what he wanted.

Being the dutiful loving parents that they are, my mom and dad bought Cameron a scooter from "Santa". Santa's gifts are always left unwrapped and are just placed in front of the tree. So as I helped my parents put out Santa's presents (except for mine) on Christmas eve, I noticed that there was no Razor scooter. Instead there was this:

A finger scooter.

Don't worry, the real Razor scooter was there hidden in the backyard, but Cameron didn't know that. I thought it was hilarious, but I couldn't wait to see the look on Cameron's face Christmas morning.

I wish I had taken a picture. His reaction was so funny, I about died of laughter. He held it up with this disgusted look on his face, clearly upset that Santa did not understand his request. We tried to convince him. "It's a scooter!" we all told him. "That's what you asked for, right?" "Maybe you should have been more specific." He didn't know whether to be sad or angry, so he just kind of was shocked. Then he got mad. Especially since we were all laughing hysterically.

Before it went on too long, my dad pulled out the real scooter from the backyard, and Cameron's faith in Santa was restored and he was happy again. I still look back at this memory and laugh.

That Santa has a great sense of humor.

Christmas Memory 1: Light Bulb Hell

2010-12-06T10:31:00.000-06:00

In the period of 3 days over Thanksgiving (not counting the holiday), my family (either one or two or all of us) made a trip to Target 8 times. Six of those times were Christmas light bulb related. Here’s why:

The day after Thanksgiving is when my mom makes my dad go up to the attic and drag down all of the Christmas decorations: lights, trees, nativities, Santas, snowflakes, advent calendars and all. Once my dad brings everything down, him and my brother(s) start putting up the outside lights, while my mom, sister, and I put up the Christmas trees and various other décor inside.

Well, when my dad and brother started putting up the outside lights, several lights were out on the icicle lights. So, my dad and brother ran to Target to get some more light bulbs, thinking that it’d be cheaper to just replace the light bulbs than buying all new icicle lights (because the kind of icicle lights we have aren’t made any more). Oh how wrong he was….

As my dad started replacing the light bulbs in the outside lights, my mom and I proceeded to put up our 9-ft Christmas tree, only to discover that the entire top part of the pre-lit tree was out. My mom and I figured it wasn’t that many at the top, so we could replace the bulbs. So, we started pulling them out and noticing that it never seemed to end. So we made another trip to Target to get more replacement lights (since we ran out of the bulbs that they came with).

But, Target, it seems, doesn’t sell just bulbs, so we had to buy strands of mini lights and take the bulbs out of those strands to then turn around and put them in the strand that was out. My mom replaced all of those bulbs on the top of the tree… guess what. Still didn’t work. So she just wrapped a separate strand around the tree and you couldn’t even tell. Then… the bottom of the tree went out. So we had to get another strand to wrap around the bottom.

Then my dad realized there were more lights that were out in the icicles, so he bought a light bulb checker and more strands of lights at Target. My dad, my brother, and I spent all night checking every freaking bulb in those icicle lights (5 or 6 strands… I can’t remember now; it’s all a blinding blur). After sustaining some injuries, we got all of them to work and we called it a night.

The next morning my dad finished up checking the bulbs, made sure they all worked, and then put them all up on the house. And then after putting them all up and plugging them all in, he discovered a short in the wire because every third strand of icicle lights was out. That’s when we decided to go back to Target to get all new icicle lights. Came home and put those up, and it would appear that everything was again right with the world.

Until my mom started putting up our 7-ft, family Christmas tree… The whole middle section of that tree was out. We knew by now that it would not be worth replacing the bulbs (because the bulbs on this tree were shaped differently and so we wouldn’t be able to just buy more). So, we had to go back to Target to buy more strands of lights.

I might be missing another trip to Target somewhere in there because we went so many times that I honestly can’t even remember the individual trips. It just seems like we were just there all day. We will more than likely be buying a new tree or two at the after-Christmas sales for next year. Let’s hope this light bulb hell won’t happen again.

Oh, and guess what… yesterday, a middle section of the 9-ft tree went out. Luckily we had an extra strand of lights from a previous trip to Target, so my mom wrapped that around the tree. If another part goes out, we’re celebrating Christmas in darkness, ghetto tree and all.

Tis the Season

2010-12-02T23:15:00.002-06:00

While it might seem like I'm a huge fan of Thanksgiving (not that I'm not), I absolutely love Christmas (there's just a time and place for it without the need to have it encroach upon other holidays). Because the past few years I've felt like I really didn't get into the Christmas spirit much or too late, I've decided to try something to get me in the mood.

I've helped put up Christmas decorations in my house, I've started buying various gifts and started thinking about others, and I've already bought stamps for my Christmas cards. (Side note: I'm totally going to send out the most awesome newsletters to go with the cards. So, hope you get one because it's going to be talked about for years to come and everyone will try to model their own after my super fantastic one. I'm just sayin'.) But here's what's going to help me even more:

Throughout the next few weeks leading up to Christmas, I'm going to blog about my favorite Christmas memories. I would say I'd do one everyday till the 25th, but I know I wouldn't be able to keep it up, and since it's already the 2nd I'll have missed a day already. So, instead of being super ambitious, I'm going to try to do a couple (or more if I feel inspired) every week. Some will be funny, some hilarious, some short, some long, and some just really sweet and spiritual. It will just depend on what I remember and what mood I am in.

I'll title the series "Christmas Memories" and then a number/subtitle so you can keep them separate from my other blog posts on general things (I've already got a couple in the works, one being my summary of my first semester of grad school.). I would start tonight, but I'm super tired and the one I want to start off with (this year's) is kind of a long, involved, but humorous, story that I'm just not ready to type up at the moment.

So, with that said, be on the lookout for my "Christmas Memories" posts. The first one I'm hoping to type up by this weekend. Woot Christmas!

You ever have one of those days...

2010-12-01T01:41:00.000-06:00

When one problem comes after another and it seems like it won't end and you won't get anything done because you keep having to deal with more things that keep cropping up and so you never finish what you're working on, and you can't focus because you are freaking out about deadlines and pleasing people and making sure you're doing what you're supposed to and that you're counting down the hours until you go home, only to realize that you have more crap waiting for you to do at home, which makes you think that maybe the stuff you're dealing with at the moment isn't actually as bad as you think because at least you're not having to deal with these other things only instead you just end up worrying about it all at the same time so you really don't accomplish or complete anything because you are too scattered and stressed to focus on one thing and you just want the day to be over with even though it seems to drag on and on (much like this sentence) and you just want to be at home in bed on a weekend because it means you've finished all those things you are currently freaking out about and are worry free?

Yeah, I have had that kind of day two days in a row (more so on Tuesday) now. If it happens for a third day in a row, I'm taking a mental health day or week and just staying in bed.

Can you tell I just want it to be Christmas break already?

My Major Award

2010-11-20T23:36:00.015-06:00

That's right. I won something. It is a rare occurrence in my life (although I'd be lying if I said I'd never won anything ever because that's not true), but occasionally I am lucky enough to win some pretty cool things. Well, just recently I won a recipe book!

I won it from my friend Ashley who has an awesome foodie/cooking blog! She has some great stuff on there! I made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies from a recipe she posted, and they were delicious! I'm so excited to use my Rachel Ray cookbook that I won! Thanks Ashley!

Thanksgiving Has Officially Secured A Place in My Heart

2010-11-04T23:31:00.000-05:00

No, not the actual eating and making of meals, but the idea of dedicating a day in which to be grateful for everything and everyone that is in our life. Too often we forget or take for granted all the good things in our life because we concentrate so much on our problems, troubles, and worries. We get too caught up in the day to day monotony of our existence that we don't stop and think about how we are actually alive today and breathing or how we just witnessed a beautiful sunset and how we can see it.

I realize it's easy to go about our business because if we stopped to reflect on all the wonderful things in our life, we wouldn't get anything accomplished and turn into a hippy without a job or home in which to be thankful for. I get it. It makes sense. But that's my point. If every once in a while we take a moment to appreciate what we have, all of the other crappy moments in our life don't seem quite as crappy: In comes Thanksgiving.

I think we all know how I feel about the overlooking of this great American holiday. You don't? Well check out this post and this one. Since over the years I've become more passionate about the world recognizing this holiday, I decided to do something about it in my small little way. What is it, you ask?

I'm sending Thanksgiving cards.

That's right. There is a tiny section of cards at Target that are just for Thanksgiving, and as I passed them the other day, I decided, "Why not?" and I totally bought them. Yes, yes I did.

So if you are one of the rare few (I only bought 12) that receives one of these Thanksgiving cards it means I care about you and am very grateful to have you in my life. For those that don't receive one, don't worry. I still love you and am grateful you are in my life, I just didn't have enough money to buy a bunch of cards and stamps to mail one to everyone I'm thankful for.

With that said, be thinking about what your blessings are to prepare for the upcoming holiday. I hope your lists are super long by the time the turkey comes out of the oven. And, if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you at least take a day sometime soon to contemplate everything in your life that you are grateful for. I promise, it really changes your attitude and helps, pardon the cliche, turn your frown upside down.

And yes, Kraft counts.

Threadless Threads Run Deep

2010-10-24T23:54:00.001-05:00

Most of you know that my love for Threadless shirts runs deep. It was a love affair that started back in college, and it has continued ever since. I first noticed a guy in my Spanish class wearing what I thought was a rather amusing shirt of two squirrels:

I asked him where he got it, and he directed me to the now beloved Threadless website. I took a gander at a few, but I was a poor college student and couldn't afford to buy humorous shirts, so I forgot about it. It wasn't until later that semester when another friend posted on her blog about the upcoming Threadless Holiday sale that I decided, why not?, and bought my first Threadless shirt:

It didn't fit quite right (which is probably why most of you have never seen me wear it), but I didn't let that stop me. I bought others, and now I have so many that I probably have enough to wear a different one every day for a month.

Well... do I? A few friends got me thinking about how many I actually have. So, let's count and see. Here are all the Threadless shirts I own in no particular order (besides the aforementioned "Vegetarians Are Eating the Rainforest" one):

This has seen better days and has some bleach stains, which is why I don't wear it too much.

This one I recently acquired in hoodie form.

It's not pictured, but at the bottom on the inside of the shirt there are 4 other little monsters (which is what the arrow is pointing to).

Another one that doesn't fit quite right, so I don't wear it much.

Ok, I think that's all of them. Counting the vegetarians one, I own 18 Threadless shirts (including 1 hoodie). So not enough for a month, but 10 shirts away from all of February on a non-leap year. A few I don't wear very much, but I still love them all the same. There have been others that I've wanted but they have been sold out and have yet to be reprinted, and there are others that I have bought for friends and family, too. I've even been tempted to buy a few prints, but at the moment I have nowhere to put them, so I've resisted.

But, clearly:

My Personal Aesthetics

2010-10-17T23:12:00.002-05:00

Ok, so remember last post how I said I've been working on this school project and I was stressing and worried I might die? Well, I finally finished it (well at least the main part of it; I still have to write the one-page paper that goes with it). It took me 3 days, but it is complete. So, I thought I'd share. :)

The point of the project is to show a visual representation of my personal aesthetics, also incorporating quotes from the philosophers we've studied previously that support our definition of aesthetics. Let's see if you can guess what my definition is by watching the video:

What did y'all think? Believe me, it was hard for me to cut out and down some of these clips. I had many more video clips, like from Mother, Dead Poets' Society, and Bright Star and various other film favorites (when I had the raw footage of everything I wanted to include all together, it was 45 min. long). But, our teacher said it should be about 5 minutes, and this is 6:20 minutes. (I'm hoping she won't notice.)

If you couldn't tell from the video, what I see as beautiful is really anything that invokes or conveys an emotion, whether that's through music, color, landscape, or reality. The main thing is that I value things that portray reality and make me think or contemplate what it is I'm viewing and why I'm feeling the way that I am.

I just hope my teacher realizes that and gives me a good grade. I'm already having difficulties with this class/teacher (another blog post for another, less stressful time), so we'll see what happens.

Just a Quick One

2010-10-11T00:20:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to post something real quick, mainly cause I'm avoiding doing homework... I mean I'm taking a break. :) I am alive, and if I can get past the 20th, I'll be doing much better stress-wise. I feel like I haven't done anything fun for a long time, which is why I'm really looking forward to this upcoming weekend. On Friday I get to hang out with my friends and watch Young Frankenstein (which I love), and then on Saturday we're going to the State Fair of Texas!

These last few weeks/weekends I've been cooped up in my house doing homework and reading and writing up stuff for school, and I have had little to no social interaction with anyone outside of school and work. Even though I'm trying to not think about the fact that this fun-filled weekend is the weekend before a presentation/project is due in both of my classes, I'm really hoping to just relax and not let that fact keep me from enjoying myself. Let's hope I can do it.

My Favorite Thing About School

2010-10-03T23:32:00.000-05:00

I don't know if you know this, but my favorite thing about school is when I learn something in one class and can form a connection from it to another class or to real life. I know it's super nerdy of me to say, but it really is something I love and I've missed it. When I was getting my undergrad, I loved being able to connect something I learned in one class to something I was learning in another (especially if it was within the same time period). I think it all goes back to when I was little:

When I was in preschool/daycare, as soon as I came home I would watch Sesame Street and then Batman (dun na nuna nuna nuna duna nuna nuna nuna BATMAN!). I thought it was the coolest thing ever when the letter they learned on Sesame Street was the same letter I learned at preschool! It didn't happen all the time, but when it did, I got so excited. I would shout out that I learned that letter too! Yeah... way cool.

Now, that I'm back in school again and really my classes are about making connections to what we are reading and studying about to what's going on in the real world, it's a little easier for me to recognize those connections. I still get excited though. It's like a brief little happy moment when I realize that I can relate something in the theory I'm reading to what happened to me last week or to a show I watched.

Want to see what I mean? Well, because I worked so dang hard on it and if you haven't done so already, you should check out my school blog post. It's all about the connections I recently had between my reading and a couple TV shows and movies.

Anyway... hope everyone is excited for the fall. I'm just hoping I won't die by the end of it. Let's hope these brief little happy moments can sustain me.

Ok, I Get It--From the Mouth of Babes

2010-09-26T01:09:00.000-05:00

So lately I've been receiving the same message in everything I've read or heard. What is it? The importance of being yourself and also accepting others as themselves in turn. Last week I had finished reading a book that talked about this very thing, and then last Sunday at church, one of the speakers gave an excellent talk about loving yourself and loving others. Then, I read my little sister's blog about "Being us." (Side note: she also wrote another post right after that about sisters. It's cute and about me, and apparently without me she'd die. Who knew?)

Marin's post is a little random (very fitting since that's her blog title), but my favorite lines are the following:
"We think that if we have the cutest clothes or we are skinny and rich that we will be excepted (sic). But that is technically untrue. If we just embrace our differences instead of ignoring them we would be us, we would like our selves and if anyone says differently then they have a problem with themselves."

"We try to avoid people who aren't like us but we aren't any different."

"What is the thing you like most about you? mine would be my flaws because with out them I'm not me."

Clearly, someone up there is trying to get it through my thick brain that I need to be more accepting of myself and others. Ok! I get it. I'll try.

My Brain Hurts--Part 2 of 2

2010-09-07T22:23:00.017-05:00

Ok, now the second reason why my brain hurts: school. Granted, I'm only taking 2 classes, but after this last week I feel like I'm taking 5 for all the thinking I've had to do. After 2 years of not being in school, my brain's not used to it, and this last week it was in shock. First... let's talk about my classes.

My first class on Monday nights is my Aesthetics of Interactive Arts class. Basically it means were talking about what makes certain things interactive, what makes them art, and what makes them beautiful or not etc. The first class was pretty boring. We went over the syllabus and then we all introduced ourselves. It's supposed to be a mostly discussion based class in which most of our grade comes from several presentations we'll be giving throughout the semester. The thing is, we meet in a computer lab. It's pretty hard to have a discussion when half the class you can't see because there are monitors blocking your view. The other thing is that half of the people in my class are nerdy, quiet, mostly Asian people that want to be video game designers. Discussions are going to be AWESOME.

I do have to tell you though, there was this one guy in the class that I had to keep myself from laughing at when he was introducing himself. He came off as one of those "intellectual, hipster" types of guys only it seemed like it was really all an act. He said that he was "really into photography and painting" and that he "loves digital painting because you could be in Arkansas but people all over the world could see your art because it was digital and online unlike painting a canvas where only a few people could see it." Then our teacher asked him what he was planning to do after he got his degree (a Master's mind you), and he replied, "Oh, I don't know. I guess I'll go to New York and just try to hawk my paintings and photographs and just see what happens." Really? You're getting your Master's so you can go to NYC and hawk paintings? You don't need a Master's to do that. What's stopping you, buddy? Go do it now. Please.

Anyway, our second class was ridiculous because our teacher wanted to discuss what could be called interactive and it turned into a debate between a few students. I don't want to imply anything but it was the older adults in the class who were arguing that viewing a painting was interactive because you came away affected after viewing, but then the couple of young nerdy guys (one in particular actually) were arguing that the painting isn't changed and therefore it could not be considered interactive because interactive requires an exchange between two systems blah blah blah. There was one point where I leaned back in my seat and made a face of exasperation which the 3 or 4 people around me laughed at but then reciprocated that they too were tired of listening to it. Yeah... it was a fun class. Not. I'm glad it was Labor Day cause we didn't have class. But... the next time we meet our presentations are due. Anyone know anything about Suzanne Langer?

My next class meets on Wednesdays, and it's my Intro to Emerging Media and Communications. Now this one I'm a little more excited about, which is good since it's the program I'm going into. The teacher seems way cool and everyone in the class seems a little more communicative and easier to get along with. There are more people that have a communications background, and I don't feel quite as dumb around these people like I did with the video game programmers in my other class. Aside from a few that were rather self-promoting the first class (which I found a little more than annoying), I think it's going to be a good class. The first class we did the usual, syllabus, introductions, and then we read an article to kind of introduce the class. (To see my reaction to the article, check out my school blog.)

The second class, however, we were required to read Heidegger's and Marcuse's theories on technology and man and society. It was some pretty dense and confusing theories, and after reading it (some parts after several rereadings) I don't think I understood it at all. I came to class confused, and as it turns out, I was not alone. The rest of my classmates were pretty confused too. What made it great was that our professor, after we had expressed our confusion, said that when she was reading it she wondered why she had even assigned it. Awesome. Anyway, we kind of worked through it together using a board and diagramming the theory etc. After it was all said and done, my brain was hurting from doing all that thinking and analyzing what the heck these philosophers meant in their highfalutin language.

Hopefully my classes will get easier, I doubt it, but I can hope. WOOT GRAD SCHOOL!

My Brain Hurts--Part 1 of 2

2010-09-02T23:35:00.002-05:00

I've been meaning to update y'all about school, but these last couple weeks have been crazy and ridiculous and basically my brain has been hurting. Want to know why? Well... let's start at the top:

Let's first separate the two reasons why my brain has been hurting. One deals with class, the other deals with the crappy bureaucracy and regulations that is the UTD financial aid/bursar's office. Part 1 is the latter...

Thinking that my tuition should already be taken care of because I had accepted various loans and grants from Financial Aid, I didn't really worry about it too much until I noticed that my account a few days after the money was supposed to be disbursed wasn't showing up. I thought it was odd but thought... well maybe it just takes awhile to register. UTD has been I found out pretty slow in everything it does.

But, by Monday (the 3rd day of classes) it was still not showing up and I started worrying. I called the financial aid office on Monday and the machine said that wait times on the phone would take a long time so I should email them because it'd be faster. Ok, I thought, so I did. (Just so you know, as of today, I have yet to receive an email back and I sent both the general financial aid office address and the counselor over my part of the alphabet an email 2 and a half weeks ago.) Figuring that their machine was lying to me, I decided I would call them and just suffer through the wait time. I called them as I left work on Tuesday and as I pulled up to my house (a half hour later) they answered.

Apparently it was good that I called. They were holding my funds because I was registered as a full-time student, but I wasn't taking enough hours to be a full-time student. The lady then said it can be easily fixed I just have to send them an "Hours Adjustment" form, and once they process it, the money will go through. Ok, I thought, easy fix, no problem. As soon as I hung up the phone with her I printed out the form (I won't go into how ridiculous I thought it all was) and faxed it to them. Then on Thursday (when still nothing was showing up), I thought, I should call them just to make sure they got my fax.

So again, I called on Thursday as I left work. This time after 40 min. and I had changed clothes and was getting ready to head to the gym, they answered. Guess what they said? They didn't receive my fax. The chick couldn't find it. Ok fine, I will fax it again on a real life fax machine (I had used the computer before), and the lady on the phone assured me that my form would be processed before the deadline to pay (the following Friday).

Friday morning I sent a fax, this time from an actual machine at work and decided I should call them right after I send it just to make sure. Yeah... on Fridays, their office doesn't open till 1pm. So, I waited around till a little after 1pm to call them up to make sure they got a fax. This time I was on hold for 47 minutes before someone answered, and... surprise, surprise, this chick tells me again that they didn't receive the fax. By this point I'm more than angry since I've sent this form twice already and both times it hadn't gotten received. Realizing my frustration the girl tells me to scan it in and email it directly to her.

Well either I missed a zero in her email or she missed one, but I had a heck of a time emailing it to her. But, with the help of a coworker and the student directory, I finally got the right email and sent her my stupid form. She emails me back saying she received it and says that it'll take 5 to 7 business days to process. Ummm... it better be processed by Sept. 3rd since that's the freakin' deadline. I of course emailed her a similar statement in a nicer way than that, and she responds that she can't guarantee it and that I should seek out alternative payment like paying out of pocket, setting up a payment plan, or getting an emergency tuition note from the school.

After a couple days of cooling off because I was so mad, on Sunday I decide, just to be on the safe side, I'll go ahead and get the emergency loan from the school and figured, it would get paid off when the financial aid money came in so it's not like I needed to really worry about paying it.

On Monday I check my account... my form got processed and my loan money has gone through. Except, it still says I owe the stupid emergency loan. I take a closer look at my account and they have halved all of my loans and grants that I had been awarded (which you then have to halve again for each semester). The problem is I had only accepted a little bit of one of the loans anyway cause I didn't need all of it, but they halved what I had accepted not what I had been awarded.

This is when I broke down and called my dad crying. My dad told me he'd go with me to the financial aid office to get everything straightened out the next day. I hung up, drove to class, and sat in my car and cried some more. Mainly because I was tired of dealing with this financial aid crap and worrying about it, but then it turned into me thinking maybe I wasn't cut out for a Master's if I couldn't even handle dealing with the financial aid crap. Not one of my finest moments.

On Tuesday morning, my dad came with me to the financial aid office and waited in line with me for an hour and a half, and then sat and waited another 15 to 20 minutes for one of the head-guys to get out of a meeting, and then talked to the head guy to get it all straightened out. Isn't my dad great? I did buy him lunch afterwards though, so maybe that's why he stuck around.

Anyway, even the head guy thought what had happened was weird and didn't make sense (there were some other charges showing up on my account that shouldn't have been there) and he went over to talk to a guy at the bursar's office who said the same thing. Lovely. But, the head guy fixed it, changed my loan amount (so that I would get a refund) and got rid of the weird charge. He was super nice and very understanding. He was from New York, so we chatted a little bit about it and about how I want to live there cause I'm an editor, etc. It was the one bright moment during this whole debacle.

Now, it's all taken care of, I've gotten my refund, I don't owe, and I don't have anything to worry about.... well at least with financial aid. School on the other hand is another matter.

Back to School

2010-08-22T20:21:00.050-05:00

Well, folks, the time has come. My first Master's class is on Monday. I'll admit, I'm both really excited and really nervous. I don't quite know what to expect. How much different will it be compared to my undergrad? How much more work is it? How will I not feel stressed ALL of the time? Will I ever have time to do something fun and not feel guilty cause I'm not studying?

I don't know; I don't know; I don't know; and I don't know are the answers to all these questions. Hopefully I'll figure out the real answers to these soon. But, I did get a little inkling to how one of my classes (I'm taking two, Aesthetics of Interactive Art and Intro to Emerging Media and Communications) is going to be because the professor (for my EMAC class) posted a tentative syllabus for us to look at. So, of course I read all of it. And this is what I discovered:

I'm required to have a twitter account (done), an email I check regularly (I have 2), and.... a blog (DONE!) Then I learned why I needed those things....

Blogging is 35% of my grade!!!!!! Then, another 10% is going to all of my classmates blogs, reading their posts, and commenting on them.

Ummmm what?

Yeah... ok....

I started thinking, oh no problem, already have a blog, but then I started thinking about what all I put on this here blog and about how... hmmm maybe I don't want my professor and classmates to read my personal musings. Not that I say really terrible stuff on here... but occasionally my posts are in fact rants... and while they are entertaining and cathartic, I might not want people that don't know me very well having access to them, at least before they get to know me.

So, after thinking about it a while, I decided to create an entirely new blog and twitter account just for school. You know as an attempt to compartmentalize and segregate my life. That and I figured you guys wouldn't want to read my 500-800 word posts every week on topics we've discussed in class (like society and media and how I feel about it).

BUT, in case you do ever want to see what it is my more professional self is discussing... here's the link to my other blog (http://missnesbitpro.wordpress.com) and my other twitter account (http://twitter.com/missnesbitpro).

And with that dear friends, I bid you good night. Wish me luck!

I Heart This Song

2010-08-21T21:01:00.010-05:00

Every time this comes on the radio it makes me happy:

"Who cares if you disagree? You are not me. Who made you king of anything? You dare tell me who to be? Who died and made you king of anything?"

Of course this other song by Sara Bareilles (Love Song) also makes me happy:

Embracing Your Singleness--Step 3

2010-08-18T20:10:00.068-05:00

This is the last step, in my opinion, on embracing your singleness (I'm all about keeping it simple), but if you are wanting a few more steps, check out this video below:
Now that you know why and how to start being okay with being single, it's time to have fun with it! Where is some place you've always wanted to travel to? What is something you've always wanted to do? Do it now while you're single because it will be a lot easier than when you're attached. For one, it will be cheaper. Paying for yourself to travel, eat, and shop is way cheaper than for two people. Also, when you travel with someone else, most times you will have to compromise with each other on what to do. Because while you can do a lot of stuff together, one of you is probably going to enjoy it more than the other.

When you're single and travel, you are on your own time table, and you get to do what you want to do because you don't have to accommodate anyone else. Case in point my trip to New York City. I went by myself, and I got to do the things I wanted to do and take my time doing them. I didn't feel rushed, and when I had decided I had seen all I wanted to at a certain place, I left. I didn't have to wait for someone, and I didn't feel guilty about wanting to leave when someone else wanted to stay longer. I had a blast, and I know that the trip still would have been fun had I gone with someone else. But, because it was just me, it was everything I wanted to do without any compromising. I loved it.

I have a friend who has a list of 30 things she wants to do before she's 30, which I think is awesome, and I really wish I had done that. I guess I still could actually. My point is, don't you have things you want to do or see while you are still able to? My mom has always said to me that she's glad that I'm doing things like going to New York or learning new skills and hobbies because she said she regrets not having done more things while she was still single. Now she's not saying she regrets getting married or anything, but she just wishes that she had taken advantage of her single years because doing those things become more difficult when you get married and then especially when you have kids.

Once you are married, yes you can do some things and most times you'll have the rest of your lives to do them in, but it'll be different. Comparatively, most people are single for such a shorter amount of time than when they are married. Take advantage of that time now, because who knows when Mr./Mrs. Right will come along. For those that have been single longer than you were hoping for/planning on, it's okay. Remember, you can still be happy and single! There are plenty of people that are in the same boat as you, although I'm sure sometimes it doesn't feel like it. You are terrific just how you are, and if you're doing all of these things in embracing your singleness, those times when you feel lonely aren't quite as bad or long. If you're feeling down, call me up. We'll commiserate together for a bit, and then we'll shake it off and have some fun. We'll be alone together. :)

It's okay to be single. Some are in this state longer than others, but while you're in it, enjoy it because you'll never know how long it will last or if you'll get it back. I found this video that is absolutely perfect, and I think is a great way to end my "Embracing Your Singleness" series. Enjoy!

Embracing Your Singleness--Step 2

2010-08-15T22:10:00.000-05:00

The next step in embracing your singledom and learning more abut yourself is learning how to be okay with it.

Before that though, I'd like to address the married folks out there: We know you mean well and that you are just wanting us single folks to be as happy as you, but you should not say the following to us cause it'll only make us annoyed or feel worse (click here).

Ok, now my single friends: Our married friends are just trying to be helpful and want us to be happy. Just nod, smile, and ignore them if they are annoying you.

Part of how to be okay with being single is not to be angry or jealous of those around you that aren't. Granted, it's going to happen, but recognizing it and getting over the jealousy is better for you. The longer you stay jealous or angry about how you are single and someone else isn't, the longer you'll be single. Now why would you want to do that to yourself? You can be happy and be single. Believe me, it's possible. Those non-single folks were single once too; yes they might have forgotten, but it just takes a little reminding. But, they were once in your shoes, so give them a little credit and be a little more understanding when they try to give you advice. (Believe me I'm telling myself this too, not just you.)

So, we've established that you are not angry at those who are not single. Remember, this is about you not them. So being angry at them only hurts you. Ok, now back to you (he he he...): Start learning about yourself, what your likes/dislikes are. Just general ones at this point, not necessarily ones in relation to a significant other. (You'll get there eventually, but at the start, focus on you and general things.) Do you have any hobbies? Is there something you've always wanted to do or learn? Now is the time to learn/do those things because you're not distracted by someone else.

Start establishing who you are, figure out how you want your life to go. Is there a habit you've been meaning to break or one you want to start? Look at your life and re-evaluate it and change it if you don't like it. When you are single, it's easier to change your life, break habits, reach goals, and learn new things. Take advantage of that.

This is how you become okay with being single: learn more about yourself and what you like. Discover how you like your eggs. Once you do that, you're ready for the next step in embracing your singleness.

Embracing Your Singleness--Step 1

2010-08-08T21:11:00.002-05:00

The first step to embracing your singleness is to realize it's okay that you are single. For some, it takes longer to come to terms with this fact and be okay. Some people are lost without being in a relationship, so they go into another (rebound) as soon as they can. If this is you, I say, take your time; revel in the fact that you are unattached.

Whenever I feel down in the fact that I am single, I just think about all the failing relationships in the world and how I'm glad I'm not in one. Ok, I realize this sounds terrible, but sometimes it gets me out of my "woe is me" pity party. I know of so many young couples that are getting divorced after only a few years of marriage. It's sad and horrible, but sometimes I feel like it's because they didn't take the time to really get to know one another.

At a certain age, we've all been told that the next step in our lives is to get married. So because that is the next logical step in our progression, they get married without really comprehending the reality of it all. Some are in love with the idea of being in love, and when they realize that marriage is work, they run home and decide they don't want to be married anymore. It wasn't what they thought it was going to be. Granted, I'm sure there might be other circumstances as to why they call it quits, but I am almost positive that in most cases what I'm talking about is the underlying problem.

When it's time to get married, you had better know your future spouse. Yes, you'll get to know him/her even more after you're married, but before then I hope you know him/her as much as you possibly can. Which then leads me to my next point: The only way you can really know your significant other is after you really know yourself. It's hard to know yourself very well when you're not single.

If you're dating, you'll always define yourself in terms of that relationship or that person unless you've already learned about yourself beforehand. And, if you continue to define yourself in terms of another, once that person leaves you'll have to start over again or at least fill that gap (perhaps with another person). Why would you want to keep doing that every time when you can do it once when you're single? Then, once you really know yourself, it makes it that much easier when you find yourself in a relationship. You won't waste your time since you'll know what will work for you and that is what you'll look for in a companion.

What do I mean? Well, have you seen Runaway Bride? In it, Julia Roberts' character always likes and does whatever her fiance at the time likes and does, and Richard Gere's character calls her out on it. Remember, she doesn't know what kind of eggs she likes? Well, it's not until after her and Richard Gere's failed attempt at marriage the 1st time around that Julia Roberts starts finding out who she is. She tries every kind of egg she can until she finds the one she likes. She does what she's always wanted to do: sell her unique lamps in New York City. She finds out who she is while she is single, and it is then that she realizes and decides that Richard Gere is what she wants. And it is when she's discovered herself that is she is ready to commit to marrying Richard Gere. Make sense now?

Ok, now that we've established why it's okay to be single (if you need more reasons, check out this), the next step is how to be okay with it.

What's Important?

2010-08-01T21:07:00.002-05:00

You know how some Sundays you just kind of go through the motions, but then there are other Sundays where you actually pay attention and you get something out of the lessons you hear. Well, I'm sad to admit that I've had more of the former kind of Sundays lately, and I realize this is my fault. But, today, I don't know what it was, (perhaps I subconsciously decided to listen instead of play on my iPod) I had a very meaningful Sunday where I actually learned something.

In Relief Society our lesson was about Thomas S. Monson's talk "Finding Joy in the Journey." In the talk President Monson talks about a man in the Vietnam War who was shot down and captured:

In the 1960s, during the Vietnam War, Church member Jay Hess, an airman, was shot down over North Vietnam. For two years his family had no idea whether he was dead or alive. His captors in Hanoi eventually allowed him to write home but limited his message to less than 25 words. What would you and I say to our families if we were in the same situation—not having seen them for over two years and not knowing if we would ever see them again? Wanting to provide something his family could recognize as having come from him and also wanting to give them valuable counsel, Brother Hess wrote—and I quote: “These things are important: temple marriage, mission, college. Press on, set goals, write history, take pictures twice a year.”

President Monson continues saying, "Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family. One day each of us will run out of tomorrows."

Our teacher then gave us each a piece of paper and asked us to imagine ourselves in a similar situation. What would we tell our families what we thought was the most important? This is what I wrote:

Family is important; spend as much time with them as you can. Cherish your friendships. Love with all your heart even when you think it might not be appreciated. Live the gospel because it is the one truth that will get you through this life and into the next. Serve everyone especially when you don't feel like it because that's when you need to serve the most. Laugh and be happy because life is too short not to.

She then asked us to think about our lives and if we are actually living what we think is important, and if we are not, change so that we are. So with that I ask you, what's important?

YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS!!!

2010-07-29T21:36:00.001-05:00

Last night, I was lucky enough to go with a friend to see a free pre-screening of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. The same person that created Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz (which I've heard are hilarious, but have unfortunately never seen) directed and wrote Scott Pilgrim. You know, if that encourages you at all...

And for some more encouragement, here's the trailer:

This movie was A-MAZ-ING!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I absolutely loved it. It was hilarious and quirky and very original and creative and unique. Since this movie is based off a comic book, the movie is a mix between a video game and a comic book. It has scenes and shots that look like they were frames taken straight out of the graphic novel, and also battle scenes just like something that would be on Mortal Kombat or some similar video game. Remember when that 1st The Incredible Hulk movie came out and Ang Lee tried to make it like the comic book with triple frames etc.? Remember how it just looked dumb? Well Scott Pilgrim pulls it off and instead they look awesome. No really.

Now, I realize some of you might see this trailer and think, this looks stupid. But, you really need to just go with an open mind and just accept what happens. Suspend your disbelief, people! No, it's not reality, and you know what, that's ok.

It comes out Aug. 13th, and I highly recommend you go and see this movie. I don't say this very often, so you know it's a really great movie.

Random side note: They showed one preview before the showing, and it was this one:

I think the entire audience was slightly confused but open (you know, suspending their disbelief, giving it a chance) for the beginning. But, after the "suspense" and pure craziness started in the elevator, I think everyone was thinking, what is this? Who made this cause it looks stupid? And as soon as M. Night Shyamalan's name appeared on the screen, there was very loud audible sighs of exasperation and even some moans and groans of "Really?" Even I said out loud, "Oh of course" and rolled my eyes. It was HILARIOUS! And the 2 rows of movie critics that were also in the theater (especially the 2 I heard behind me) thought it was very telling. The one behind me said, "Wow. Just the appearance of his name brings exasperating sighs." Poor M. Night... perhaps he's loosing his touch?

Ridin' Solo--Teaser

2010-07-26T22:26:00.000-05:00

With recent conversations (and even not so recent) that I've had with friends and family, I've decided on a new blog post series about being single. I realize this is nothing new to most of you, but I'll be talking about embracing your singleness and not fretting about the fact that you are at home watching Lost on a Friday night instead of on a date (that was not a poke and anyone in particular, I promise). We've all had tons of friends go off and get married and sometimes it feels like someone's getting married all the time and so we just don't want to hear about it any more. Many times, it just makes us feel down on ourselves. If they found someone, what's wrong with me? Well, I'm here to tell you: NOTHING!

In my opinion, while I'm sure being married is fun and an adventure in and of itself, being single is perfectly okay, too. My blog series will talk about why, what you can do while you're single that you can't when you're married, how to just enjoy this time in your life when you don't have to worry about someone else's future, etc. I'm excited because I think out of anyone, I probably need to hear this information the most.

So, to kick things off, Jason Derulo (you know the singer who has to sing his name at the beginninng of almost all of his songs) has a new song called "Ridin' Solo" that really encompasses my main idea of this blog series. I have posted the lyrics and the music video below. Enjoy.

Ridin' Solo by Jason Derulo
Yeeeeeyeeeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
I'm feeling like a star, you can't stop my shine,
I'm loving cloud nine, my head's in the sky,
I'm solo, I'm riding solo,
I'm riding solo, I'm ridin' solo, sooloooo.

Yeah, I'm feeling good tonight, finally doing me and it feels so right, oh,
Time to do the things I like,
going to the club everything's alright, oh,

No one to answer to,
no one that's gonna argue, no,
And since I got the hold off me,
I'm living life now that I'm free, yeah,

Telling me to get my self together
now I got my self together, yeah,
Now I made it through the weather
better days are gonna get better

I'm so sorry that it didn't work out I'm moving on,
I'm so sorry but it's over now,
the pain is goooone,

I'm putting on my shades
to cover up my eyes,
I'm jumpin' in my ride,
I'm heading out tonight,
I'm solo, I'm riding solo,
I'm riding solo, I'm riding solo, sooloooo.
I'm feeling like a star, you can't stop my shine,
I'm loving cloud nine, my head's in the sky.
I'm solo, I'm riding solo,
I'm riding solo, I'm riding solo, sooloooo.

Now I'm feeling how I should,
never knew single could feel this good, oh,
Stop playing miss understood,
back in the game, who knew I would, oh,
So flex how I spread my wings, loving myself makes me wanna sing, oh,
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,

Telling me to get my self together
now I got my self together, yeah,
Now I made it through the weather
better days are gonna get better

I'm so sorry that it didn't work out I'm moving on,
I'm so sorry but it's over now,
the pain is goooone,

I'm putting on my shades
to cover up my eyes,
I'm jumpin' in my ride,
I'm heading out tonight,
I'm solo, I'm riding solo,
I'm riding solo, I'm riding solo, sooloooo.
I'm feeling like a star, you can't stop my shine,
I'm loving cloud nine, my head's in the sky.
I'm solo, I'm riding solo, I'm riding solo, I'm riding solo, sooloooo.
I'm riding solo, I'm riding solo, sooloooo

yeah it's like S... O... L... O...
S... O... L... O... S... O... L... O...
Living my life and got stress no more,

I'm putting on my shades
to cover up my eyes,
I'm jumpin' in my ride,
I'm heading out tonight,
I'm solo, I'm riding solo,
I'm riding solo, I'm riding solo, sooloooo.
I'm feeling like a star, you can't stop my shine,
I'm loving cloud nine, my head's in the sky.
I'm solo, I'm riding solo, I'm riding solo, I'm riding solo, sooloooo.
I'm riding solo, I'm riding solo, sooloooo

I'm riding solo, sooloooo,
I'm riding solo, sooloooo.

One of my pet peeves...

2010-07-25T00:03:00.001-05:00

So, ok, I'll admit, some of pet peeves cannot be helped by some people. There are some that do not have a complete handle on the English language, so while it bugs me, I try to let it go as best I can because even I am not perfect (shocking, I know). I also really don't like stupid people, but most times, these people cannot help it either, so again I try to not let it get to me too much (unless they pretend to be dumb on purpose, in which case I judge them even more). But, I do have one pet peeve that really gets me angry in most circumstances (and the ones that don't, I'll explain in a moment).

What is this pet peeve? Ok, here it is: I hate it when people ask me questions that they can look up or figure out for themselves.

Now, like I said earlier, there is always exceptions. If we are out somewhere and you can't remember the name of some movie and ask me (cause more than likely I'll know it), that's cool. If it's something that I'd probably know off the top of my head, no problem. I get it. It is those times that I don't have a problem with you asking me something. However, if you ask me something in which I have to look it up when you could look it up yourself, that's when I get angry.

Here's an example: I was on the road in the car when a friend texted me about something else. After answering her, I figured our little "conversation" was complete. But, then 5 minutes later I get another text from her asking me if I knew if some restaurant was in McKinney and where it was (completely unrelated to our previous conversation). Ummm... I don't live in McKinney, so I have no clue. But, here's the part that bugged me: This friend has an iPhone. This is the time you pull it out to figure out where this restaurant is. LOOK IT UP YOURSELF. That is why you have an iPhone for crying out loud!!! I said this to myself in the privacy of my car, so she doesn't know how peeved I was, and I only responded, "I don't know, sorry."

Example #2: I have a coworker who has now worked at the company for a year, which means he has handled at least 4 journal issues on his own now. However, every time he is nearing the final stages before his journal is printed (and I'm not kidding, it's been every time now), he comes and asks me what it is he has to double check on the issue. Really? You've already asked me this 3 months ago when your last issue came out, and 3 months before that, too. You've been working here for a year now, this should be old hat to you. And, if it's not... THERE'S A CHECKLIST ON THE COMPUTER!!!!! I'm serious, if he asks me one more time, I'm going to scream. Cause previously, I'm the super nice, "get along with everyone" employee that everyone thinks I am and knows me to be, so I've just answered his question every time and sent him on his merry way. His next issue's coming up... I'll let you know what happens.

I have other examples, but I think you get the point.

I feel like this happens alot at work because, I'll just come out and say it... most of my coworkers are lazy. And unfortunately, I'm too nice to tell them to go look it up for themselves, so I do it for them to answer their question. I can't tell you how many times in which they've asked something, like, so what day is the holiday we have off? or how do we do this process? or how do I find this? and I have to show them, look it up, or email them the process etc. that they had as much access to as I did. I realize I'm enabling them by doing it for them, but sometimes I feel like I'd rather just help them than cause waves by telling them to quit being lazy butts and look it up. There have been so many times in which I've wanted to just send them to this website.

I think the main reason I have this pet peeve is because of how I act when I come across a question. If I can't remember something or I'm curious about something, I'll research it to find out about it or look it up online so I can find out the answer. So, most times, I rarely ask people questions because I feel like I could probably figure it out myself. And in fact, I feel that's how I learn and remember it better; if I take the time to figure it out myself, it's more likely to stick. It's only those times when I can't find the answer, or someone other than me would know better how to handle the situation that I seek out help. I don't ask for help very often. I just feel like why waste someone else's time when you can just as easily do it yourself?

Don't worry, I'm not saying you can't ask me anything ever, but just be aware I might become annoyed with you if you ask me something that I believe you could find out for yourself. I'll still probably answer you, but I won't like it.

SWAN DIVE!

2010-07-15T00:03:00.000-05:00

Ok, please tell me you've seen these Old Spice commercials. You have haven't you? Fine... I'll post a few for you. Here's the older one:
Awesome right? Ok, here is the most recent one:

Yes, these commercials are hilarious, but you know what? Old Spice has kicked it up a notch. How? Well they are having the Old Spice man (who's real name is Isaiah Mustafa) answer questions and respond to random people's comments on Old Spice's Youtube, Twitter, and Facebook pages (among other places). These responses are so funny! I couldn't stop watching them (and I was at work too!). There are a ton, and they keep adding more everyday.

Go to Old Spice's Youtube channel, and watch all of them because they will make you laugh so hard. Here are a few of my favorites:

Ok, I don't know how to figure out how to edit that one to make it my voice mail, but if one of you knows how, tell me so I can have it be my outgoing message! Monocle smile!
Who does indeed.

Seriously, go watch all of them. They are hilarious. All of the ones to Alyssa Milano are pretty funny, as well as the ones to Apolo Ohno.

And, you're welcome.

Today I am 24...

2010-07-12T23:50:00.007-05:00

and it's a good normal feeling. I told a friend that I've felt like I've been 24 for awhile now, so it's not a big thing. Although, I will say I'm glad it's official now. I might not have told you this before, but I'm a huge fan of even numbers, so I'm REALLY glad I am no longer 23.

Today would have been like any other Monday, except for the fact that my friends and family are awesome! My family is out of town, but they all skyped me to sing Happy Birthday to me. I had tons of friends and cousins text me today (which, I'll be honest, I don't remember getting this many birthday texts before in previous years), several coworkers wished me a happy birthday (and one even put a banner up above my cube), one friend emailed along with a few companies who sent me birthday coupons, the guy who scans my card at the gym, the ATM, and of course there's always the multiple facebook wall posts.

Ahhh Facebook. What would we do without you? I love it, cause on my birthday it's the one time a year that I have high school friends I haven't talked to in YEARS tell me "Happy Birthday." I realize that as I age the number of people that remind me it's my birthday on facebook will slowly decline, but I'm going to enjoy it now while I can. I thanked every single person that wrote on my wall, and occasionally I started conversations with them. I don't know what it is, but I love doing that, especially when my birthday is the only time we talk.

Today would have been any other day, but because of my friends and family, it felt a little more special. Thanks guys!

I am okay.

2010-07-09T16:28:00.000-05:00

So, I realize that my previous post was kind of depressing. I am sorry. I just had to get my thoughts and feelings out, and unfortunately/fortunately my blog is the easiest way for me to do that. Last week was my grandmother's funeral, and my friend was right when she told me it would be very cathartic. On the day of the service/burial I didn't even bother wearing any eye make-up cause it would be a waste. I'm glad I didn't, cause I cried during the whole service. But, after that, I was ok.

It was actually a good trip because I kind of got some closure and I got to see some of my extended family that I hadn't seen in years. I got to see my cousins, which was great because I really don't know them very well. I got to eat delicious Mexican food (several times in fact), and I got to talk and listen about why my grandma was so great.

It is times like these that I am so grateful for my knowledge of the Gospel and for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. My cousins, who are not members of the church, were having a very rough time, more so than me. My family tried to help them and share our testimony with them. I love knowing that I will see my grandma again and that if I live righteously I can be with her after this life. I just hope that my cousins can know that too.

Anyway, now that I'm back, I'm doing better, and I think my mom's doing okay. I'm sure there will be moments for all of us when we'll wonder where grandma is, or remember we should tell her something, only to realize she's not here or we can't tell her. But, I guess that's all part of losing someone, huh?
It'll be okay. I'm okay, and for now, that's... okay.

P.S. I promise I'll have better posts soon. :)

Mixed Emotions

2010-06-27T23:14:00.000-05:00

For those that know me well, you know that I usually have to write or say what I'm feeling and thinking about a certain situation in order to make sense of my confusing emotions so that I can understand. The following is me trying to do that.

On Saturday, my maternal grandmother passed away.

We knew it was coming, but it doesn't make it any less upsetting. My grandma has been slowly deteriorating for about a year now from a liver disease, and towards the start of this month, she was put into hospice care. Which, is really just the beginning of the end. On Friday, my grandpa called my mom and told her that the doctor was giving my grandma only 8 hours to a few more days left. My mom bought a one-way plane ticket and flew out there (to New Mexico) that night.

The rest of us just waited.

We tried to do what we normally did. I hung out with my friends on Friday. Dad and Caulin did some scout stuff and then Caulin hung out with his friends on Saturday while my dad, Marin, and I went to dinner. But, there was definitely a different feeling during all of it. I hate waiting, especially when it's something I don't want to happen.

It was Saturday night when my mom texted my dad saying my grandma was going... "Now." My dad had figured out that he could have his phone read his texts for him out loud, and he played it over again several times. "Now." "Now." Now."

After about 15 minutes or so, my mom finally called and said my grandma had passed away. It wasn't until I was about to go to bed and was reading my scriptures and saying my prayers that I started balling. (And embarrassingly enough, this morning when I was getting set apart for a calling, I also started crying.) I have alot of mixed emotions though besides just sadness.

A part of me feels a little relieved that she is no longer in pain and that she didn't drag on in this state for a long time. A part of me is happy that she is now in a better place with my Uncle Quinn, somewhere where my grandma's been wanting to be for a long time now. A part of me, I'll admit, is jealous that she is in such a great place. A part of me is scared to see how the family dynamics both for my mom and aunt and uncle now and then the rest of us at reunions and such are going to change now that she's gone and it's just my grandpa. A part of me knows that I will see her again after this life. But a huge part of me is sad that she is gone.

I've always had this picture in my mind of how certain occasions in the future would be and who would be in those pictures. Just like my graduation from BYU, I've always imagined my whole family being with me for my master's graduation, my wedding, my first child... But now, in my mind, where I had placed my little grandma, there is now a black void. I realize this is very selfish of me. This I know, but I can't help but feel like my mind's picture is missing something. And I hate it.

I know I'll get over it, that this is all part of the grieving process, that she'll still be with me, and any other cliches people say when you don't know what to say when trying to comfort someone who is experiencing a loss. I get it, but I still don't feel any differently at the moment. Thanks, though.

My grandma was tiny, but she was a force to be reckoned. She lived a very hard life in Korea during and after the war, and some of that life we still don't know about, and what we do know might not even be true. She was basically a single mother, raising her children on her own in a tiny 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom house. But despite the many trials she faced throughout her life, she carried on, giving all she could and going without for her family. I have some great memories of her, some hilarious like when she used my dad's wire cutters to prune a wild rose-bush in our backyard, but I loved the advice she gave me in her broken English.

She would always tell me that I needed to keep going to school and get a good job and make lots of money and then get married. She told me she was proud of me of how smart and independent I was. She always told me I needed to be a good sister and take care of my siblings and to honor my parents. She told me to be happy.

A while back I wrote another blog post on death. My past self sure made me think. I hope I can continue to live the life my grandma would tell me she is proud of.

I'll miss you grandma.

Highlights From the Big Apple

2010-06-23T00:14:00.000-05:00

I realize I've been back for a while, but I've been trying to formulate how I want to write my post. I had TONS of stuff happen, I took over 1000 pictures, and I loved almost every minute when I was in New York City. I wish I could have stayed longer and see more stuff and go to more places, or spend more time at others. But, this definitely was not my last trip to New York. So because I did so much stuff, I decided to just give you the best parts and stories with a few great pictures. If you want more stories or details, talk to me, and I will gladly tell you. Here are the highlights:

My first cab ride (from the airport to my friend's apartment) wasn't as scary as I thought, but then again the cab driver didn't know how to get there and made me call my friend 3 times for directions (cause he didn't believe me). I also couldn't understand anything he said... my 2nd (and last) cab ride was way better.
New Yorkers get a bad rap. They are a lot nicer than people give them credit for. Everyone I asked for directions were super helpful and way willing to tell me that I was on the Metro North railroad train not the D subway train, how to get to a certain street or place, and even drive me to the right bus stop at 4:30 in the morning since I got on the wrong bus. They are very helpful.
I am pretty much famous. Ok not really. But, I was on the Today show for about 3 seconds at the very beginning, and I was on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (which was way fun and a very cool experience). See, I'm not lying:
I took the New York TV and Movie sites bus tour, and it was so much fun. We went all over Manhattan visiting tons of famous places all in a nicely air conditioned bus, and I got to sit next to a hot, single, Australian man the whole ride. He was very nice and had an accent (He asked me if I got "some good snaps" every time I got back on the bus. This, apparently, in Australian means pictures.). It was like my dream come true: seeing my favorite movie/TV sites and sitting next to someone who was cute with an accent.
Top of the Rock (AWE-some), Empire State Building (freaking amazing), and the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island (pretty dang cool) had some pretty great views of the city. Very awe-inspiring and beautiful.
I went to the MoMA, the Guggenheim, and the Met. My favorite architecturally was the Guggenheim; my favorite art-wise was the Met (although don't bother with the gift shop there cause those prices are freakin' ridiculous). The MoMa was cool, but when I went I was tired so I didn't really look around much. I'd give the MoMa a second chance next time.
I must have a little New Yorker in me cause I went to Time Square and I hated it. It was not fun for me. Interesting to look at as I was passing through, but I wouldn't have spent anymore time there. I know, I'm such a terrible tourist.
My favorite place I ate at: Sarabeth's. Their tomato soup was AMAZING. I loved it, and I thank my coworker for finding it for me and texting me the address so I could eat there. (And after going to their website, I found out they will ship you their tomato soup... ummm totally buying some!) Favorite desert I ate: Crack Pie from Momofuku's. I am so glad my friend Ashley told me about it and how I couldn't miss it. It was pretty dang tasty.
The two Broadway plays I went to were hilarious, and I loved every minute of them. I decided I totally could get used to going to Broadway shows all the time and seeing my favorite actors and actresses in person, live. Gosh, if only I had tons of money to go to shows all the time. I also was super excited that after the play was done I could wait by the stage door and get their autographs! I got Tony Schalhoub's autograph on my Lend Me A Tenor playbill (I wasn't fast enough, unfortunately, to get Justin Bartha's. Anthony LaPaglia is a jerk apparently and doesn't like to come out to sign autographs, so he didn't come out.), and I got Sean Hayes's, Kristin Chenowith's, and Tony Goldwyn's autographs on my Promises, Promises playbill.
Coolest stores: FAO Schwartz, Dylan's Candy Bar, and Bloomingdale's. My favorite store: Zabar's (the whole 2nd floor is just kitchen gadgets, bakeware, etc. They have a whole cheese department. A WHOLE DEPARTMENT! OF CHEESE!)
I'll admit it. Central Park is pretty dang cool, even though at one point I was going the wrong direction on a trail. You can see some interesting things and people there. I saw a few performers and singers that were great (I also saw a few in the subway stations too), and it's just really beautiful.
In New York, turn signals and red lights are apparently optional. Buddy the elf was right when he said the yellow ones don't stop. What's funny is, the pedestrians are just as bad. They jaywalk all over the place. Towards the end of my trip, I started doing it too. I'd look both ways and then just walk like all the real New Yorkers, walking man or not.
I think one of my favorite parts was all the street fairs and street markets I passed. I thought the farmer's market I walked through was awesome, and I wanted to buy something from every booth. I started formulating what dishes I could cook with the foods I passed. I think I'd really enjoy getting my groceries off the street as weird as that sounds.
And last but not least, my trip to New York would not be complete without a few crazy/homeless people sightings. I'm pretty sure there was a cross-dresser on one of the subway trains with me; I passed a few homeless men as I walked from my friend's apartment to the subway station in the Bronx. I even spotted this man who was either actually blind or pretending to be blind:

The other side of his sign said, "Is anyone an albino midget?"

But, the best story I have is the following: I went to Gray's Papaya to get one of their famous hot dogs. Now they don't have tables or anything just a ledge that's all open to the outside. Right outside the ledge is a stool. I had just finished eating my hot dog when out of the corner of my eye I see a lady who looked like she had just climbed out of a sewer... with her pants around her ankles. And guess what she does? She comes and sits on that stool. Now, her shirt was big and long enough that it covered you know the parts her pants would be covering if she were wearing them, but she smelled like she had pooped her pants (maybe that's why she wasn't wearing them properly?). I was overcome by the smell and decided right then would be an excellent time to leave. So I walked out to the street corner (which unfortunately was not that far away) waiting to make my way away from the sad, stinky lady. While I was holding my breath, another woman who was on her phone comes walking by the homeless lady, and she too was overcome by the sight and started telling whoever she was talking to on the phone about it. She exclaims, "Oh my gosh! There's this lady who sh** her pants and they're around her ankles and it smells!" However, she was so appalled by this that she kept walking past me into the street where the light had not changed and cars were coming in full force. Luckily she stopped herself and told her friend, "I almost ran into traffic!" The whole situation was funny and unique, and I even walked in the opposite direction of where I needed to go just to get away from the smell.

And that my friends was my trip to New York City. I loved it and would love to go again. If I had lots of money I would want to live in the Upper West Side, and I would love to work for Simon and Schuster or Harper Collins (both of which I took pictures of), or really any publishing company. Who knows if it'll ever happen, but this is the concrete jungle where dreams are made (that is if Jay-Z and Alicia Keyes are to be believed), right? A gal can dream.

P.S. I apologize for not posting many pictures in this one. Perhaps I'll have another post with a collage of pictures only. I do have 2 albums full on facebook if you want to check those out while you wait.

New York, New York!

2010-05-30T20:53:00.000-05:00

As most of you already know I'm leaving soon for a vacation I've been planning for a while (and have been dreaming about even longer). I'm going to leave for New York City on Wednesday, and I'll return on the next Wednesday. I think a lot of you can't wait for me to leave since I've been talking about it a ton, and I'm sure you're tired of hearing about it. For that, I apologize. But, I'm finally going, and I'm super excited!

The only reason why I followed through with my impulse to buy a cheap ticket to NYC is because I have an amazing awesome friend in New York who is letting me stay with her!!! Otherwise, I don't think I would have gone. My friend is fantastic, and she lives in the Bronx and is nice enough to let me crash on her couch while I'm there. Thanks Lorri, you're the best!

I've got tons of stuff planned. I talked to all of my friends that had been or lived in New York, I bought maps, I researched on the internet, and I bought a couple travel guide books. After my extensive research, I have made an itinerary for a fun-filled week in Manhattan. I've got all the top things, Empire State Building, MoMA, Guggenheim, Rockefeller Center, Ground Zero, Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, a couple Broadway shows, etc., not to mention some great famous restaurants and shops/destinations. Want to know what I've got planned? Yeah, I thought so.

Here is my itinerary: (Click here.)

A few of the days are "wandering around" or "shopping days" so I just listed a few main places, but times are flexible. Friday is my shopping and wandering 5th Avenue, and Saturday I'm wandering around Little Italy and Chinatown.

But, Thursday, I've decided is 30 Rock day. I'm planning on waking up super early on Thursday morning to stand outside of the Today show, then I'm going on the NBC studio tour, and then a TV/Movie sites bus tour, and then Top of the Rock. If you too are an early morning person, look for me on Thursday on the Today show with the following sign:

If you see me let me know! I'm making my parents DVR it for me so I can see if I can see myself.

And, if you're not a morning person but a night owl, on Monday, June 7th, I'm going to the taping of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, so look for me in the audience then. No sign, but you might see me. Who knows.

If you're interested in the fun things I'm doing and any crazy things I see while on my adventure in New York, follow me on Twitter (or look on the left hand side of my blog for my twitter feed). I'll update my Facebook occasionally, but my twitter I'll update more often. When I get back, believe you me, there'll be a follow-up blog post. Until then!

Have I told you lately that I love...

2010-05-19T22:16:00.001-05:00

Robert Downey Jr.?

Yeah. I do. And I'm not one of those new fans. Oh no. I've loved him since I was a child. Ever since Heart and Souls. (It's got RDJ, Kyra Sedgwick,Charles Grodin, Elisabeth Shue!)

When he started coming back from his terrible drug/alcohol abuse, I was very pleased. I knew he was starting to get popular again, doing parts here and there now that he was recovered. But, as soon as I saw the little-known, but really great film, Charlie Bartlett, that is when I knew he had finally arrived and was bound for awesomeness. Then, of course came Iron Man, and we all know what happened after that.

Ever since then, I've been wanting to write Mr. Robert Downey Jr. a letter telling him how great I think he is (and have always known) and how he better not fall back into his old ways because if he disappeared again my heart would not be able to take it. Well, I have finally drafted this said letter, and I'm about to send it (debating on whether or not to include a SASE cause I don't want to be begging for stuff). I kind of want a response, but I doubt I'll get one. I'll let you know if I do. Here it is:

Dear Mr. Robert Downey Jr.,

While I am pretty sure that the person who initially opens this letter is either an intern, secretary, or perhaps someone your agency hired off the street who gets paid five cents for every letter opened, I write in the hopes that just maybe by my sheer wit and sincerity, my letter will somehow change hands enough to get mentioned, or if I'm lucky, handed to you for your reading pleasure. With this bold assumption in mind, I would just like to say thank you.

Thank you, and please don't ever go away again.

I admire you and your ability to overcome adversity. While I have not had to face anything like you have, you are still an inspiration to me and others, and what I love is that you joke about it now.

You know what else I admire? How loving and dedicated you are to your wife. So many other Hollywood couples cheat on each other, separate, divorce, and sometimes not even act like they love each other. Yes, you've had experience with this too, but this time, I can tell you two will last far longer than some of those other folks. It is refreshing to see someone so dedicated and loving to his wife like you are. If only there were more like you two. Of course if there were, TMZ and shows like Extra would have nothing to talk about (except maybe about who wore it best). And where would we be without good ole TMZ?!

I would also like to say that my admiration for you goes way back. I'm not one of those new fans who started liking you after Iron Man; although, I can see why so many would start because in that movie you were pretty much freaking awesome. No, no. I thought you were an amazing actor even before then.

When I was 7 yrs. old a movie called Heart and Souls came out, and I loved it. I would watch it over and over again on VHS (I loved the "Walk like a man, talk like a man" sequence). I thought you were terrific (yes, even my 7 yr. old self knew that), but I was saddened when you kind of disappeared (both because you had and because you were in movies my parents wouldn't let me watch).

I realized only later why, and I thought to myself, if he was great hopped up on drugs, he'd be amazing sobered up! And boy, are you.

Slowly, you got back into it, and it was after seeing Charlie Bartlett that I knew you were back. Then Iron Man, and well, you know the rest.

I hope and pray that you continue. I want you to be like Clint Eastwood, 80 years old and still making awesome movies. You have a gift (which I'm sure you've heard a million times over, but who doesn't love to be complimented over and over again?), and the entertainment world would sorely be lacking without you.

You make what could potentially be lame movies 10 times better just by being in it and by being able to deliver an even terrible line with such confidence and style it doesn't sound terrible but great! If you were in Iron Man 10, I (and really everyone) would see it. (Although, I really hope it stops at a reasonable number. 10 might be a bit much... like Land Before Time 13 or Rocky V or Rambo IV, or come to think of it... really any Sylvester Stallone sequels.)

So, as a long time, dedicated fan, I'd like to make a small request.

Don't stop. Keep going. Please don't fall back into drugs and disappear again.

I just don't think I could take the Iron Man or Sherlock Holmes sequels without you. You are what make those films. I know it, you know it, and Hollywood knows it. Don't let them mess you or your career up. Please? Thank you. :)

Signed with love, adoration, and a little free advertising on your behalf when I tell all of my friends and family to see your films, a loyal fan,

Mattie

So, what do y'all think?

Pretty Sure It's Not Real, But...

2010-05-13T22:26:00.002-05:00

That doesn't make it any less funny. I saw this on what's starting to become my new favorite blog/podcast, and I seriously had to put my hand over my mouth to stifle my laughter cause I was at work when I saw it. This commercial, unlike the "booty pop," is not real, but boy is it hilarious.

You should check out some of the other "The Weak Shop" products. Like the chair pants...

Graduate Student Orientation Fun

2010-05-10T22:50:00.004-05:00

I'm lying. It wasn't that fun. But there were some funny things that happened and that I noticed that I thought perhaps you would find amusing.

The clip I included below is my story of what happened to me when I went a little early to the orientation to get my student ID card. (I apologize if you've already heard it. If so, feel free to skip listening to it.)
It was interesting. But on to the main event!

I went into the room where orientation was and of course it was all decked out in UTD colors (green, orange, and white). They even had balloon towers of the colors. I picked a table that was towards the back that no one was sitting at so I could eat my lunch quickly without disturbing anyone before it started. No one was really talking to each other, but I loved how all the nerdy kids with their laptops out all gravitated towards the front and center of the room and sat at the same table together. (Have I told you about my theory about where you sit in a room/class says what kind of person you are? Remind me, and I'll tell you some time.)

The orientation was supposed to start at 2:30; it didn't start till almost 3 (freakin' ridiculous). The guy claimed he was waiting for the other people that signed up. Here's what I say to that, buddy... This is for graduate students. If they still haven't learned how to be on time and show up to something, they don't deserve to have us wait for them to come.

Oh! Speaking of the fact that it was for graduate students... one of them brought their mom. Their MOM to GRADUATE student orientation. Ummmm, really? Granted I can't be for sure, but seeing as they looked alike, one was older looking than the other, and there was only 1 packet between them, it had to have been her mom. Who brings their mom to graduate student orientation? Isn't that only a 1st year of college freshman thing? That mom and/or daughter really just needs to let go. Seriously.

Once the presentation finally started, they covered the basic, essential things. Financial aid, registrar, library, counseling/student resources, etc. Interestingly, the number for the campus police ends in 2222, which was the same number for the BYU campus police. Is this a universal college campus police number? But, I digress. So after the New Student Orientation director dude finished his presentation, he had the Dean of Students come and do her spiel. She was really boring, and the majority of her speech had to do with warning us about safety and telling us we need to be careful about what we put up on Facebook. She went on and on about security and how they don't want another Virgina Tech, which only makes me wonder... Is there something you're not telling us about your campus? Is there something I should've known before applying to this school? Cause, I mean, obviously this security thing is an issue for you and your campus if you keep going on and on about it.

Finally after she quit talking, they had a token faculty member talk, I'm assuming to get us really pumped about starting grad school. WEEEEE!!!! Yeah... no. Aside from all the bragging he did about himself and how he occasionally does TV news pieces for ABC and CBS, how he writes columns/articles for several newspapers (he's a chemistry professor... I doubt very many people read them), and how he is so dedicated to his work and his students that he stays up till 2 in the morning researching and answering emails, he tried to give us advice and help us picture what these next few years of grad school were going to look like. He quoted Batman and then told us that we need to be superhero grad students. (He claims he was inspired and got this wonderful idea because of Iron Man 2.)

After he stretched his analogy out as much as he could, he then told us we needed to really get to know who we were. He told us that we needed to go on a date with ourselves. He continued, "Go to your favorite restaurant and prop up a mirror in front of you because you'll want to look at yourself." While I'm sure he was not being literal, I thought it was funny that he went on about the date with ourselves. I think most people would have just stopped at the "go on a date with yourself."

All in all, it was kind of a waste. The only good things were that I found out that as a UTD student I can get a free DART transportation pass for any DART rail or bus in the metroplex, along with other discounted/free activities (man do I love being a student again), and there was a cute, very nice guy that sat next to me during the orientation. We talked for a little bit before and after, but since Clifton is a grad student in public affairs, I will probably never see him again. Such is my life.

Well, I've got a few more months before I'm sleep-deprived and stressed about homework, so I'm going to live it up this summer while I can. You'll soon find out how I'm going to do it.