Reminiscence

I'm in a bit of a nostalgic mood right now--packing will do that to me. It sets me thinking about all the different stuff that I've got, and just how cool some of my stuff is, and it makes me especially think about where it came from.

For example, I have a plant thats currently hanging in the corner of my room that I bought last year for two reasons. First, I really like plants, and thought it would cheer up our dreary dorm room. Second, I felt like having something to take care of--just to see if I could. It's alive and well and looks better than when I bought it. This could be because it's finally getting to keep it's dangling arms...since they're not getting shut into the fridge. :) I've also added three other plants to my collection-also all doing well. I really like them, and they're not even the flowering types of plants. They're all just green, with really great shaped leaves. I love some flowers. Poor Uffish gets the same line from me whenever we pass by them on campus. Tulips, Daisies, and Daffodils-all my favorites. If you should ever feel the need to leave me flowers for some reason, stick them by the reading girl in the library--the one who's breaking the honor code by not wearing shoes on campus--and send me a message or something...just make sure they're daisies or tulips, or daffodils. Or don't...no big deal. :D

I've got this great glass cup that my mom bought be when we both went to Gatlinburg for a regional forensics competition. I competed in 5 events- Original Oratory, Debate, Extempranious Speaking, Duo, and Impromptu Speaking. My mom came along as a judge. She was such a good judge too-the kind that actually paid attention and made suggestions for things that you should do in the future, instead of leaving dumb comments. I got a comment from one judge that said, "Hated the shirt." Weird. I also took 5th place overall in Impromptu Speaking at that event, and there were people from about 5 states there-something like 30 high schools...that felt really good...and it was really great to get to share it with my mom, it's always nice to share things that you love with the people you also love.

I also really love all my pictures. I've got pictures of my family, pictures of my friends, several pictures of my best friend, and a few of myself...mostly with those people. They're really probably the best part of everything that I've got in my room. I love stories. I love the why behind each what that there is. I love to find out who people are, and what they're about. I love to find out how things affect people. These are all reasons that I'm currently a History Teaching Major...because I love to study it, and then to tell people about what I find. That part is also one of the reasons that I like to be a Board writer--I love it when a question comes in that I actually know the answer to without further research. Sometimes, after researching some topic on my own, I'm tempted to ask a question...just so I can answer it and find a use for my new knowledge...that doesn't happen often...don't worry. :D

I'm in the mood right now to sit down with my family and just tell stories...not really the newer ones, but the old family stories--you know, the ones that you hear all the time...the ones that kind of explain who your family is. That's what I want to do--sit with some people and just tell stories from a long time ago. Right now, I know what it's like to feel old, because I just want to look at the past. I'm excited to get to have children, and then grandchildren...the ones that I get to tell my history to, and the ones whose future I get to help shape. Life is good, and it keeps moving, I'm just glad that I know where it's eventually going to end up.

Spandex- A Privilege, Not a Right

Uffish and I have been playing racquetball on a pretty regular basis lately, and my trips with her down to the RB have caused me to remember some previous reflections.

Why is it that the clothes that you're supposed to work out in only look good on people who are already skinny and athletic? Also, why do gyms cater really only to those who are physically fit?

For example, the advertisements for exercise clothes always seem to say, "If you put on these clothes, you will be happy, hunky, athletic and hot." People like the message they see, and so they buy them...only to put them on and realize they look nothing like the smiling hardened bodies found on the tags they wear. They feel more like a stuffed sausage...

Mmmmm....right?

Same thing happens with the gym. You go to the gym to work out right? To lose weight in some cases, and to get in shape in others. Why do they have so many mirrors around those places? Sure, those people who look really good while working out don't mind. But some people, who aren't at the height of their athletic abilities don't really feel like watching themselves look like a set of Venetian blinds opening and closing as they travail up the treadmill. Who wants the pick-up line they hear to be "Is your daddy a baker? 'Cause you got a nice set of rolls..."

All opposed?

So here's to figuring out some way to find work-out clothes that can actually flatter those who NEED them, and not just those who are already sporting abs that even Mighty Quinn could appreciate, because if people are ashamed of going outside in the clothes, the whole workout cycle is not going to get started...maybe that's why we're supposedly so obese.

Packing Up, Shipping Out

My room is in complete disarray at this point, owing to the fact that I am getting started on the whole packing thing. Last night Ms. Addison and I started it all...and it was a pretty great adventure.

first, there was the bed. It was up on stilts, and so, of course we had to clear everything out from under it, and then lower it. Well, it being all my stuff, I climbed under it and got it all out, and then we moved Oscar the Couch (my DI chair with high aspirations), and then we moved the fridge. Finally it was time to lower the bed. "What's the best way to do this?" Thought Novel. "Of course! I'll stand up and use my back as the means to hold the bed up while Ms. Addison pulls off the legs!"

Brilliant...

So maybe that wasn't the best of ideas. I mean, it DID work, but...ouch. The springs on our beds are what I had my back pressed to...silly silly Novel.

So after all that fun and excitement, we get to the REAL excitement for the evening-a moth flew into the open window. Now, neither Ms. Addison nor I are really terribly girly girls, and neither one of us was afraid of the moth--it just didn't belong in my room, so we had to get it out.

Well, first things first, all the lights go out, in hopes that he'll head out the open window. Well, THAT doesn't work, mostly because now we can't see where he is. So then there's the turning the light on and off for short periods of time so that we can see where the little bug is. At one point the light comes back on, and the bug flies into the cover of the fluorescent light above my desk...dumb bug. Then, I grab my flashlight, and we try to lead it out to the window by having it follow the light there, while tapping on the cover with a spoon. Well, he follows the light...right towards my hand. At this point, I'm disgusted to say, I squeak and toss the flashlight onto the bed. How utterly embarrassing and female. Ms. Addison is getting a good laugh at me, as I have "just made noises she's never heard from me before." so then we've lost the bug's location again, and we're trying to find it...not working. so then suddenly, he flies into my back-not allowed! Anyway, finally Ms. Addison thinks to use my bright little lamp so he'll fly towards that, and I decide to put it out the window so that he'll fly towards it, AND out the window. Novel efficiency Concept...that's my name. This sounds like a grand idea, until Ms. Addison points out that it might just attract another bug...

oh yeah.

We decide to do it anyway, and it works. The bug hovers closer to the light as we maneuver it over the desk, and then finally, he perches on a piece of paper right by the open window, causing the suspense to escalate. Finally, he flies out the window and starts to fly around the top of the light. I start to wiggle it around in circles because, probably, it'll make the bug dizzy and disoriented. Then, I quickly pull in the light and Ms. Addison shuts the window.

There's such a feeling of triumph when you've outsmarted a square inch insect.

On another note--I slept amazingly well last night, surrounded by boxes, with my bed closer to the floor and such. There's something kind of familiar about it all. All I'm missing is my family to play in them-forts in the garage with the book boxes...now there are some fun times.

I Hate Money

the end.

The Novelty is Wearing Out...

Friends, I'm starting to hit end of the semester burn-out...and this year, it's even worse than last year.

Last year I looked forward to finals. Finals week, sickening as it might be, is actually my favorite week of school...mostly because, once you've gotten there, you've basically "passed the point of no return" as it were. You should know almost everything, papers are done, and all that's left to do are tests...and lots of them. I love the completed feeling I get as a test is finished, because then, the class is done too-it's great!

Anyway, this year I'm just hitting tired. I'm still excited about finals, but I'm just tired...all the time. I sleep, I get full nights sometimes, and I'm still ALWAYS tired.

Mostly, it's my own fault. I've gotten myself sucked into a vicious cycle. This is what happens:

Spend time until all hours of the night playing with/talking to friends and finally crash into bed at an odd hour of the morning.

THEN

My alarm goes off at a reasonable hour the next morning, as I have class, but the hour seems entirely unreasonable because I stayed up until all hours the night before. Consequently, I drag myself to class ("at least I'm going" justifies my brain), and then take notes and struggle to participate with half of my mental capacities functioning.

OR

I sleep away half the morning in an attempt to catch up on sleep, and still feel like I need a nap that afternoon...causing myself to be utterly unproductive and lazy.

THEN

Because of the fact that I've been either a walking zombie or because I've napped in the afternoon, I can't seem to get myself to sleep before those odd hours of the morning again...and the cycle repeats itself. Over, and over, and over, and over...

Now, I do these things because I enjoy them. It's fun to go walking at night, to talk to people, to do things. I had an early bedtime until we moved to Fairfield CA, and then I started to stay up real late...like 11. The ability to stay up late and do things until like...2-that was a novel concept for me (please don't moan too loudly). I like my friends, I like talking to them, and I enjoy feeling a connection and doing fun stuff....

There was a but statement if ever one was coming...

BUT...Can't we do things during daylight hours? Is there any reason that we can't socialize while it's still actually that same day, and not the early hours of the next? I actually like the way that most of you look-I've had the rare occasion to see you in the daylight, and you're all perfectly acceptable to gaze upon...is there something about the sun that we hate? I understand that odd hours of the night often facilitate open communication blah blah blah...but can't we try and practice some of that while the sun shines? This isn't to say that I don't ever want to go out and do things later...but not EVERYTHING has to be done at night. I'm just afraid the novelty of it all is beginning to wear off, and the Novel is beginning to wear out.

One with the Refuse...

I've a confession to make...

I don't have the balance of an elephant on a beach ball...it's really very sad.

Today I was sitting on my bed and attempting to push the trash down, because it was getting kind of full. So I lean over like so:



And somehow, I end up completely in the trash can, like so:



Now, I'm not entirely sure how this happened, especially since I'd think that it'd be pretty difficult, what with my trashcan being just a regular, knee-high trash can. Oh well. It's too bad you guys can't flip-book the pictures...it's even funnier to watch as a pseudo cartoon.

What a nerd.

I Belong

Do you ever have moments where you finally catch some of the vision of the Church? Times where you seem to understand exactly where things are going? I got one of those today, and it makes me so happy...just ask Uffish, BAWB, BamaBeau, or Wafflewitz...they were all there.

I got to attend two sessions of conference today. It was really fun going to the morning one, though I was a bit tired. I'm running on 7 hours of sleep for the past two nights...not the best way to do conference. The Saturday afternoon session is the one that made me really excited though, and here's why.

I've always wanted to go to the Saturday Afternoon session, because that's the one that you sustain everyone in. I know you can sit at home and do it, and I always do, but it's exciting to think about doing it there, where they can actually see you, surrounded by thousands of other people doing the exact same thing. It's incredible! Sustaining is one of my favorite parts of church, especially when it's in general conference. For me, raising your right arm is almost poetic, in that you have the opportunity to say so much with a single action. It used to bother me that it was done so en masse...but you know what? It's not like we're voting on whether or not everything that's going on with callings is right-the Lord doesn't ever require our stamp of approval on anything. Sure, we can raise our hands in opposition if necessary, but that rarely happens. I think that raising your hand is really for you. It lets you say: "I have a testimony of this church, of the process of revelation and callings, of the fact that God speaks to us today, and I will support his choices of servants and do all I can to help them."

What power in a single action! Every time you raise your arm, you're throwing your support towards the side of the Lord (a.k.a. the winning side). You're standing with Nephi, Moroni, Alma, Peter, James, John the Baptist, Moses, Isaiah, all of the prophets and saints past and present, and even Christ himself.

Sounds like the best kind of company to be in.

And that's what makes me so excited about the Church. It's over 12 million people who, in theory, are united in a grand purpose, to bring the kingdom of God onto the earth. We are part of something amazing, something that is doing good, and working to do the will of God. Sure, people are imperfect, and bad things happen, but the Gospel itself is not the people who teach it. The Gospel is true, completely, totally, and amazingly. The Lord is at its head, and he's the one who guides it. It's incredible to see where we've come from, and what we've become. From 1830-now...it's amazing.

Joseph Smith said to a group of brethren in Zion's Camp: "Brethren I have been very much edified and instructed in your testimonies here tonight, but I wan to say to you before the Lord that you know no more concerning the destinies of this Church and kingdom than a babe upon its mother's lap. You don't comprehend it...It is only a little handful of Priesthood you see here tonight, but this Church will fill North and South America--it will fill the world." (in Conference Report, Apr. 1891, 57)

Guys…that is US! We are the fulfillment of prophecy. THIS is THAT church, and I can't help but think that we now still can't comprehend what the Church may yet become. Take a second to look beyond the faults of the members, and just feel what exactly it is that you are a part of. Look past what people are at this moment, and love them for a second for what they can become because of what we have. If you do, perhaps you too will have some desire to sing hymns of praise for all that we have. This Gospel is true, and it's going to keep moving forward, with or without us. We are a part of something great, and I belong here...

...and that's a wonderful feeling.

Drippy

So many things to tell you
Such important news to share
Of things like trees, and tests and mud
But right now, you can’t be there

So many things to do with you
Like walking along the street
And holding hands and getting a hug
After a day that’s left us beat

So many events you’re missing
Like that time I curled my hair
And then it rained, and all went straight
Wet and drippy, it just hung there

So many things I’m missing
Like the smile you put on my face
So many parts and bits of me
I didn’t realize you’d put into place

I’m missing the big picture
And the fact that you’ll be home soon
I know you’re doing the things that are right
Just right now, I’m missing you.

Keep the Change...

I'm a person who is pretty adaptable at this point when changes come around. My family has moved tons of times in my life (we're talking over 30), and so it's something that I've become well accustomed to doing, but the idea of it is still something that intrigues me.

I just looked at a picture of my dogs-both of whom are now grown-where one was a puppy. Isn't it strange? Puppies become dogs, children grow into adults, and things that are new will eventually become old. Life moves forward.

I can't say that I've ever really comprehended change before it happened. When I was in Elementary School, I always knew that I was going to be going to middle school. I talked about how excited I was about it, yadda yadda yadda...but I didn't really understand that it would actually happen (same with college, moving, changing relationships etc.).

Everything changes, but its ok. Each time I've come to a new change, I've adjusted, and learned to live within it. Darwin's evolution has nothing on me. ;)

See, I think that being born in the time that I was has had some effect on this thinking. I have to say that growing up learning about the second coming, and the fact that it was going to happen sometime soon-ish caused me to plant the idea in my head that it's always the other possibility whenever I make plans. Wow, this is probably sounding really weird. Oh well.

This is how it goes. I think in these terms: I'll do ______ as long as the second coming doesn't come first. I'll definitely be _______ as long as the second coming doesn't happen first. These blanks get filled with things like "go to high school," "get married," "move into a house of my own," "have a family," etc.

I don't just do it with the second coming though. That's kind of my running thing for long term goals, but I think in the same terms on short term goals as well. I've also realized that I spend a lot of time not spending time in my own time. Thoroughly confused? Good!

I think a lot about the past-both my personal past, and history...as it is my major. I also think a lot about the future-later that week, later that month, later that year, 20 years from now-I think I spend very little time in the here, and now.

I'm not sure yet if this is a bad thing. I think I could focus a little more on the importance of some things now, but so far, focusing on the future and on the past has helped me to keep a good perspective on life in general. The only problem is that I focus on the future, and future goals, and future improvements to myself, and my potential and such, and often forget to stop and look at where I am at the moment. This leads us back to the whole "I'll do it if the second coming doesn't happen first" thing.

Intentions are good things. Everyone has to have SOME intent for doing things, or nothing of purpose gets done. But intentions aren't enough. You have to actually act on those good intentions without putting it off forever.

And now we're back to change. See, I've been kind of a passive changer-I've changed what I needed to adapt to different situations, but unless it seemed really necessary, I don't know that I've made too many changes of my own accord. This is because change is scary-it's something that happens to us, that we try to avoid bringing on our own heads. But, I think I need to be more actively changing-not a total revamp of who I am...as I'm actually kind of fond of who I am in general. This is a changing of the little things that I need to. The "sanding" phase, if you will (because I will).

So, that's about where my thoughts end. Basically, there are two types of change. There's the kind that just happens to you-growing up, seasons, weather, sometimes friends, moving with family etc. and it's really good to learn to adapt to those. Then there are changes that you instigate in yourself-a better attitude towards life, being kinder, loving people like Christ does, holding firm to your beliefs, smiling more, learning to like things that you didn't think you did...

That list could go on forever. Here's to change, and learning to actively instigate it, and not just go with it when it happens to come along.

Miracle Umbrella

Sometime between last year and this year, I managed to lose my umbrella. I'm pretty sure this means that I've left it at my family's house, but I'm not entirely sure. Either way, until this morning, I was without umbrella.

I'm walking along in the rain, and getting wet, and not minding it too terribly, though it is cold, and I have the following train of thought:

Gee, it's raining, I should get an umbrella sometime. Oh, wait, I can't get it now, because I don't have any money with me...I guess I left my card at home. Wait, I left all my cards at home. Darn. That means I have to go home to get my ID to take my test. Guess I won't be taking it right after this class. Darn, I'm late to class. Ooh...sprinklers-and it's raining, that's funny, I kind of wish I had my camera right now, the sprinklers kind of make the grass look moor-ish....

At this point, a young man who has an umbrella walks up to me and pulls another one out of his pocket. He holds it out to me and asks if I'd like it. The interesting thing is that I don't know this young man at all, and I don't know that I'd be able to recognize him if I saw him again, but I sure do appreciate him. I love the seeming randomness of it-who walks around with a spare umbrella in their pocked to give to dripping damsels? Either way, I've had my faith in the kindness of strangers restored, and I now own my very own umbrella.

Hooray for rain.

Misery

You know the saying, "Misery loves company?" I used to think that it meant simply that people who were miserable wanted people around them to be miserable too, and so they worked to make everyone miserable blah blah blah. Today I think I've discovered that misery often likes it's own company.

I had a really early morning, with quite a bit of stress, and I've been acting miserable all day. I'm sleep deprived, irritable, and not a whole lot of fun to be around at the moment. What have I been doing? Instead of pulling myself out of it, moving on, working to be more fun to be around, and smiling more, I've been, instead, wallowing in it. I've been a complete nerd all day, hoping for someone else to somehow magically make me feel better. I've mired myself in the muck of self-pity, and instead of bucking up and working my way out, I'm standing there with my arms up waiting for some soul to yank me out. It's like I've punched myself in the face a few times, scratched myself up, and then went and laid on the side of the road moaning hoping for some good Samaritan to come down the road and not pass on the other side.

With my attitude, I deserve to be passed by.

And so, dear friends, wherever you may be, please forgive my current mucky state. I've changed tactics, and am now pulling myself up, and working my way out of the mire. Please be patient, sympathize, empathize if you wish, but know that I'm working my way out, and feeling rather sheepish for it all.

Shoes

Anyone who knows me in real life will not tell you that I am a fashion diva. My poor sister had to deal with me all through high school, and her good taste was offended by what is obviously a lesser sense of fashion in her older sister. Now, I don't dress disgustingly, and I like to look nice, but I am far from being "fashionable."

I was cleaning my room the other day, and organizing my shoes, when I realized that I seemed to have a large amount of them. I decided to count them today, and found that I have 52 shoes...

That's 26 pairs!! If I were to wear a different pair of shoes every single day, I could go nearly a month before I wore the same shoes twice.

WHY? An individual with as limited a fashion sense as mine has no business owning 26 pairs of shoes...it's just excessive!

The nice thing though is, that I haven't paid more than $15.00 for any pair of shoes in my closet. In fact, the majority of them cost me less than $10.00, and I've had some of them since 9th grade, so this is a collection that's been building over the past few years, but still...26 pairs?

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder...

I walked around campus today with really...umm...interesting hair...

OK, so really, it was pretty ugly. It's really short, and it was twisted in all sorts of "artistic" ways to begin with and held with bobby pins. One section of hair was wrapped around some tweezers, and then several different silk flower budlets were placed all over. These flower budlets happen to come from a little flower pot thing that I got from the YW leaders on my birthday...

it was pretty bad folks.

Now, I don't really have to do a challenge when I don't want to, but I'll do things because I think that they're funny. This hairstyle, and the possible reactions to it struck me as something that could be funny, so I left it in.

I have to say that I didn't get as many reactions as I would have expected. I got a few funny looks from people, especially ones that I didn't know, and I turned a few heads...which doesn't usually happen. I did get a couple of compliments...which makes me laugh. I think sometimes people feel the need to say something about an outfit when they notice it's different from usual, even if it looks terrible.

I was thinking about the way I looked, and what other people might have thought as they passed by, and I wondered how many people that I've looked at and thought, "woah...that's...interesting" were really doing it just because it was something that they thought would be funny too...

So from now on, when I see people whose hair, make-up, or clothing I wonder about, I think I'll just look briefly, and appreciate their sense of humor...because I sure hope that that's what people where doing for me.

St. Patrick's Day, Relief Society, and the Great Debate

OK, first, Happy St. Patrick's Day, and Happy Birthday to the Relief Society!

Moving on...

The great debate. For me, this usually falls between two things, and in the afternoons. Allow me to set up the situation for you.

It's midterm week, and you've just studied for 2 tests, and taken 1, you got 3 hours of sleep the night before, and went to all your classes. Because you did so, you've now gotten nothing to eat all day...and it's 3:00 in the afternoon. You've got a class at 5...and you could really use a nap.

So what do you do? Do you take the nap, or do you get something to eat?

At this point, I usually sit in my chair and think for a little while...and the nap usually wins. I mean, sure, it's kind of nice to take a nap right after eating, but sleep...it's so now, so precious, and so much easier than getting something to eat...

The same thing happens to me when I run into a problem of hygiene v. sleeping or eating...I dislike going out anywhere though if I've not showered, and so showering generally wins out, at least when my hair is incapable of being placed in a ponytail. Honestly, that's one of the reasons that I keep it so short-apart from the fact that I like it this way, it's far to easy for me to get lazy when my hair gets long enough for it to get into a ponytail...

And lazy is just gross...at least for me...my hair gets nasty, and there's no way to justify that.

These "what do you do?" questions remind me of the first book that I ever read out loud. It's called What do you do with a Kangaroo? by Mercer Mayer. Try reading it sometime, it's still one of my favorites. Also, The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch...it's just a great book, and as a Board writer, I never realized the great impact that such a book would have on my personal life...ok, so that's a lie.

I don't think that anyone who knows me personally, and knows that I'm on the Board doesn't know that I'm Novel Concept...first off, I'm not too hard to figure out, and secondly, once you figure it out...I'm really ok with some people knowing, as long as I've actually met you in person, and spent SOME time with you...I guess I'm not as guarded about my anonymity as most other writers...well, at least not with this 'nym. There aren't too many people who know my other ones...at least not all of them. Oh well, that's enough on that stuff.

Again, Happy Holidays friends, and have an excellent day...week...however long it is until you check back here to read more about the Daring Adventures of Novel....

Changing of the Blog

So, I've finally figured out how to play with technology...

Only a little though.

Poor Fractile has been trying to patiently walk me through some things...like making the pictures repeat, and letting it load quickly...or more quickly. Sadly, I don't think I'm catching on as he would hope.

Anyway, if the blog looks different several times during the day...that's why. It's because I'm so excited about being able to do this. :)

Ugh...

You ever wake up feeling like it's a bad day already, and nothing bad has happened yet? I woke up this morning with a bad attitude, and in order to help change it and have it run it's course, I'm going to whine a bit.

• whine
• moan
• complain
• groan
• whimper
• rant
• rave
• mutter incoherently
• snivel
• cry
• bemoan
• yell
• laugh nervously
• sigh heavily
• whine whine whine
• sigh determinedly
• move on

Yeah...I think it's time for a shower now.

WWF...Dorm Style

Wow, my head still hurts some from laughing about this one...hopefully you find it half as funny, because I'm still sitting here chuckling about it.

I have this great friend we'll call Madam Manatee (not for any physical reasons, because she's NOT a sea cow in any way, she just likes them a whole lot :). She and Ms. Addison and I all watched My Fair Lady tonight (yes Phoenix, again), and afterwards, Madam Manatee totally started to attack me...completely unprovoked *cough*lie*cough*.

Let's go back to the beginning...

So earlier today, Madam Manatee and Ms. Addison and I were walking to get some dinner, and discussing Berkley, whom I learned about in my philosophy class on Friday. He says that everything is made up of ideas, and that matter is merely an idea that we have. It goes a lot further than that, but I was attempting to be intellectual, and explain things. OK, I really wasn't. I'd already had the conversation with Ms. Addison, and so I was really catching Madam Manatee up on things, when I told her that we were both ideas. Then I said, "And this is us, having a debate!" Then I did a really mature thing, and bumped into her so she tripped out of the crosswalk. Really, it was funny, and so she came back and bumped into me, and I bumped into Ms. Addison, and we "debated" all the way to the MORC. At one point, I told Madam Manatee that I rebutted her argument, and I kicked her in the tush...yeah, I know, more REAL maturity...but it was still really funny.

So Madam Manatee warned me at dinner that she was going to be deconstructing my idea later that night. Madam Manatee told me that she'd taken self-defense, and that I was going down!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

So we watch the movie in peace, and then Madam Manatee starts attacking me. She hits me with a pillow to the head, and then gets taken down something fierce by me hitting her back with pillows. The entire time I'm hitting her back, she's yelling "HELP!" Over and over and over again...

Is that what they teach you in self defense?

So then, she finally gets on her feet, standing on solid ground, and she says, whilest being battered with pillows, "I'll show you self-defense, now just stand still!"

Have I mentioned how much I love Madam Manatee?

So then she's trying to get it so that she's pinned me, and somehow, I end up sitting on top of her, without even trying. She says, "Hold on, that's not how it's supposed to happen..."

Maybe she took self-offense.

Our scuffle spills out into the hallway and Madam Manatee and I stand facing each other. I'm laughing really hard at this point, and then I say, "Manatee, you've given me a real headache." At which point, Madam Manatee looks hopeful and pleased with herself, until I say, "From all the laughing I've been doing."

Ouch.

Anyway, Madam Manatee decided to leave me the remainder of my dignity, and told me that she'd deconstruct my idea later.

Wow...somebody really should save the manatees of this world, because this one is absolutely hilarious.

Thank You Internet...

Your Seduction Style: The Natural

You don't really try to seduce people... it just seems to happen. Fun loving and free spirited, you bring out the inner child in people. You are spontaneous, sincere, and unpretentious - a hard combo to find! People drop their guard around you, and find themselves falling fast.

What Is Your Seduction Style?

Haha! Ok, so that picture was two people kissing...and that was risque for me...so it's not anymore. (Not really, but that looks a lot funnier)

Novel Concept the seductress...yeah right.

Sun, Sons, and Paradox

So, today I got a sunburn...and it excited me. Granted, it's not a real dark sunburn, or bad in the least, in fact, it just kind of looks like I'm blushing across my nose and cheeks, and my arms are a little red.

Friends, it's still technically winter.

I had a test to take this evening, so I studied outside for about 3 hours today, and then "took a break" by going into the library.

Is there something wrong with this picture?

I also heard three freshman guys talking about what they wanted to name their kids someday. Apparently their names of choice are Albert and Alton.

Did the whole world go backwards today?

Girls Girls Girls!!!

Don't worry friends, I got that title from a billboard in Vegas...but the post is nothing like the scantily-clad individuals who adorned it. Nope, none of those wel- placed sequins here-just plain clothes...with sleeves, and "hemlines down to the boottops, and necklines up to the necks." (Have you seen that movie? I know YOU have ;)

OK, so...girls. You know what, I think we all think we're atypical. I don't really want to go into that right now, but it's kind of like what my favorite manatee lover was saying tonight, about how rebellion and conformity are the same thing...not going there either. Anyway...back to the feminines.

I attended Enrichment tonight, that was scheduled to go for 3.5 hours. Ever since Women's Conference last summer when I worked the MORC, I have been convinced that women should never be alone in a large group for any extended period of time without male contact. I wittnessed the true pioneer spirit as women refused to follow authority, blazed their own trails to food, and took all matters into their own hands. No good. Males help us to behave, to interact, and to come back to reality. When males are bad, they provide a common enemy for girl-hood to unite against. Sure, this girl you know may have been a complete jerk to you and stole the guy you liked, but if he turns out to be an even bigger jerk, girl jerk becomes your best friend because she saved you from pain, and you commiserate the male gender in general. Girl thinking just doesn't make sense sometimes.

I think that guys get the short end of the stick in a lot of lessons in church. Women are great, and womenhood is something to be honored and supported, because women do a good job of belittling themselves while the rest of the world does the same, but that doesn't mean that men are scum. Men provide a good tempering to women, and women help to nurture guys...etc. etc. etc. The whole point is to balance each other, not belittle.

Anyway, I guess the point is that I don't understand the way that girls work a lot of times. Guys always talk about how they don't understand females...but they're probably so confused because, well, so are we. We don't understand ourselves, we don't understand guys, and we definitely don't understand how we're supposed to interact. We just do a better job of pretending that we do than a lot of guys.

There's more of Gravy than of Grave....

I don't usually have dreams that really scare me. I've had dreams that have made me cry, I've had dreams where I've woken myself up because I was actually laughing out loud, and I've even had a dream in French once, and I don't speak a word.

Last night though, I had a dream that actually scared me, and I couldn't seem to get away from it. This is what happened.

You know all the black and white war photos you see in history classes and such from like, 9th grade on? Well, imagine (or don't, it's sad) that you're watching all those horrible things happen, but not with the noises that go along with them, just silence, and the occasional film noise. Allow me to explain the film noise part. It's like when you watch a movie and you can hear the film turning on the reels...you understand? I hope so...it's the sound that you hear if you stay through the very end of the credits and everything is black...except it wasn't all black, it's these terrible scenes. Everything from the holocaust to my imagination's version of the final battle between the Nephites and the Lamanites. All silent, all playing before my eyes, not like a movie, but like a play, with movie quality...in 3D. In the corner of the stage there's a little boy, also in black and white, and he's about 9, and wearing like, old English school-boy clothes. He's watching the same scenes, while moving closer to me. I can't see his face though, and somehow I know (don't you love how you just know things in dreams?) that if I see his face, that I will die, because this little boy is death embodied.

Well, finally, the boy has moved to the point where he's right in the center of my line of vision, and he starts to turn around really slowly, and I know what's happening, so I wake up, for real. I lay in bed for a few seconds scared to go back to sleep, but I manage to do it anyway.

A few minutes later, I'm in the same dream, and it's only a little rewound from the place that I was when I'd last woken up, and he was still moving towards me, and turning...

And that's how my night continued for a little while, I got this kind of morbid curiosity after a little while, where I wanted to know what he looked like, but I knew I would die if I saw him.

I never did see death, and I'm very much alive today, I'm just wondering one thing:

What on earth did I eat that made that horrid dream happen?

TV is the Devil

Well, at least TV Preview...

I mean, I was all psyched up to go...DOOR PRIZES!!

I didn't win anything...and sadly, neither did Uffish or Wafflewitz...'twas really tragic.

On top of that, we sat through 2 hours of the worst TV ever. I was really glad that we got the chance to tell them what we thought of it, because I certainly had some opinions on the topics. The first show was called "Soulmates." Basically, it opperated on the premise that these two people had met in a past life, and they were trying to get together in successive lives, and this episode was all about her trying to figure out where she knew this guy from.

My critique stated the following: This show had the sentimentality of a middle-school diary, and was equally worth my time.

The second show was one that used to run on TV, and they're thinking about redoing it for TV again. The actors in it were pretty good, but it was still a dumb show. Thumbs down for both.

On top of all that, there were commercials...and not very good ones. In fact, there was the worst Dorritos commercial EVER in there. Somehow though, I still found myself wishing for the commercials to come, rather than watching the TV shows.

On top of all this insult, my cell phone was picked up by someone while there. It had been in my purse...but it wasn't there when I left. I called and got it suspended so that it couldn't make any calls, or recieve any, and then sent my mom an e-mail about the whole thing. I actually went back to the hotel where they'd held the whole thing yesterday, and someone had turned it in, so I'm not sure what happened there. Anyway, that sorrowful part is now fixed. :D

AND we didn't win anything! I felt justified in keeping the stupid pen they included with our rating packet...at least then I'd take something from the evening.

It was a terrible evening, minus the company. Uffish and Wafflewitz are really great people to hang out with by the way, if you're lucky enough to try it sometime-take the opportunity. Phoenix even brought over some of his cure-all remedy...Ice Cream, and then a bunch of us watched most of White Christmas. Hooray for friends who can help cheer you up.

I thought I was done with the awful TV Preview people forever. I didn't win, I didn't like them, and I'd lost 2 hours of my precious youth for them. I bet I'll regret that when I'm like...50.

Well, today, they found me.

I get a phone call from the people. They had the audacity to call me! ME! Who told them exactly what I thought of their stupid TV Preview with the comment that they needed "more prizes, and T-shirts, free ones." These people wanted another 10 minutes of my life! Their justification was that it'd had been a few days and they wanted to get my opinions after the fact.

Oh, did I have opinions.

I could have just hung up on them...but I decided to give them what they wanted. They'd likely be getting hung up on by most people anyway right?

I did the entire thing monotone...no change in my voice whatsoever. part of our conversation went like this:

"Do you remember seeing a Secret Body Sprays commercial?"
"Yes"
"What ideas were presented in the commercial?"
"That if you wear their spray you'll be a sexy lady and have success with men."
"Were there any other ideas presented in the commercial that you noticed?"
"You won't stink."

She didn't so much as titter.

"Do you remember seeing a Bounty Paper Towel Commercial?"
"Yeah."
"What ideas were presented in the commercial?"
"Bounty is better than the leading competitor."
"Were there any other ideas presented in the commercial that you noticed?"
"Bounty is better at absorbing green water."

Poor lady. Oh well, it was awful. She asked me if I would consider coming back if I were invited again. I said "Probably not." She replied, "Is that a yes or no?"

"No." DUH!

Anyway, if anything else, I hope that Uffish, Wafflewitz and I helped to save the world from some kind of horrible programming, because that, my friends, is why the Youth of America are becoming so darn stupid.

TV is the Devil.

Great Song

OK, this is my favorite song, I think it's absolutely awesome. It's called "Lasagna" and it's by Cherie Call.

Tried to eat some lasagna today.
It didn't taste how it did when I made it
Come to think of it, that was Tuesday,
Maybe I shouldn't have saved it.
The microwave gives it a radioactive crisp,
Which is not what you're after.
I still have half a pan left

Wish you were here.

Went to a resturant and saw these two,
They had a table near the band.
And when the band played a slow one,
He reached over to touch her hand.
Well, I think they saw me staring,
So I went to pay the bill.
But somehow it made me

Wish you were here.

It's not like I can't stand on my own,
It's not like I don't have friends who will call on the phone,
And boys who will take me out,
That's not what this is about.
Cause I've never missed you before,
But lately sometimes I do.
And I don't know where you are,
Or if there's even such a thing as you.
All I know is today hasn't been any different
From any other day of any year.
Maybe that's what's wrong

Wish you were here.

Well you've been gone too long.
Wish you were here.

Ooo Ooo Ooo Ooo
Wish you were here.



It doesn't leave you feeling like..."awwww, poor me," either. It makes you go, "Huh, there's someone out there just for me."

Yeah...Novel's feeling really sappy right now...anyone want half my Twix?

The Wheels on the Bus...

I just rode the bus home from Orem, and had a 35 minute talk with the bus driver. It turns out that he loves history too, and so, as we talked about different regions in the USA, we were able to pepper our speech with various historical references that were really funny, as long as you had some idea of the history behind them...

Here's to getting out and talking to random people...and here's even more to finding out that you actually have things in common with them. :D

Baaaaa....Baaaaa.....

*sigh... just call me a lemming...

Funny Feet

I've been really amused by my feet today...and I can't really figure out why. Oh well, here's a poem to go with them:

FUNNY FEET
Funny Feet, funny feet
Oh, I have such funny feet.
Left then right,
To and fro,
They always know
which way to go!

Oh elementary school...

Hey Friends...Did You Miss Me?

Ahoj all (that's Czech by the way),

Don't worry, I don't actually expect any of you to answer that question. I just kind of feel like musing right now...any of you guys have to write songs or something? I could probably be some good inspiration...probably. Or maybe not.

Before you continue any further, this will likely be really incessant babble, you've been warned, proceed at your own risk.

To start off, I really like people. I like to talk to them, I like to be around them, I like to hear their stories, and figure out where they're coming from. I like to hear their opinions on things. I don't often like to share mine readily on certain topics, but I will eventually.

I really like smells, and I have a pretty good smell-memory correlation. When I was checking out colleges, I visited Mars Hill, and their history wing smells just like the cafeteria of Cherry Hill Elementary school here in Utah-I went there for a couple of years...kinda. That's where I got one of those color-changing mustang shirts. I was cool for like...30 seconds.

I really like change. I like to adapt, and to do new things, and to grow (well, except for my hair, and I'm not really getting any taller either...but I'm sure you get what I mean.). If I'm doing one thing for too long, I start to feel like I'm stagnant. Just this morning, I was getting ready to go to class, and I noticed that the bottom layer of my short haircut was getting a little long. In fact, it was approaching the lines of "mullet." Those are lines that I refuse to cross, so I cut it off. Just like that. there goes about an inch of hair. I don't think that many people can understand why I do these things...I can't really understand it. For me, some days it's easier to just cut a little bit off my hair than to figure out what to do with it. Consequently, my hair ends up pretty short, and nearly every time someone asks "did you get a haircut" I can answer yes, because it's true.

I also really like soft blankets. Who doesn't?

I don't like the assessment part of school. It's not because I'm terrible at it, it's just because it seems to take the fun out of it. Religion tests, papers, homework...they're all things that I just don't particularly enjoy doing. I like class, especially when I have good professors, and I have the chance to participate and discuss, and I also don't mind reading. For me, it's the rest of it that sucks the fun out...but oh well. When I rule the world....

Ok, that's probably enough for now. I'm sure that you'll get some more later. Maybe I'll even jump on the quiz bandwagon at some point...maybe not. We'll see. Until later friends, have a nice night.

Vegas or Bust

Guess what friends!

I just went WAR DRIVING!!! We just found an internet connection from some place across from an OBGYN…the name of the connection was “jamaica”

Oh the covertness that is Novel Concept. I’m freakin’ amazing!

So…Las Vegas. Ummm…it’s an interesting place. I’m looking out my window and I’m seeing the Las Vegas Club hotel and casino, right across the street from Sam Boyd’s California Hotel and Casino. If you’re looking for gaudy…you’re gonna find it here. I’m amazed at the number of lights flashing. I think when people were claiming that Japanese Anime cartoons were giving kids epileptic fits, they’d never tried to take them to Vegas. I haven’t even made it to the strip and I’m twitching. Oh look…it’s Lady Luck, and the US Bank. I wonder if the number of colors/lights on your building directly correlates to the amount of business here. That’d be an interesting study for the Board to look into…I’m sure it’s been done somewhere. Ooooo…El Cortez Casino…and then hotel. Interesting. I wonder if their casino has the curse of the Aztecs on it. Maybe you can hook up with a dead pirate or two while there. WOW! Steak and Lobster for $9.95!

On a more unrelated note, some of you may have seen the blog that I did about when we drove from California to (OOOHHHHH!!!! SPACE NEEDLE!!!!!! Back to the sentence) Tennessee. I was rather anti-Nevada in that post…and I can’t say that I’d like to live here, but I find the green that’s around (yes, you DID read that right…it’s green!) to be rather appealing…especially when coupled with the amazing sky. Ooo-da-lolly for a wonderful desert sunset.

Wow…suddenly we’re in Maryland…and now in Bonanza. I guess I should tell you who the “we” I’m talking about are. It’s none other than Uffish Thought and Phoenix. Guess who we’re going to see…THOR! I’m so excited. The car ride over here has been quite lovely. A nap, snackety snacks, and some Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away), along with some verra nice music-provided by Phoenix’s Driving Mix, and Uffish’s “A Disk for Thursday.” Mmmm..great friends. Also, we saw some interesting beer in one of the gas stations. It’s called Wasatch Beer, and one was called “Provo Girl” The other one was called “Polygamy Porter” and the motto with it was “Why have just one?” Oh, funny.

GUESS WHAT?!?! We just found I-15! We’ve been driving around for a little while trying to follow the signs to the interstate…and it’s not been working. Finally, we’re getting there….as soon as all these other silly cars stop coming.

Woo Hoo! We just found our exit…sweet sassy molassy. This is gonna be amazing. I’m afraid I’ll have to go for now…I’ll write some more later. I have a feeling this is going to be an entirely blog-worthy trip.

Hey...this is Me

You are Woodstock!

Which Peanuts Character are You?

Reasons I need a Kitchen...Part I

You know those days where you just know that after it's over, you'll look back and laugh?

Today was one of those occasions where you know you'll look back and laugh, and you get to laugh whilest it's happening too...

So, I'm an RA, and without kitchen. This isn't generally a problem. I have friends with kitchens, and enough meal prowess (read: mooching ability) that I'm usually able to avoid the cafeteria.

Well, today, being without kitchen became a huge problem.

I ordered a cake for a floor birthday party about a week ago, and I took the order to the appropriate persons to get said cake. It was a simple order: white cake, cut into 35 pieces, to be delivered today, February 15th. I called today to check on the order, and to see if my cake was coming. The person in charge of ordering had already gone home for the day, so I checked with the next person available...who didn't know. She kindly offered to call the first person to see if he had ordered the cake, and then call me back.

I got a call back a little while later that said that I was supposed to have reminded the first person, and kept coming back between when my order was due and when I'd put it in, because the order had ended up getting lost among some other financial papers. Because I had failed to do this, my cake had not gotten ordered. Was this going to be a problem? "No, that's ok." I said...only partially thinking it was a lie-really just a setback. Sure, it was a really inconvenient setback, but these things are workable right? I had about 3 hours until I had to go to a meeting, and that was plenty of time to get some cake or something made right?

Riiiiiight...

So I go to the store and I get some cake mix, frosting, ice cream, and cupcake holders. Individual cakes are cool too right? Sure, they weren't what everyone was hoping for, but it was still cake, and we're girls, and we have ice cream...this should be good enough right?

I realize that the oven in my building is broken, so I've got to go to another building. I go to the first one, to find the oven in use, and then the second, to find a free oven. HUZZAH! I've also only got 12 cupcake holders...which means that I've got to cook about 4 batches of cupcakes...that=80 minutes of sitting in someone else's basement and watching TV. I NEVER watch regular TV...especially sitcoms. I love movies, but I'm just not a huge fan of too many TV shows, let alone "that 70's show" and "American Idol."

Now, you'd think I could cook about 48 cupcakes without incident right?

Wrong.

Due to the limited resources, I put the cupcakes into a bag after they're out of the oven so that I can carry them all back to my building. The cupcakes in the bag promptly decide to no longer maintain their cup-cakey shape, and become cup-crumbs...and the party is supposed to start in an hour...and the cake mix is almost all gone, and there's no peace in the middle east, andmyshoesareuntiedbecausetheydon'thaveanytiesand....

Yeah, it ALMOST happened like that. Except instead, I just started to laugh. The whole situation was entirely ridiculous, and I couldn't help but just start laughing. This lasted all the way back to my room, where I got a hold of the hall advisor, who told me that I could go and buy another cake if I wanted to.

With nothing but some crummy looking cupcakes in the bag, I called up Phoenix who took me, and Uffish to the store to buy a cake. After a short selection time, I picked out a white $17.00 1/4 sheet cake, almost exactly what I'd ordered in the first place.

It gets even better from there-while standing in line for a cashier due to the fact that there wasn't a barcode on this cake, the manager comes up and tells me that I can go to the self-checkout lane. I explain the barcode issue and she says, "umm...$10.00- just tell her it's $10."

Bonus, I just saved $7.00 on a cake...more budget money for me!

I get the cake back, and with some assistance from Uffish, got the party all set up. There weren't as many people as I'd hope for, with all the stuff that went into it...but there were enough, and we had just enough cake-no waste.

Hahahahahahaha.....

If I Were a Bell...

Oh the joys of Valentines Day!

For one whole day a year, I can think all the sappy, sentimental, pink and mushy thoughts that I want to, and they're allowed to show all over my brightly beaming contenance. I can walk around with the idiot smile, and no one else really cares...or at least no one else expects me to explain myself. This is, after all, a day entirely devoted to pink, love, and the happy little girl giggle...

Or something like that.

Favorite SAD Valentine I've heard today:

I'm not yours,
You're not mine
won't you be my anti-valentine?

MMMmmmmMMM...life :D

Return of the Jedi

Ok, so it's really just the return of the nametag...but it IS a source of some power...

It's been "missing" for about 3 weeks now...maybe a month, and I've felt it's absence distinctly. The shiny golden background of it, encasing the regally carved letters that make up my name and position, they do something for you. I didn't realize the power that was to be had in simply playing with it's magnetic backing, and having it stuck to the doorjam of my room.

Somehow, having it back in its position says something like, "Finally, there is again order in this chaos." This badge is my "Magic Feather" and with it, I can fly.

OK, not really, but it IS cool. At least a lot cooler than the "Pearls of Authority." Somehow, those things just weren't cutting it.

HUZZAH!!!

Yeah...life is good :D.

FCCLA- Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America

I just spent lunch with the future of our country...And I have to say-the future looks...Well, trendy?

After some careful observation with a friend, we've come up with some very important things you need to know if you ever plan to become a leader in your Family, Career, or Community.

Sensible shoes-wearing these makes people realize that you, too, are sensible. Also, they show that you can aspire to new heights on the inside-you don't need material goods to do it.

Jean Skirts-wearing these shows that you're in touch with the pulse of the people, without actually stooping to their level. You're wearing jeans AND a skirt-how much more do you want?

Hunting Jacket-don't wear these, it just screams "I HATE ANIMALS!!!" You're not going to get anywhere with animal lovers hating you too much.

Teddy Bear-carry one of these, because it shows that you're compassionate, and you love animals. Either that, or it shows that you need one of the next with you...

Mommy-it's ok to let her stay home after awhile...Really. She probably gets sick of hanging around anyway.

Lip Ring-far to distracting when speaking...And gross looking. Which brings us to...

Language (Crap, Ex-lax)-if you call your friends ex-lax as a term of endearment...I don't want you. Also, if you use the word 'crap' you're clearly a potty mouth and have no business being around people of high repute.

crap...

Ice Cream-do not follow everyone else to the ice cream machine. If you do, you are a lemming, and you obviously promote obesity in America...Obviously.

Whimsical Shoes-now, these need to be sensible tennis shoes with blue, yellow, and green swirls on them. These shoes will not likely get you the ultimate leadership opportunity-though they may allow you to work your way into congress or something. I think quirky might work for that.

Collared Shirt-You have to have a collared shirt...And a tie-otherwise, how on earth are people supposed to trust you? Well, if you're male-girls need a skirt. The skirt suit on girls says "I'm a business women" a lot more than it screams "elect me!" though.

Untucked Shirt-guys shirts must be tucked in. The flap in the back that covers your backside indicates that you're looking to cover your own behind before looking out for the team. While this may be a statement of truth, you want people to at least believe you're entirely sincere.

Puff Paint-Don't use this, it just makes you look like you tried to be crafty without any real tools available...

Yeah, those are the things I learned. Shallow? Critical? Cynical maybe? It's always possible...But Uffish is revealing werf's gender today, along with 'nyms-I'm sure you guys are MUCH more interested in that anyway. :)

Driving Them Crazy

I think I'm starting to understand why it is that parents have a hard time when their children finally reach the "driving stage" of life. I know that my poor parents had no ability to replicate what I could make our small four door car do. That car hiccupped, wiggled, jumped and jived...though not often in a movement conducive to regular road travel. Sad day...at least for them. I actually didn't get my license until I was 19-this summer, in fact, right before coming back to school. Finally, I could drive.

It's funny how that made me feel different...even though it didn't really change anything about life...I still didn't have a car, I still use UTA, and I still enjoy walking.

My poor friend though, is currently in the "learning to drive" stage. For the sake of everything, let's call him Buddy.

In Buddy's family, you're not allowed to get your learners permit until you've gotten your Eagle, or your YW medallion. Buddy had just finished up presenting his project to the council, and was waiting in the Honda for his mom to come out once she was done with everything she needed to do.

Now, it was cold outside, as it tends to be this time of year. and Buddy decided that it'd be good to turn on the heater-a sensible choice, for a sensible young man.

He tried to turn on the heater and for some reason he thought he had to turn on the car...I don't know why he thought that...

He somehow popped the clutch and careened over the parking stopper thing, over the corner of a short brick wall, between 2 parked cars (he dinged one), past Scouters standing in the parking lot, through two parked cars scrapping and denting the passenger door (but missing the pickup that would have totaled the Honda and hurt him), past the parking lot blacktop edge, past 2 trees into the field about 1/2 way to that little church next to the scout office.

Apparently he didn't know how to stop the car and when he tried he hit the gas instead of the brake, and so he just turned the ignition off as soon as he made it through the parking lot.

Seems like a logical solution to me. Poor Buddy now doesn't really have any desire to drive...which is sad. I'm sure he'll do fine after a little bit of Driver's Ed, and some practice with someone who can tell him what he's doing...

Poor guy-best of luck Buddy...driving really can be quite enjoyable.

"What is it? Night of the Weirdo's?"

Oh man...I'll let J get this one, but I just have to say that European Techno dances and trips to IHOP with good friends make life grand.

Also, Wal-Mart only likes you if you're buying something...go figure.

And one more thing: Sometimes we really do need to lean on someone...thanks guys :D.

Teach Me all That I Must Do...

I'm really glad that my mother taught me how to do the things she expected me to do. She has very high expectations, granted, but never without first showing me how to do the things she asked.

I saw a mother today with her son, who, I would guess, is going to be starting classes in the summer. She walks up with her son to the registration desk, and barks, "Well, tell them what you need!" He looks taken aback, and scared to be on campus already, and then he looks at her with fright and says, "I don't know what I need." Poor kid; I'd be scared too!

That's not even all of it.

The woman then pushes this poor kid out of the way while rolling her eyes and says, "We need one of those registration books." The two girls working behind the counter don't know what she's talking about, and so they both attempt to clarify for a little while before determining exactly what it is that she wants. They explain where to find it, and she drags her poor son off to some other part of the building.

I certainly hope that I'm never like that as a mother, not even on the really, really bad days. No wonder some of the freshmen look so scared...

In other news, I'm changing my major. After wrestling with physics for a few semesters, I've realized that the hands on experimental stuff I love, but the tests and homeworks: blech! Then I realized that I probably shouldn't be placed somewhere making people do the things that I don't like. History teaching is still a go, but so is a trip to the Counseling Office to see if there's anything else that's right up my alley. Major changing's in the air...

She Should Teach Lessons...

How's this for equality between the sexes?

I take a 2.5 hour class every Wednesday. This past Wednesday, I witnessed a girl who can only be described with an analogy. Girl : Getting Digits :: Sheriff of Nottingham : Collecting Taxes

I'm not kidding.

I took some notes, mostly on stuff that we were talking about in class, but I also took note of her ritual. Watch for it boys, lest you too fall under her spell.

She comes into class a few minutes late, and sits next to a good-looking guy below me. I'm guessing they might have been vaguely acquainted beforehand, but I'm not sure. They're talking and being slightly flirtatious, and about 10 minutes after she sits down, she's scratching his back and they're getting along just fine. At one point she does the following:

1. Reach down slowly for bag
2. Pull out chap stick (blistex perhaps?)
3. Place chap stick back into backpack
4. Pull out sweet scented oil (OK, some would call it simply lotion)
5. Begin to use it- large dollop in hand first, then slow motions over arms and hands, rubbing particularly on elbows and fingertips.
6. Re-insert lotion in bag, and sit back to take notes again.

I think I may have even detected an elbow brush.

For some reason, the guy has to leave at the break, about an hour and a half into class. He gets up with a charge for her to "call him" and leaves. Not 5 minutes after guy #1 is gone, guy #2 enters the scene. He sits in the recently-vacated seat next to her, and they start talking.

I start paying attention to class much more hard-core at this point, and about 15 minutes later, I look down in time to see her receiving a business card from this guy with his number on it, and she starts the same ritual listed above again. "Lotioning and oiling, oiling and lotioning!"

Apparently though, it works...because she didn't have to get up once, and she came out of that classroom with two numbers, and the request to call them both...

Cheese it-The Cops!

How do I get myself into these situations?

Ok, so last night started off well enough. There was a nice trip to see the very funny Divine Comedy, and then an excursion to Smiths for Ice Cream and Brownie mix, provided by a fellow writer. (Not named to protect his pseudonym...Don't even try and be sly there friend :) We were playing games in Smith's and picking out toppings. I was standing in front of the display of the hot fudge toppings, with some of the strawberry ones too, and somehow, I managed to knock one of the strawberry topping jars off the counter, while holding the hot fudge in my other hand. I caught the first jar of strawberry topping, and then tried to catch the next one that fell, and dropped the first, and then tried to catch the next suicidal strawberries thing, and the second one fell. All told, I ended up splattered with strawberry topping from the two shattered jars on the floor. Novel Concept's a klutz on isle 10, clean-up on isle 10...

Then it was back to my place of residence to make the brownies and eat the ice cream. Other friends who'd gone to see a later showing of DC came and joined us, and though some freshmen didn't exactly do things that were intelligent, or cool...(Oh well, what can you do?) the experience was still generally enjoyable. Then it was midnight, and time to climb on the Maeser Building! Huzzah!

So we climb a little-pillars and such mostly, and then we started to walk towards the RB and the amazing climbing tree there. We get sidetracked by the fountain behind the visitor center, and we all sit in it (there isn't any water in it though...it was just the concrete-kind of like Greece and the old speaking forums), wishing desperately that it was some kind of hot tub, because it was real cold. We sat there and talked for a bit, getting a preview of Smurf's blog today, and Smurfs, Wiggle, and J all head off for the tree, leaving me, Uffish, BamaBeau, and Wilhelmina Wafflewitz to sit and chat for a bit longer before joining the rest. We walk towards the trees when we hear Smurfs, and J telling us that there was a police officer that had stopped at the top of the hill and who was getting out of the car. Most of us were unaware of why this was problematic...According to Smurfs, it's illegal to walk around campus after 12:00, and it's technically trespassing. Yikes! What do we all do then? We take off running in the direction of the parking lot by the athletic building. What do we see there? A car parked right by the end of the sidewalk, which we all assume are also police...The parking lights are on! This is the pathway by the outdoor tennis courts, and there are bathrooms, suddenly we all seem to realize that we've got to go...Either that, or everyone else thought that I was trying to hide in the bathroom and decided to follow suit...I honestly just had to use the bathroom...Oh well. I walk out of there, and, through the brick wall divider between the two bathroom doors, I hear Smurfs say, "that's a car with it's parking lights on, that's a bad thing, walk slowly in this direction." So we all start walking back towards the Athletic Building, and we're discussing the fact that it's apparently illegal to be on campus. Smurfs then say, no, I've been caught on campus before..." To which a voice responds from up in the bushes, "you mean like now?" DUN DUN DUN!

We all stopped in our tracks, and look around kind of nervously. I'm trying to see who it is that said the stuff. The voice then proceeds to say, 'there's a car parked at the end of the sidewalk over there, with it's parking lights on." Thank you, that's just what had prompted our retreat in the other direction...We're all still standing there just looking up at the hillside, when the voice says, "I'm totally kidding, I'm not actually police, keep walking." Oh, funny.

We decide to stop our mad running, because we would end up looking guilty(er) than anything else. The rest of the trip back to my place and the car was pretty uneventful. There was a real good rolling down the hill by the Marriott Center though...Good times there, and some bread/ramen exchanging. Everyone went home, and I went upstairs to defrost...I can't ever seem to do that all the way...

What a great life. I even stayed awake for church today...Maybe I should start doing regular hour things though...Maybe...

I Have Been Blessed...

Guys, this is one of those, "all is right with the world" kinds of posts.

I'm grateful for days like Birthdays, because they help to give you a little reminder that there are people out there in the world who really are glad that you were born. In fact, some of those people even go so far as to make you feel downright welcome in this big scary world.

Those are the people to stick with.

Thank you to all who helped make me feel so very welcome in the world today. I absolutely love the feeling of being loved.

How's that for sappy, sentimental, and "disgusting?" ;)

Spiritual Plumage and "Prohibition"

First off, thanks to BamaBeau for the awesome term. It describes exactly what it is that I've been looking to write about.

Spiritual Plumage, it's the stuff that people parade around when they talk about how spiritual they are, and they give speeches about how they love the gospel, but they never actually seem to do, or say, anything that would indicate a depth to their shallowly sported spirituality.

Everyone at BYU knows that spirituality is attractive when it's genuine. Girls really do want a guy who shares their beliefs and values, who's a worthy priesthood holder, who respects his mom and sisters etc. etc...The problem is that some people do a really good impression of spirituality...and some do a really bad one. Why bother?

Simple: Chicks dig it. At BYU, it seems that spirituality becomes a status symbol for some. It's like having the fancy car in High School, or being the one who can dress really well. It's the status of head cheerleader and varsity jock all in one. Now, some of them really do believe what they're saying, and they really do feel the emotion. This is an entirely different case, in which the guys really do deserve to have some girls impressed with them. The ones who fake however, ought to cut it out, like yesterday. Mean it, or don't do it.

Secondly, I think that media downloading, legally, or illegally, seems like it's the new prohibition in the USA. When the prohibition amendment was passed, having alcohol became fashionable, and dangerous, and glamorous. Riches were to be had, and America was out to get them. The common individual could become a criminal just by having alcohol in their possession.

Now, downloading is nowhere near THAT big, but I'd bet it's close to being as widespread. Who doesn't have a CD or something that a friend made them? Copyright laws are totally the new prohibition...

Or not at all...

Whose Side are You on?

Here's my "Sunday Thought"

Anticipation, a moment of tears
A hopeful good-bye as we left heaven's spheres
A heartfelt promise to chose him again
To resist Satan's tempting, and the carnal man.
Then the veil was drawn and we seemed to forget,
We soon broke our promise and had need to repent.
So he sent us our brother to help save our souls
And though he was mocked, with his blood he atoned.
But soon after his death, we again forgot
We used wrongly the agency for which we had fought
His words were twisted, His power was lost
His ways were perverted, and men’s souls became tossed
Until, to a boy with the courage to ask
He revealed the truth, and restored powers past
He returned His power to the hands of men
He's revealed His will to His servants, and yet
How oft do we follow, how oft do we stray?
How oft do we forget the promise we've made?
His power is with us, his gospel and church
Are here for our benefit, if we'll but put him first
No power can conquer, no lies can defame
Disciples who follow, and fight in his name.
And when the tallies are counted, and the battle is won
God will prevail, whose side are you on?

Please don't let there be Light...

I really do love late night walking, but that really has nothing to do with the title of this post.

Last night I went walking with the Shoebox and J 'round about 2:00 in the morning. This was all after the awesome night with the other Board writers at the work of the Smurfs, and then a game of poker and "Scene it" at the home of the Dynamites, followed by intermittent bits of
Oceans 11 with Phoenix and Offish intermittent because I happened to fall asleep several times).

I went home fully intent on going to sleep...after all; it was nearly 2:00 in the morning. 'Twas not meant to be however, and I headed off to walk in the fog. We decided to try and get some food, and so we headed to a particular cafe' (ooh, how hip sounding) nigh unto the Hospital. I knew exactly where we were going...which really means that I didn't have too much of a clue, but I got real lucky and we ended up in the right vicinity. We were walking around the back of the hospital and somehow ended up inside this hallway with a door on the other side with an exit sign and everything, and all the doors in the hallway had "biohazard" signs on them. I'm not quite sure how we ended up inside when we never actually went through a door to get there..but that's life I suppose. Needless to say, we decided to get out of that area, and get to where we actually trying to go.

Now this place is open 23 hours a day...and they're only closed from 3:00am-4:00am...we showed up at 3:03...sad day. Denny's was clearly the only other choice, and so we walked there, hoping for some good food, and some warmth, (at least for me, as my thighs had actually started to feel like they were freezing.

So we're in Denny's, and, oddly enough, so are a bunch of other people. The time is approximately 3:3o am. We're seated, and about 10 minutes later our waiter shows up. Turns out his name is Light. No really, I'm totally not kidding there...apparently his parents were hippies. Anyway, Light shows up to take our drink orders, and eventually comes back about 10 minutes later with Shoebox's grapefruit juice (Mmmmmm, that's good stuff), and waters for J and I.

Well, after we got our drinks, and placed our orders (which Light refused to write down-seasoned fries for J and I, some chicken thing hold the tomatoes and lettuce for Shoebox) we didn't see the Light of Denny's for about half an hour. When we did see him, it was talking to another table-hamming it up with the guys and impressing them with his less-than-BYUSA approved vocabulary...oh well.

Suddenly we hear a large crashing and clattering in the kitchen...and it certainly wasn't Santa. The cook starts screaming and yelling, and then quits. Light comes to talk to us to tell us that our food actually hasn't been cooked yet, and that it'll be another 20-30 minutes until it is. He offers us the chance to cancel the order, and then just leave, but we decided to stay...we'd walked awfully far after all. By this time it's 4:30. We finally get our nearly-warm fries and sandwich, and then we ate. Finally, around 5:00 we get our check, and we leave the money on the table and leave. Light ended up with about a $5.00 tip only because we didn't feel like waiting around in the restaurant any longer than we had to.

Overview of Costs:
Walk time: about 5 hours of sleep
Dinner: $5.00
Having something to Blog about, time spent with friends, and having a waiter whose name was Light: Priceless

Yeah, that's overdone...but it fits here...

Bathroom Pet Peeves

I'm sure none of you care, but perhaps some of you can at least relate. Here we are: Pet Peeves about the Bathroom (not necessarily in any particular order):

1. Having the water from the shower hit me directly after I turn it on. Maybe you don't quite understand what I mean. Most showers have that little switch, or pull thing that turns the shower from the main faucet to the showerhead. When that lever/switch is pulled, I can't stand to be anywhere within the range of the shower's spray when it first comes down. It literally makes me cringe. Sure, I could start the water first, and then get into the shower that way, but that doesn't happen. I usually end up pulling the lever, and then hurrying out of the way of the spray...or turning the head towards the shower wall, and then I get to walk into it at my own pace.

2. Urine anywhere besides in the toilet. I have an unusually high tolerance for gross stuff in general. If there's hair in the drain, it doesn't bother me-I just pick it up, and then throw it away. Odd gunk in the sink is fine, I take care of it, and then I wash my hands. It's simple really. The thing that I hate, not becuase it grosses me out, but because it's just rude, is urine on the toilet seat. I hate going into the Bathroom and seeing the seat spotted-granted, I don't have to deal with this at the moment, but still, yuck. I honestly don't care if the toilet seat is left up as long as no urine ends up on it when I go to sit down.

3. Speaking of sitting on the toilet seat, I can't stand when they move. You know how the bolts in the back get messed up sometimes, and the seat is no longer stationary? Drives me insane.

4. Toilet paper rolls put on the "wrong" way. I know that this one is odd...but oh well. It really irks me to have the toilet paper on the roll be there as "backwards." For me, this means that the free flap comes out the bottom of the roll, instead of gently falling over the top of it. I've gotten better about it recently-used to be that I'd change it wherever I could if it happened.

Alright, I'm done venting my frustration...

Travelogue

Benvolio's blog about moving reminded me of my travelogue that I wrote for the move across country that my family did. This was in 2001, so 4 whole years ago...almost. It's been edited for interest’s sake, hope you enjoy it.

September 8, 2001

The trip from California to Nevada was pretty uneventful, except for the slight rainstorm in the front seat...hmmm... Once we got into the Sierra's there was a lot of smoke. Even with all the roads it was steep driving-imagine being in the Mormon Battalion and having to break a path through it. Yuck! Once we hit Nevada there was a sign that said, "free dirt." We figured they were talking about the whole state. Apparently we took the scenic route. As of yet I have seen 3 animals (not running, somebody get the spatula), 6 million bushes, 5 houses, and a whole lot of highway. This way's got to be the scenic route, the other way only has 5 million bushes and 3 houses, although I've heard it's got telephone poles, which our route seems to be short of. About 100 miles into Nevada there was a town called "Perishing." By the time we saw it, we were all perishing for lack of greenery, or scenery. When we passed the "town" it had one house, and a trailer. That brings the house count up to 6, and one trailer. A little ways down the road we passed by a small river-rock house, that was covered in splotches of red paint. There were a couple of alter-like things, and an odd kind of dead-looking tree. The scary thing about the whole place was that there were stuffed things lying about in dead manners everywhere: a cow stuffed thing on the alter, a body shaped stuffed thing hanging from the tree. All these things are also splotched with red paint, as if it were some sort of "sacrificial hut." I really don't think I ever want to meet the residents of such a place. Pretty soon we passed the state prison, or "correctional facility." For some reason, there were signs all over that said, "Don’t pick up hitchhikers." I wonder why. The funny thing about the prison is that it's located off of Freedom Blvd., in Independence Valley...more like, "you can't have your independence" valley... Most of us were dreading having to go camping after 2 nights of sleeping on the floor at our house, but it all worked out when my mom found a cheap room at Motel 6. No camping tonight-YAY! We even got hot food: chicken and potatoes-in the form of McDonald's French fries. Doesn't that count as a veggie? After watching X-Men, our family went to bed, and slept (or tried to) with the dog and our Dad snoring some sort of lullaby. At about 3:30 am we all woke up, with no alarm clock...and talked a bit, then slept again, thus ending the first 331 miles of travel...only 2500 to go...oh my...

There are many, many more entries...maybe I'll keep adding if I run out of regular things to write about...

Compulsion...

I've recently come to the realization that I have compulsive habits. The one I've most recently discovered is pen chewing.

I am a compulsive pen chewer. Whenever I find that I am stressed, or feel like I can't fix some sort of situation, I chew on a pen. Usually the lid. I've got an entire collection of pens that I've chewed on through various tests and such over the years. I even chew other people's pens when they let me use them. I do it entirely without thinking...sorry guys.

Tonight I actually bit through an entire pen lid...that's the first time that's ever happened. I've bitten through pens before, the hard plastic kind that crack, but never pen lids. I then continued to bite it until it was completely mangled. Why? I'm not naturally distructive. At least I don't think I am. I guess I'm just feeling a little stressed with life right now...

...er something.

The Bias of Hindsite

A good friend of mine referred to this in a conversation a little while ago, and it made me think. My initial reaction was, "yeah, I guess it's there," until further reflection made me realize how obviously it fits into everyday life.

I would be willing to be that this is one of the most used biases. Let's look at some situations:

First, you've got movies. You sit there watching the movie, and trying to figure out what's going to happen in the end. You make a few guesses, and then, when the end comes, there's almost always at least one of your guesses that fit the ending, and so you get to proclaim yourself the most intelligent being ever, and then tell about your ability to predict movies. Sure, you may have been leaning towards a different ending first, and you may notice all the clues AFTER you see the movie, and know what they're leading to...but what do we do? We attribute it all to the predictability of Hollywood, and the intelligence of ourselves.

Secondly, you've got situations. I can't count the number of times that I've been reading the scriptures, or studying about the pioneers, and then thought, "that was really dumb, if they'd have just tried to do things like this, then that wouldn't have happened." What happens to me later? I end up in a situation where I do something stupid, and people turn around and ask me why I did what I did. Usually, I don't have a good answer for it, but I can think of a million things that I could have done instead, and even should have done instead, as can almost anyone else that I talk to. In the end we get about 4 million different solutions to a problem that's already gone. Yeah, hindsite is 20/20.

There are times when this Bias isn't a bad thing though. It's what you've got to use to learn and progress in life. Though it, you start to see patterns and such, and then you end up (in theory) learning from those patterns what went wrong, so that you can improve your foresite...not a bad concept. I sure do wish I was better at it though...

Twenty Nothing

Hello all,

The Book of Novel Concept
1. And it came to pass in the 209th year of the reign of the presidents, in the first month on the 26th day, there came forth a daughter unto a Couple of Older Concepts, who dwelt in the Land of Lincoln.
2. And behold she was raised like unto Nephi, in that her parents were also goodly and she was taught somewhat in all their learning...

I have come to you today with a deep and important question. I soon celebrate my exit from teenagedom, and move into the kindom of the twenty nothings. In case you don't know where it is, it's located somewhere between the kindom of adult and the kindom of upper teen. In the Mormon neighborhood, there are very few young men who inhabit the kindom of twenty nothing...well, they inhabit it, but they don't have time for regular life-activities.

As I begin to pack up all my crayons and toys, and start to move out of teenagedom, I wonder what it is that I should do to celebrate. Should I do something immature and reckless, in typical teenage style, or should I do something....well...adult-ish?

This is where I ask for your help. What exactly should adult-ish people do?

Alarm Clock Stuff 2...This Time it's Not Alarm Clock Stuff 1

I just thought I'd let you all know that I figured out one way that I DEFINITELY don't want to wake up.

My neighbor's alarm clock is one that works through her stereo, and it gets progressively louder if it's not turned off. this means that if no one turns it off, pretty soon it's blasting loud enough for everyone with eardrums and a proximity nearer than China to hear.

It went off this morning around 6:00...

I think I'll stick with "Return to Me" on Saturday mornings...and maybe try out a little "Zombie Jamboree" the rest of the week...I'm still open to suggestions.

Return to Me

I've been struggling for a while now to see why it's so difficult for me to get up in the mornings.

I did the whole early morning seminary thing, 5:45 every morning for 2 years, about 6:30 or so for the other 2. I figured as I set up my different schedules that there was no good reason that I shouldn't be able to make an 8:00 class. "After all," I say to myself confidently, "You're planning on teaching school, and most schools start at least that early, best to get into the practice of it now."

Too bad that's not the way it works for me.

I stay up until all hours of the night, doing most anything but sleeping. Sometimes I read blogs, sometimes I chat with friends, sometimes I'm reading a book...sometimes I'm doing all these things.

Sometimes I even do homework. :D

I even like school, that's the funny thing. And I like to be awake in the morning. But when that alarm clock rings and tries to pull me from the comfort of my 3 fleece blankets, 4 regular pillows and body pillow, there's just no desire in me to heed it's call. This morning, I realized a small part of my problem.

I have one of those fancy-type alarm clocks with the CD player in them. Currently, I've got the soundtrack from the movie Return to Me in there. The first song ("Return to Me") is the one that plays, and it starts with a nice little intro, and then the words "retuuurn to meeee" are the only ones that I ever get to. This is the problem.

When I first awaken, I'm not thinking about the joys of learning, or the fact that I'll probably run into at least one friend on my way to class. I'm thinking about the warm bed that I just left behind, and the words "retuuurn to meeee" only serve to beckon me back into the warmth of my covers.

It doesn't matter that I know that I soon need to head off to class, and it doesn't matter that I WAS perfectly determined the night before to get up and read that last little bit of the assignment when I was feeling "more awake." I fall right back into bed every single time.

Maybe I should try waking up to "Good Morning Life" instead...Anyone else have some good suggestions for good "get your lazy warm self out of bed and do something with your life" songs?

Hello, my name is Novel Concept, and I'd like to release a statement.

Being one of the newer writers on the Board has placed me in a sort of "limbo" type of world. I still read the everyday posts, and then I log in and get to answer the new questions too. I get the best of both worlds in my opinion. I've come to know and love the 'nyms on the Board, and the personalities they portray, and now I get to know and love the people behind the 'nyms too.

And make no mystake about it, I do love the people behind the 'nyms.

Honestly, I haven't yet met a writer who doesn't meet with my satisfaction and approval as a person. I'm sure you were all waiting on the edge of your seats for that one, but there it is. You may scoot back in your chairs now.

What a great thing the Board is. I mean, I guess it's just a website when you look at it entirely literally, but it's the people behind all the words that make it what it is. We've got amazing writers, and a varried and diverse group of readers too. I love it. It makes me feel like there might be some hope for actual communication possibility among more of the general populace. Sure, the anonymity makes one braver, bolder, and more daring with their prose, but there's something refreshingly honest about the whole thing. The Board to me is (barring a few obvious character 'nyms) just real. I always looked at the writer 'nyms and kind of imagined the people behind the 'nyms, and was amazed as I met them to find that I wasn't too far off the mark. I have, in fact, been quite pleased to find that, as cool as I've thought people are, I like them even more as I get to know them better.

And that's what the Board is really all about. Sure we answer a lot of trivial questions, but even those show some of the personality of the asker. You can tell a lot about a person by learning what piques their curiosity, and that's where the readers come in. I always get excited to meet people who like to read the Board as much as I do, because, I'm still definitely a reader in a sense as well.

And that's what I like: the communication, the chance to get answers to questions that some think are rhetorical, and to learn what people that I've come to respect think about things. The best part of it is that we actually have fun with it. It's smart humor, and I don't ever feel guilty for indulging myself in it, because I really do learn things. There was a discussion about how to get wax out of tablecloths once...I actually ended up using that during Thanksgiving break.

I think I've run my time long, but I think you all are great, readers and writers alike. Thanks for an amazing thing.

Novel pauses and waves to all, posing for appropriate camera shots and baby kissing, and opens the conference for comments.



Yeah, I bet you were all expecting something really important with that title eh? Hehe, totally fooled all y'all. ;)