Unless You're a Mormon...

You Were Nice This Year!

You're an uber-perfect person who is on the top of Santa's list. You probably didn't even *think* any naughty thoughts this year. Unless you're a Mormon, you've probably been a little too good. Is that extra candy cane worth being a sweetheart for 365 days straight?

Were You Naughty or Nice This Year?

Meeshka, Meeshka, Meeshka

OK, I don't think that's spelled correctly, I'm sure you'll all be able to move past that.

So today I had another adventure, and this time, it was with a kitten. I was walking home some convoluted way because I could. It was raining...and really, really cold, so the long route was probably not the best of ideas. Anyway, I'm walking through the center of my block where there are about 4 parking lots all hooked together, and I hear this small mewing. I turn around to find a small, black, wet, fuzzball following me. Obviously, I pick the cat up, and it starts to purr.

Curse the cute thing, now I know it needs me.

So then I do the really rational thing, and take it home with me. It was really dirty, terribly matted, and pretty starved, so I think it's safe to say that it didn't belong to anyone. I brought it into my apartment--you know, the one that doesn't allow pets--and fed it some milk and bread. Then I went and woke Uffish so that she could see what I'd done. Basically, we're both in love with this little cat, and we start trying to come up with names for it. I keep calling it meeshka (though spelled differently, I'm sure). Anyway, we play for a little while and then decide that it's a good time to take a cat nap (haha...get it...cat...nap...yeah.). About an hour later, I wake up and the cat is sleeping peacefully in my lap. Hooray! It's so cute, and cuddly, and it likes me--some of my favorite qualities in a companion. :) Uffish says something along the lines of "This is not a cat" because of it's extreme friendliness. I reply with, "No, it's a Puppy! Tee hee!" (this is one of my favorite episodes).

Sadly, although the puppy...I mean, kitten, was really pretty, I found out that, much as I wanted it to be true, I couldn't make myself not allergic to cats, or hatch a scheme brilliant enough that I felt like it'd be ok to keep the kitten--especially when I go back to being an RA in the fall. Alas, I'm currently looking to find it a home--though it might already have one. If you're really interested in having a kitten, and you'd still let me come and play with it. Let me know--I'll get in touch with you somehow.

Really?

I certaily expected higher...

Roll Out Those Crazy, Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer

You know what I want really badly right now? Well, two things...maybe more, we'll see as I go.

First, I really want a tree house. Honestly, I really, really want the satisfaction of firstly, building something all my own, and secondly, being able to sit in it and read...or just...sit. I really love to building things. I got to help my dad build a deck a couple of summers ago along with all my siblings, and it's something that I really just want to do...a whole, whole lot. I think my friends think I'm kidding, but if I had the ability to do so...scratch that, I've got the ability, I just need the tree, the wood, the nails...yeah. I would build myself a tree house.

Secondly, since I can't seem to have a tree house at the moment, I really want a roof to sit on. Not like the roofs at DT that are just like open patios that happen to be 7 stories up, I want a real roof. The sloping, on top of house with about 2-3 stories kind of roof. I also want it to be sun-warmed, and I want to be able to do it in the cool of evening with a couple of friends, some fresh fruit, or maybe some popsicles, and just...nice. My house in CA had a shed that sat right under our cherry tree. My siblings and I would sit on it and eat cherries--mostly trying to get them before the neighborhood birds did. Mmmm...what a great sensation. Sun warmed roof underneath you, and sun-ripened, warm cherries full of juice popped in your mouth right off the tree.

My sister is coming out to college soon--I'm so glad. It'll be so nice to have someone from my family around. I really miss them right now, and I kind of just want to play with them. Build things, swim, play in the dirt, go camping, horseshoes, thunderstorms, firefly catching, "volleyball," nintendo monopoly marathons...

...I miss you guys right now

A Sweep is as Lucky as Lucky can be...

I'm currently sitting on my break here in the WILK (yeah, I do custodial), and today is my first day. I apparently get an hour break each night I work from 2-3, with the first half hour not being paid, and the second half hour being paid--it's great. The people here are awesome, and I've really enjoyed myself thus far. Thank goodness for working with some great people. Sure does make the time pass more quickly, especially when you're working all night. (Uffish, THAT sentence was definitely a fragment, the one in my yet unfinished paper, was not...stupid Word.)

The WILK is oddly peaceful at 2:20 in the morning. It's kind of exciting, really. You know what else is exciting? The fact that the vending machine just stole my money, and I'm starving. Man, if I thought that my eating schedule was odd before... I know you're not supposed to eat late at night...does it count if you eat early in the morning?

The title--tonight I worked on floor crew, which means that I sweep floors, and then help to mop them. Soon, I will be helping to clean bathrooms. You all better appreciate those clean floors and bathrooms a little more the next time you use them in the WILK, as a lot of people go into making them clean.

Anyway, it's time for me to go and log back in. Then I get another break, and then three more hours of work here, and then 3 more hours of work at the MORC. Pretty soon, I'm going to have this no sleep thing totally under controll...or something :)

Nowhere is there a more happier crew...

Things I've Come to Know Recently

Disclaimer: Not all of these things happened to me...honest.

• Dancing in a fountain is wetter than Benedick makes it look
• The little moat-like thing that runs south of campus was not meant for wading in--you get up to your knees in sticky grey-ish grainy mud only to realize that the walkway you were attempting to cross over to is a lot higher than you were expecting.
• Sliding down rails in shorts is different than sliding down rails in pants
• Sliding down rails in skirts is not a good idea--you lack friction
• It's nice to work somewhere where people want you to be there
• It's nicer to feel wanted in general
• A whole package of spaghetti noodles boiled makes more than a small saucepan worth of food
• Just a job and working do not big bucks make
• My piggy bank looks possessed because it's currently possessing the majority of my earthly wealth
• It's possible to get tan lines from walking across campus to class
• Pink shirts are not the best way to downplay a sunburn
• Even the non-drowsiest of formulas for allergy medicine puts me to sleep...and pretty fast
• I really like my friends
• Heck, I even love my roommate(s) (with every fiber of my being ;)
• If your eyes are watering because of allergies, it's best to avoid looking at the wedding dresses for sale section of the WILK board--you end up looking like a jilted bride.
• Talking to TA's and having them tear apart a paper you wrote isn't that bad
• A lot of times I'm my own worse critic
• I really don't look too great in a baseball cap
• After 4 hours of working in the morning, I find great joy in strutting across campus wearing my nasty hat and work clothes as I enjoy the sunshine
  
• I never want to have a kidney stone...*shudder*
• I'm not a picky eater--and I'm not too bad at making food
• It's possible to confuse a zucchini and a cucumber
• Scrambled eggs that are a few days old are nasty looking--akin to yellow cow manure in a metal pan
• I really really love children
• Someday, I will have some of my own
• I probably should be a physics teaching minor
• My hair is nearly long enough for a ponytail, and I've not cut it in about 2 months
• Jar Jar Binks is one of those "did I suggest him out-loud?" mistakes
• I still love cold spaghetti
• The smell of clean laundry makes me smile
• The Sound of Music is really fun to sing/dance along to
• Someday, I'll probably be in musical theatre--I've got all the skills for it...really

Yeah...that's probably enough for now--more to come

Only a Mother...

Uffish thinks this pig is scary...and I think she's wrong. For some reason, she's under the impression that the thing is malicious--time for a poll. Do you find this pig frightening?

On the Benefits of Wearing a Skirt

So I'm totally out of pants, and need to do laundry.

I tell you this only because it makes what comes next make more sense than if I were just telling you these things off the cuff.

I've reached the point in my wardrobe where I no longer have pants, and I don't want to resort to wearing my dresses. That's right folks, its skirt season in the Concept household. I've been alternating between wearing skirts and shorts for a week or so now, hoping to make my jeans and singular pair of shorts last longer. After a trip to the Salt Lake, my shorts are not wearable until washed, and my jeans are now to the point where they can't really be worn either unless they get washed. That leaves me with just my skirts.

Now, here's another funny fact. In general, the skirts that I wear are ones I've made myself. Are you feeling skeptical about this yet? Don’t worry--I'm actually not a bad seamstress when it comes to skirts. They're all knee-length (and a little below) and made out of nice bright colors without being obnoxious. Sure, you may not believe me after the pillowcase post...but it's true. Somebody back me up here? Don't look so disbelieving there Lilaea ;).

Anyway. I've noticed a few things that happen to me only when I'm wearing a skirt. Here are a few that have happened in the past hour:

• I'm walking to the bus stop, and waiting to cross the street because a car is coming. There are no other cars coming immediately, and so as soon as they're gone, I can cross. Instead, they stop, though they have no stop sign, to let me cross the street, all the while watching me as I cross.
• As I'm waiting at said bus stop, this truck full of construction guys slows down as they pass me, honk the horn, and then turn the corner.
• The bus driver actually smiles at me as he welcomes me onto the bus, and waits for me to take a seat before pulling away.

Now, these could all just be coincidences, but I don't really think so. The funny thing is that I'm really not that attractive. I'm passable, but I'm not hot, HOT, or HOTT by any stretch of the imagination. I really think it's just the skirt, and it makes me laugh.

Wonder what I could accomplish if I wore a dress....

Somebody Hire Me?

For the benefit of all...and for my own catharsis, allow me to present to you my resume...or at least what SHOULD be there.

Novel Concept
Somewhere in Provo, UT
4-Hireme (444-7363)
Novelconcept@gmail.com

Skills: Man, I got skills like you wouldn't believe...I got skills with all of the following things:

• School
• Potato Chips and Cottage Cheese
• Internet Chatting
• Hundred Hour Board writing
• Meat Moving
• Nunchucks
• Ninjas
• sweltering-hot day Asphalt walking
• Rain singing
• Child Care
• Button-Pushing
• Cave making
• Food cooking
• Game playing
• Hug giving
• Charlotte/Vendetta impersonating
• Burger flipping
• Tortilla tossing

Work Experience:

• 20 years experience playground equipment tester
• 20+ years experience
  
• 15+ years Movie Critic
• 20+ years life experience
• anything else it'll take to get you to hire me...Believe me--I'm perfect for this job...

Yeah, that's kind how I'm feeling right now. Just...Tell me what you want, and I can do it! Seriously, I'm skilled! No, really, I AM worth your time and well worth all your money. I think the main problem is that I'm not sticking around for any longer than spring and summer(I've got another job in the Fall)...At least, I keep telling myself that at this point so that I don't feel so bad about life. I've currently applied or inquired to about 20 on-campus jobs and 3-4 off-campus ones to no avail. I keep getting the emails or comments that say, "Thanks for applying, we appreciate your time, the position has been filled." Basically they're saying, "Thanks, but no thanks...You're just not quite good enough." Looks like I'll be back at the MORC again soon. Good thing the people there are so great.

In other news, I just counted all the money in my piggy bank. Looks like the accounts fall thus:
Pennies in my piggy bank: 253
Pennies in my real bank: a few more...

Good thing I can laugh about this...as Uffish said earlier: "Novel, you lead quite the life."

First Kiss...Or Not

You know what I can't understand? How on earth it is that most movies in which characters supposedly haven't ever had any experience with kissing...At all...Ever...Supposedly know exactly what they're doing, and are completely at ease and lacking in any awkwardness the first time they kiss. Does anyone else see some kind of sad, sorry problem here? I do. For example, shown below are some examples of first kisses--most are obvious because of age...The other is clear from film context:

Those are first kisses...Most movies kisses are obviously not. Even at the point where you'd expect the individual to know how to kiss due to other relationships and marriage, there's still go to be some initial awkwardness there...At least I'd think so. It's kind of like in the trailer for the Chronicles of Narinia. Lucy stands in hesitation before opening the wardrobe, not because she's got any kind of reason to be hesitant, but becuase WE know what's on the other side, and WE need the hesitation to build. I guess they can't make the kisses terribly awkward, because they want the movie to properly flow...but couldn't there be some kind of middle ground?

Then again, maybe I'm crazy...That's always possible.

Of all Sad Words of Tongue and Pen...

...The saddest are these: "It might have been."

~John Greenleaf Whittier

Wasted potential is one of my pet sorrows. I'm really good at looking at a situation on occasion and opening an entire can of emotions that I'd done a really good job, up until that point, of keeping pretty well bottled. Maybe it's unfortunate, but it helps to remind me that I can feel something other than normal on occasion, and that's a good thing.

Anyway, back to the wasted potential thing. Death is usually the catalyst that causes these thoughts. Whenever someone that I know dies relatively young, my first thoughts always go to the things that they could have done while in this life. Things that I look forward to a lot. Things like marriage, children, a house, making it a home, and grandchildren. I know that, through the gospel, they'll have the ability to have all of these things, and just because they've lost the chance to do them in mortality for the moment, doesn't mean that they'll be permanently cut off.

One of the most emotional verses in the scriptures for me comes from Mormon 6: 16-22

16 And my soul was rent with anguish, because of the slain of my people, and I cried:
17 O^• ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord! O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you!
18 Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen. But behold, ye are fallen, and I mourn your loss.
19 O ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones, how is it that ye could have fallen!
20 But behold, ye are gone, and my sorrows cannot bring your return.
21 And the day soon cometh that your mortal must put on immortality, and these bodies which are now moldering in corruption must soon become incorruptible bodies; and then ye must stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, to be judged according to your works; and if it so be that ye are righteous, then are ye blessed with your fathers who have gone before you.
22 O that ye had repented before this great destruction had come upon you. But behold, ye are gone, and the Father, yea, the Eternal Father of heaven, knoweth your state; and he doeth with you according to his justice and mercy.

Can you feel the sorrow in Mormon? The heart-wrenching pain that he has for his people, who've rejected the things that could have saved them? At this point he's worked to help them in all he can--going into battle with them, telling them to repent, and doing all he can, all to what seems to be no avail. I imagine our Heavenly Father looks at us (meaning all the world) with the same sorrow on occasion.

It's like in Gone with the Wind, where Rhett Butler, the notoriously realistic about the Civil War throws his bets in and joins to help out the cause, even though it's obviously lost. "This whole thing is a waste" he says in anger, and then proceeds to go in and fight with all he has anyway. While I have no desire to be anything like Mr. Butler in any other respect, he and I share the same view of the benefit of fighting for seemingly lost causes sometimes.

Sure, I can't do anything to fix the world's sorrow, I can't uplift every downtrodden person, and direct every lost soul. Sometimes, I don't even do a very good job of watching myself. I can keep fighting though. Every day, in everything I work to accomplish, I can fight to help others, and to bring some measure of kindness to the mean streets (yeah...Sure, this IS Provo, but we're talking more globally here), I can lend a hand to the downtrodden, and I can help to uplift the sorrowing. Sure, in the end, when everything is tallied, my work in and of itself will likely mean very little to any but myself. The passion with which I fight serves to aide my own quest for peace, kindness, joy, and fulfillment. And perhaps, as I work to serve others, I can help to bring some measure of joy to my Heavenly Father. It certainly seems like the very least I can do.

Ahh...Garrrumph

Trill the R's up there--it makes it more fun.

I'm feeling really frustrated with the whole job thing right now...Which is annoying given the current money situation.

Whenever they ask the question about why you'd be perfect for the job, and what makes you any different from the other 200 or so applicants that are equally as smart, experienced, pleasant, and honest as you are, I just wish I could show them some kind of slide show of all my best moments. I really hate having to answer that question. I like to let people figure me out for me because they know me. Having to go and tell people all about how wonderful I am makes me feel naught but conceited, full of it, and strangely unable to figure out words to describe myself. Why can't I just have them call all my friends so that they can figure out what people really think of me?

Right now, I'm just grateful that I don't have to do that at the judgment. At least God already knows the thoughts and intents of my heart. While that's a little scary, it's better than me trying to figure it all out, and then explain it in a manner that, though sincere it might be, has the potential to come across instead as "no no, I'm really not proud of myself, though I should be. I'm actually quite humble...It's my best quality."

To this whole thing, I offer a hearty "Bah."

And so I'm led back to a poem that my mom gave me before coming out to college. I don't know that she even knows that I have it--as it was really just part of a lesson she taught in Sunday School. She probably doesn't even know that it means a whole lot to me. I should probably tell her.

Don't Quit

When things go wrong as they sometimes will.
When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill.
When funds are low and the debts are high.
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit.
Rest, if you must, but do not quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns.
As every one of us sometimes learns.
And many a failure turns about.
When he might have won had he stuck it out:
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow –
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out –
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are.
It may be near when it seems so far:
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit –
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

Yeah...I probably CAN do this...

"Oh yeah? Well I'm wearing a pillow case."

Hello all, and welcome to the wonderful world of sewing in the wilderness with Novel. Today we're going to teach you what do in case you happen to go on an awesome camping trip, and forget about the fact that you're going to church on Sunday. Consequently, you may have only brought to pairs of pants, and rather old-looking jeans at that, and a pair of khaki shorts. Here's what you need to do: First, take the second pillow case you have off of your pillow. You know the one--the ruffles at the bottom, with a pattern much like that pictured above, that one. Then, split the seam in the end that's not usually open using your pocket knife. Then, be sure to rip a small slit in the top of the pillow case so that you can tie it together in the front for better fit/decoration...Viola! Instant skirt in the wilderness! Tune in next time as Novel teaches you how to make bandanas with the same material, and your bare hands...

Yes friends, I wore a pillow case to church, because I forgot to bring a skirt on our camping trip. For me, I just couldn't wear pants to church when I had some other alternative, and it didn't actually turn out looking terrible...Honest. Only those who knew what it was found it hilarious. Mostly meaning, me, Uffish, E, and S. It was really great. Anytime someone had something good to say, I got to come back with, "Oh yeah? Well, I'm wearing a pillow case!" Should something tragic be happening, the same thing could be said, only sadder. If someone wanted to make me feel silly, they came back with, "Oh yeah, what do you know? You're wearing a pillow case." Fun times in the wilderness, fun times.

The Truth About College

1. Quarters are gold.
2. Two meals per day is the standard.
3. Road trip whenever possible.
4. Going to the mailbox was never an ego booster/breaker before.
5. You will begin to nap again.
6. Your bookstore bill will almost equal tuition.
7. Squirt guns = Stress relief.
8. Instant messenger becomes an addiction.
9. E-mail becomes your second language.
10.College students throw paper airplanes too.
11. You never realized that so many people were smarter than you.
12. College football is the coolest thing on the planet.
13. Western Europe could be wiped out by a horrible plague and you wouldn't know, but you can recite last week's re-run of That 70's Show word for word.
14. Cartoons are for all ages.
15. Disney movies are more than just classics.
16. You will never rent/buy more movies in your life.
17. No one is too old for video games.
18. Procrastination is an art form.
19. SNOOZE is more addicting than pot.
20. Thanks to Kazaa/Audiogalaxy/Morpheus, you will never listen to any of your CDs ever again.
21. It never hurt so much to get sick.
22. The health service nurses are there because they couldn't make it at a real hospital. Never, don't ever forget that.
23. Care packages are right up there with birthdays.
24. Campus is only clean for Family Weekend and Freshman Orientation.
25. Nothing you want to register for will be open.
26. Classes the later the better.
27. You are no longer thankful that the fire alarms are here to protect you.
28. Jeans may be worn as many times as the wearer desires.
29. The only time to dress up is when your jeans are dirty.
30. Showers become less important; sleep becomes more important.
31.Asleep by 2:30 am is an early night.
32. Creativity in the dining halls is KEY.
33. The freshman 15 is NOT a myth!!!
34. If it's snowing out, the only reason you will leave your room is for food.
35. Dishes smell after days of piling up.
36. Cereal makes a meal any time of the day.
37. You will eat anywhere that is a buffet.
38. You will eat anything that is free.
39. New additions to food groups: pitapit and pizza.
40. Stealing from the dining hall will become second nature.
41. ATM's are the devils advocate. ATM= Another Twenty Missing.
42. Keys have never been so important, yet you seem to lose them or lock yourself out of
the room even more.
43. Duct tape heals all wounds.
44. If they say you can't have it in your dorm, they are just kidding.
45. You will come to hate hallways with a passion. (STAIRS ARE THE DEVIL)
46. Those ugly cinderblocks are not sound proof.
47. Pictures, posters, emails or anything else to cover the ugly cell we live in will be transformed into wallpaper.
48. Everyone is only nice for the first week. After that, no matter how nice you are, some people just won't smile back. Get used to it.
49. You are never alone!
50. You realize college is the ideal lifestyle, except for those pesky classes

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.