The time has come the walrus said....

I suppose I should update. It's been a while. I have a hard time knowing what to update on my blog but I felt I needed to update anyway. I considered writing about this blog I found today that has got me thinking quite a bit. However, I don't think I want to write about that today.

I have been thinking recently about all the things I want to do well. I have discovered that this is a rather long list. It makes me sad that I don't feel like I am making a lot of progress. I have so many high hopes for my self but I am just not motivated to get anything done. It is really frustrating.

So, goal for the rest of my life. Nicole, GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER!!!

B Y Who?

How BYU are you?

77 questions.

[_] You have been kissed at lease once
[_] Your first kiss was on campus
[_] You’ve had a boyfriend/girlfriend
[X] You lived in the dorms your freshman year
[_] You went to Homecoming or Preference
[_] You hiked the Y
[_] You’ve taken a social dance class
[_] You regularly attended FHE for at least a semester
[_] You’ve participated in Choose to Give
[_] You’ve been to Liberty Square for a party at least once
[_] You’ve driven around south of campus for at least 20 minutes trying to find a parking spot
[_] You know the cougar fight song
[X] You’ve crossed the crosswalk without using the flags or biked through a red light
[_] You’ve been to Friday Night Live
[_] You’ve performed or witnessed an act that made it onto Police Beat
[_] You’ve been on a “date” to the bell tower or duck pond
[_] You’ve been to the Bean Museum for FHE
[X] You’ve been to Divine Comedy
[X] You’ve been to International Cinema
[_] You are engaged
[_] You are married
[_] …in the temple
[_] You were previously engaged/married
[_] You have kids or are expecting kids
[X] Your birth parents are still married
[X] …in the temple
[X] You have at least three siblings
[_] You’ve taken a marriage prep or relations class
[X] You’ve taken at least one religion class that is not based on the scriptures
[_] You have slept on a couch in a restroom
[X] You have been to the BYU Creamery
[X] You have been in one of the BYU choirs
[_] You’ve been on a date to Fat Cats
[X] You have read Twilight
[X] …book 2
[_] …book 3
[_] …book 4
[_] …seen the movie
[_] …more than once
[_] You’ve waited in line at the Bookstore for the Harry Potter or Twilight book premiere
[X] You have seen The Singles Ward or Sons of Provo
[_] You have walked out of a movie you found morally reprehensible
[X] You know where the “chastity line” is
[X] You can finish the phrase “Nothing good happens after ______”
[_] You read the Daily Universe at least 3x a week
[_] …and it’s the only newspaper you read
[X] You’ve personally known someone who was reported to the Honor Code Office
[_] You’ve participated in or watched a Mr. BYU contest
[_] You’ve received personal revelation that he/she is “the one” (or been told this)
[_] …and told him/her about your revelation (or been told this)
[_] …and then they rejected you (or rejected them)
[_] You’ve been to the Nickelcade
[_] You’ve been to Classic Skating
[X] You’ve ignored your parents’ phone calls for at least 3 days
[_] …and then they called the University Police
[_] You’ve been pulled over by the University Police
[X] You watch The Office religiously
[X] You mostly wear jeans and t-shirts or plain fitted shirts
[_] You own at least 3 things from American Eagle or Hollister
[_] Your sacrament meeting is a fashion show/scam session
[_] You’ve been on a date to the Provo River

You’ve kissed in a…
[_] …campus parking lot
[_] …Provo Canyon or Squaw Peak
[_] …on temple grounds
[_] …on a couch as soon as your roommates left the room
[_] You think UVU is not a real university
[_] You hate U of U with a passion

FOR GIRLS (don’t answer if you’re a guy)
[X] You own knee-length shorts
[X] You regularly wear camisoles/undershirts for modesty reasons
[_] You are a MFHD, RMYL, Elementary Education, or Exercise Science Major
[_] Your major crush ended up dating a MFHD, RMYL, Elementary Education, or Exercise Science major
[_] You have had at least one roommate who is in hair or dental school
[_] You own The Italian Job or The Princess Bride
[_] You wear makeup at least 3x a week
[_] You do something with your hair (other than brush it/ponytail) at least 3x a week
[X] You went or plan on going on a mission
[_] …because you couldn’t get married

FOR GUYS (don’t answer if you’re a girl)
[_] You shave every (or almost every) morning
[_] You know when your hair is “too long”
[_] You know what the “divide by 2 and add 7″ dating rule is
[_] …and you follow it
[_] You’ve dated freshmen girls as a RM
[_] …when you already knew better
[_] You’ve used the phrase “On my mission…” to a girl
[_] At least 3 girls have baked cookies or meals for you
[_] You went or plan on going on a mission
[_] …because you wanted to get married

Total: 22

A: 68-77
B: 60-67
C: 53-66
D: 45-52
F: 44 or below

I am a failure. Well, at least I know I am not like everyone else...

I just want you for my own, more than you could ever know....

Alright, I know I talk about Iceland a lot, but here it is again. I don't know why I am so obsessive but I just am. I have this passion for this culture that I can't understand or explain. I was telling this to my friend who is also in the class with me. She said, "because there are so few people learning the language, we have to make up for it by being obsessive." Maybe that is it. I don't know.

What I do know is that there is a part of me that longs so badly to be engulfed in that culture. I want to live there. I want to speak the language. I want to name my future children Icelandic names. I want my children to speak the language. I want to be connected to this incredible country.

Sometimes I wonder why I have this passion for other countries and cultures. Sometimes I ponder at the possiblity that growing up in the US has made me feel cultureless. Or maybe, I don't identify with the culture here in the US. I feel like there are so many things with politics and social attitudes that I don't agree with.

One of my favorite things about Iceland is that they have such a rich history and a strong tradition of literacy. They are so strongly proud of their heritage. They just make me really happy!

Christmas: a counterpoint

My roommate, Marcie, wrote a blog about why she loves Christmas and why she wants to celebrate Christmas all year round. Christmas is wonderful in how it livens the snowy, cold winter and it is fun to celebrate but I don't agree that Christmas is the epitome and seed for joy, hope, and love.

I have mixed feelings about Christmas. I think it is wonderful that we have chosen to celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world. I think that the kindness, joy and charity that people show throughout the season are beautiful expressions of the love and humanity found in those around us. Christmas is a joyous season but sometimes I feel that people forget that part of Christmas.

I hear all the time that Christmas is a consumer driven holiday and as true or not true as that may be, Christmas makes me a little sad. I feel like although people choose to be charitable and kind during that season but not always for the right reasons. Plus, it seems like people forget why we celebrate this holiday. Christ is a key figure in our eternal happiness. Isn't if funny that even on the celebration of his birth we are more concerned about the number of presents we get or the dinner we are eating or the little family quarrels that drive us apart? No, it's not. It's sad.

I think the thing that makes me the most sad about Christmas is simply the fact that people can't remember or can't be nice, kind, charitable people if it is not Christmas. Is there something special about stockings, presents, lights and a tree that make people remember that life is wonderful and that kindness heals all wounds? Why don't we all just want to be good people all the time?

I don't think we should extend a holiday throughout the year to find love, charity and kindness. Instead, we should look deep into our hearts and find the pieces of us that care. Service and kindness are the sweetest when they are needed.

Happy Holidays!

And you're the perfect thing to say...

Life is incredible. It is always nice to have one of those moments that makes you want to jump up and down and giggle. I had one of those moments last night.

I found a old friend on facebook last night. Not only did I find her but it turns out that during the time I "lost" her, she has joined the church. It sounds dumb, but I am completely giddy. I am so excited that she has found the gospel. I am so happy for her!

I truly know that this gospel is the gospel of happiness. It brings joy to my life and to those around me. As I tried to fall asleep last night, I realized that the gospel is all about love. Service is love. Obedience is love. Charity is love. The Atonement is love. It doesn't matter what we look at in the church, it is all based upon love.

That is really what is missing from the world. Love. I firmly believe that if we taught people to raise healthy families that much of the hate and hurt that happens in this world would go away. If we all really loved one another, there wouldn't be wars. Love heals wounds.

Last night, I felt the love of many of my friends and relatives and I realized that there is not reason for me to ever feel lonely. Besides my family and friends, there is always my Heavenly Father and Christ. They know me better than i know myself. I just need to remember to put my faith and trust in them. They will lead me down the paths I need to go.

I guess the point is that faith and love change lives and make the world go round.

Marry me, Juliet, you'll never have to be alone.

So this post is dedicated to lists of things i want to remember.

First, a list of all the things I have never done that I have done this year:
-I went to a fair. My cousins and i went to the Utah county fair and it was SUPER fun
-I went to my first football game ever.
-I went to my first Rock concert (Sigur Rós is amazing)
-I baked bread for the first time
-Dressed up as a group for Halloween.
-Performed in the open on campus
-Soldered
-Voted
-Set up my own computer
-Worked on a book challenge
-Rode a mechanical bull

That's all i can think of right now. Life should be a celebration, so I am trying to celebrate the little things.

Words, words, words, I'm so sick of words!

Why do interpersonal relationships have to be so hard? Especially boy-girl relationships?

Anyway, I am obsessed with Iceland if everyone hasn't gotten the memo. So, funny story, in my Icelandic class on Wednesday a family from Iceland came to our class and talked to us in Icelandic for a while. Anyway, one of the sons is 28 and beautiful.

So, I went home and told my roommates about him. We also have this joke about how I want Icelandic babies (mostly because children speaking Icelandic is probably the cutest thing ever). After I told my roommates, they said, "you just really want Icelandic babies." I adamantly told them that my children WILL speak Icelandic. I then pounded my hand into the couch for emphasis. Well, our couches in my apartment look a LOT softer than they are. So, when I pounded my fist into the couch I hurt my hand.

Moral of the story, Icelandic babies are not worth it.

Tell me how am I supposed to breath with no air?

Sometimes things make my heart hurt like it is hard to breath. I don't know if it hurts just because it is so sad or if feels so crushing because I don't know what to do about it. I have felt this most acutely about Proposition 8.

I know that since I have grown up in California, I am seen by many people in Utah as liberal or feminist. I don't feel that I am liberal or conservative. I feel like I am middle ground. It has been a little bit of a journey to get to where I am today on many issues and prop 8 is the same in this regard. I am now in a place where when i think about it not being passed it is hard to breathe.

As I think about how this world is changing, how we are losing sight of morals and starting to destroy ourselves, it makes me sick. I think about the struggles of raising a child now and in the future. Will I be able to do it? How do you teach morals in and amoral world?

I don't know how people can make choices that obviously don't make them happy and will never be able to make them happy? It makes me sick to think about people who hate themselves so much that they will hurt themselves. I want to cry when i think of girls who feel like they aren't important if they don't have a man to fulfill them. I don't know what to do with myself when I see people who are so unhappy that they turn to drugs or alcohol to make them better.

We all can be happy. The savior will take our pain away, we just have to let him. There is a life of happiness and joy that is available to everyone if we simply partake. Why is that so hard?

Hopes and dreams are shattering apart and crashing to the ground.

Today I was watching Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog again. I really enjoy this movie and it is one of the very first movies that I have watched and wanted to own it. There are so many reasons that I want to own it. I really like the fact that it is a musical and that it is comical. I think my favorite part is the fact that it gives me lots of things to think about.

This is the first weekend in a long time where I am feeling pretty good about the homework status. I have loads to do this week but I am confident I will get it all done. And the best part about this week is that it ends with Halloween!!! Yay!!

I dared you to kiss me and ran when you tried.

One of my favorite things about life and people is those moments in life when someone says something nice to you and it sort of sticks with you. I truly believe that it is important to compliment people when you think the compliment and that it shouldn't matter how well you know this person as long as it is true.

I have found that on those occasions when people say something nice to me out of the blue, I appreciate it more. For instance, this week a friend of my roommate who I have met before was over at our house and I came home and we were chatting for a minute when she said, "I like you." It is a simple comment but it was a reminder that I have worth and that I have talents that other people value.

I personally value honesty. So, why do i feel like as a society we build up barriers between ourselves and those around us? Why is it so hard to be honest?

I guess the point is this, I am an honest person and I am pretty blunt about it. So, if I hurt your feelings I am sorry, most likely it was unintentional. I would hope for your forgiveness but it is yours to give. I hope someday that we will be able to communicate openly and freely with each other.

How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?

Since it is close to the election there is a frenzy of political banter. I have friends who are passionate in both directions and I identify with certain parts of both sides. I don't really want to write about how I stand or really about politics at all.

I was thinking about all the things that have been happening recently: how the US government is being run, how the economy is collapsing, how Iceland is broke, how people are starving and why the world is not getting better.

I can't stand watching the world dissolve around me as I sit here writing a silly blog post. It makes me so sad to think that I have power to make other people's lives better and I choose not to.

Sometimes I think about what it would be like to have a world where everyone realized that the best way to be happy is to make other people happy. What if we all shared what we had? What if we cared about what happened to not just our friends but also our enemies? What if we were Christians? What if we truly followed Christ? What would that world look like? Would there be peace? Would there be love? Would there be as much suffering?

I truly believe that I have the power to change things. Whether or not that means I change the world or if I just give a little love to the people needing love. I believe everyone can change the world if they decide they want to.

What the world needs now is love, sweet love....

Essentially Random Comments on Life

I find that epiphanies about life happen to me when I least expect them. There are a few things I have learned about myself this week.

1) I know that I am in my right major. I have been doing poorly on my tests recently but I realized that I know I am learning in all of my classes even if my grades aren't reflecting that. I love the people I know and the classes I am taking. I am so happy where I am.

2) I have a lot of work to make up and I have been handling it without too much stress. My roommate is stressed out and she mentioned to me that i should be way more stressed out about life than she is. As soon as she said that I have become way more stressed. That makes me very unhappy.

3) I have come to the realization that i want to be better and that comes from setting goals and a schedule to get it all done. I need to work on that.

I am so happy that Wednesday is over and I only have a few more days until the weekend. I am super excited to have time off and get to relax a little.

Have a great week and weekend!

Bags!!

Most people know this about me but I am a huge bag junkie. Well, they are giving away free bags so if you want one, click here.

Have a great day!

Open the gates and seize the day!

I love my roommates. A lot. The best part about living with my roommates is that most of the time I don't feel like i am judged on who I am by what I do. I feel very safe at home. That is a good thing.

I also love my roommates because they are super crazy. Just to illustrate, a few examples:

1) We decided to decorate our family room. Originally it was going to be Surviver themed with Tiki torches and stuff but when we moved in a picture of the Arc de Triomphe. So we realized that lots of us have foreign things. So, the theme of our appartment is Around the World. Our room is crazy full of stuff. It is pretty intense.

2) Like any normal apartment, we have a quote board. Except it is more like a quote wall. We took 40 pieces of paper and made a giant multicolored patchwork wall where we now post all the funny things we say on it. We will definatly fill the wall by the time we are done with the 8 months we are living here. that's kind of crazy.

3) We are planning the most amazing Halloween costumes ever. I don't think i will talk about it now but I am sure i will talk about it later.

I am so glad I am living with these girls. They make me smile :)

heldumst í hendur

I know I talk about Icelandic all the time and very few people understand my obsession, but this weekend I had an Icelandic overdose and I am over the moon about Iceland and Icelandic. This weekend i went to the Sigur Rós concert. I was standing there with my ex-roommate who takes Icelandic with me and our former Icelandic teacher and we listened to these songs that are Iceland.

To be honest, I could write and write about the concert and i will never be able to express the joy that filled my soul as i sat there and listened to this music that has changed my life. Just watch Heima and know that I felt like i was one of the people in that movie.

One thing that did come of it was i know that I want my children to speak icelandic. It would be easier if i married someone who was Icelandic or spoke Icelandic, but I won't be that picky. I really want my children to call my parents amma and afi and to say things in Icelandic, so, they will. The End.

Oh, but becuse I want my children to speak icelandic, my friends have a joke about me wanting lots of Icelandic Babies. Who doesn't?

The Circius of my life continues...

It is funny how life doesn't turn out how you planned. I found this to be very true this weekend.

My weekend goes something like this.

Friday (after my classes are over which is 5:30):
-My roommate from last year and I went to Bombay house and had dinner together
-We chatted at her house for a little bit and then I went home because of my headache
-I watched a movie then went to bed even though i planned on doing my homework.

Saturday:
-I got up and went to the Eyring to finish a lab with one of my amazing new physics friends.
-As soon as I got back to my apartment I got a call from my friend Pike and she offered me a ticket to the football game and I took it.

*I went to my very first football game EVER. Yep, that's right I went to my first football game, and It was super fun and good.

-After Pike and I went to the game, we decided that we needed to go to the sporting goods store to buy caps and goggles for our new swimming regime.
-We were hungry so we went to the mall to get my favorite food (okay, one of my favorite foods) Chick-fil-a!!! And we stopped by the used movie/cd store right by the food court and a bought a few movies. It is now my favorite store EVER!!!
-Then Pike said hey, let's go drive up the canyon. So we did and it was super pretty it is not quite fall yet, so the not all the leaves had changed color, but it was still really pretty.
-Then we went to Pudding on the Rice, best place ever! I think that is all I need to say about that.
-I finally went home and when I got there one of my friends from last year was at my apartment and she was watching Mighty Ducks 3 with my roommates, so I watched that with them.

It was futile at this point to try and do homework, so I went to bed.

Sunday:
-Church, which was good
-We got our apartment ready for game night by making cookies and things (and by making cookies I mean my roommate mostly did it...) and straightening up our apartment.
-We had a super fun time with our new friends in the ward and old friends.

I really got no homework done. It was SUPER bad. I have been playing catch up this whole week. New rule, GET HOMEWORK DONE!!!

All the pick-up lines I know...

I was on facebook the other day and my friend started chatting with me and asked me for all the pick up lines I knew. Here is my list, with some help from my old ward directory of course. So, this post is dedicated to all the guys who need a cheesy pick-up line and Ben from my old ward because he is hilariously funny and came up with some of these.

Fizzie: hey enigmatic, do you have any good pick up lines?

Enigmatic: why?

Fizzie: i'm doing a skit and we need pick up lines...

Enigmatic: okay, hold the phone. are you ready?

Fizzie: yup

Enigmatic:

Is your dad an astronaut? because someone took the stars from the sky and put them in your eyes.

you must be tired because you've been running though my dreams all night

do you believe in love at first sight or should I walk by again?

pardon me miss, I seem to have lost my phone number, could I borrow yours

I hope you know CPR because you take my breath away

Were you in Boy Scouts? Because you sure have tied my heart in a knot.

What does it feel like to be the most beautiful girl in the room

you are the reason men fall in love.

When I saw you from across the room, I passed out could and hit my head on the floor, so I'm going to need your name and number for insurance reasons.

Do you have a map? I keep getting lost in your eyes.

Excuse me, but I think I dropped something, my jaw.

Hello. I'm a thief, and I have come to steal your heart.

If I could rearrange the alphabet, I'd put U&I together.

If I followed you home, would you keep me?

Hello, cupid called, he said he needs my heart back.

If you were a laser, you'd be set on "stunning"

You remind me a bit of a magnet, because you sure are attracting me over here.

Excuse me, do you have any raisins? No, how about a date?

Hello, are you taking any applications for a boyfriend?

Is it hot in here or is it just you?

If you were a burger at McDonalds, you'd be a McGorgeous

You're so sweet I think I'm getting cavities.

Hi, I'm incredibly rich

You must be a parking ticket because you have fine written all over you.

I lost my teddy bear. Can I cuddle with you instead?

um, you have really beautiful...uh...eyes, yea. you are pretty. What I mean is... you have a nice forehead, er ah...Do you believe in when I walk by...(to himself) Oh man, STUPID STUPID STUPID!

I have an owie on my lip, will you kiss it and make it better?

How much does a polar bear weigh? Enough to break the ice. Hi, my name is__

You better stop, drop and roll right now cause you're on fire

Can I borrow a quarter? I want to call my mom and tell her I just met the girl of my dreams?

Do you believe in the hereafter?...Well, then I guess you know what I'm here after.

I'm new in town. Could I have directions to your house?

There's this movie I wanted to see and my mom said I couldn't go by myself...

Please don't be alarmed if a big man wearing a red suit picks you up and throws you into a bag... I asked for you for Christmas.

Is your name David? I want to be Goliath and fall for you.

I'm sorry, were you talking to me? No? Well then, please start

excuse me, but would you like to hold the priesthood?

Well, here I am. What were your other two wishes?

Wouldn't we look cute on a wedding cake together?

Excuse me, I think you have something in your eye. oh... nope, it's just a sparkle.

You know we have actually met before. Remember the dream you had of the perfect guy?

What time do you have to be back in heaven?

my lips are skittles, wanna taste the rainbow?

That's all I've got. Is that enough?

Suddenly I see this is what I want to be.

My dating habits are of concern to many of my friends and by dating habits I mean my lack of dating. It is funny how right now I have tons of friends who keep telling me I need to date more. This is defiantly something I need to work on; I think I am just too scared.

I am so ridiculous in the things I am scared about. I am afraid of getting my heart broken and of breaking someone else's heart. I know I limit myself by letting my fears control my life but I just won't let myself break free of those fears that hold me back. I know it is something I can change, so why don't I? Why?

Maybe I'm broken. Yep, I am sure that's it. I better get a cat...

The way you look tonight

I find people really interesting. I invest a lot of my time and energy on people. I gather information on them and I have a habit of knowing lots of information on the people I am close to. My roommate Marcindra and I joke that I know everything about her because I pay attention to her stories and remember them.

I especially love watching and listening to people I don't know. I discover lots of insight about a person by the conversations they have with those around them and the way they move and act. Sometimes I wish I spent more time watching the world around me instead of being busy with all the things that fill my life.

I was thinking about how my deep interest in people makes me feel like a stalker sometimes. I spend lots of time reading blogs because I find them so fascinating. It shows me what the blogger thinks is important enough to write about and I can glean a lot about a person from what they do, how they say things and the choices they make. I guess blogging to me is like reading a novel that is in real time. I get hooked instantaneously and I just can't stop.

So, point of this blog entry is don't be freaked out by me because you think I am a stalker because I am not. People rock so be proud you are one.

The Name Game

I have been toying with the idea of using my real name for my blog. I originally didn't use my real name because a) I didn't want internet creepers to know who I really was because you could get a lot of information from my blog and b) I was considering being a writer for the 100 hour board and I wanted to practice, I think.

The first reason still holds up some, but there really aren't that many people that visit my blog, so I am not that worried about it. I could also make my blog private and let the people I know read it.

The second reason died awhile ago. I have long wanted to be a writer of the board, but I have gotten too busy for it and I realized that I mostly wanted to join so that I could be friends with the amazing people that write for the board and I am already working on that.

I guess the real reason why I feel I should us my real name is because I feel a little detached from what I write. It is not that I don't feel responsibility for what I write, I feel like it is less connected to me as a person because I am anonymous.

So, I guess I am writing this because I am curious what those who read my blog think. Any comments, suggestions?

Also, could you leave a comment if you read my blog regularly and plan on continuing. I would like to know in case I decide to make private, I would need to know how to contact everyone.

Thanks and have a great weekend.

I may have stolen this from someone...

Place an X by all the things you've done and remove the X from the ones you have not.

( ) Gone on a blind date
(X) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die
(X) Been to Canada
(X) Been to Mexico
(X) Been to Florida
(X) Been on a plane
(X) Been lost
(X) Been on the opposite side of the country
(X) Swam in the ocean
( ) Cried yourself to sleep
(X) Played cops and robbers
( ) Recently colored with crayons
(X) Sang Karaoke
( ) Paid for a meal with coins only
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
( ) Made prank phone calls
(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(X) Danced in the rain
(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe
( ) Watched the sunrise with someone you cared about
(X) Blown bubbles
(X) Gone ice-skating
(X) Been skinny dipping outdoors
( ) Gone to the movies by yourself

So, it looks like I have a few things to get done in my life... I will add these to my goals for the semester. Man, I really want to color now...

I thought this was appropriate for my life right now...

Confusion never stops; closing walls and ticking clocks

Mouse over text: "We need a special holiday to honor the countless kind souls with unsecured networks named 'linksys'."

I have been dying without internet. It has been a while, but I now have wireless internet in my room, which is why I will actually finish this post. For some reason, I have conditioned myself to only like using computers when I am sitting on a couch/bed/comfy chair. Which is why I can now finish this post as I am sitting on my bed at this time.

It has been an interesting week. I am learning a lot and deciding to try lots of new things this semester. I feel like moving to a new apartment has made me more courageous than I have been before. I am going to try out for Noteworthy next week and I am going to the Women's Rugby Club meeting. I am also sort of looking for jobs, so it looks like it will be a busy year for me.

I am super excited for school to start! I especially can't wait to see my new roommate who has been up at Aspen Grove all week... I get to see her tomorrow! On Saturday she will be done with Aspen and will be all mine!

Wow, I'm a catch!

So, I saw this on a friends blog and I wanted to see how I ranked. Apparently, I am the quintessential 1930s wife. Man, I'm quite a catch, or not...

89 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Superior Take the test!

0-24 - Very Poor (Failure)
25-41 - Poor
42-58 - Average
59-75 - Superior
76+ - Very Superior

I think it is super funny especially because lots of the questions have to do with having a husband and I don't have one so, I don't know that this is really right, but if it is, I guess I was born in the wrong time. I have suspected that i was born in the wrong time for a while, but I guess this is proof.

You took my hand you showed me how...

So, this post is mostly for me. I am just trying to figure out how/where I am going to get the books i am reading for the book challenge. If you have any of these books that you want to let me borrow, let me know. ESPECIALLY the ones i have to "buy." Ciao!

Project Gutenberg:
- Mansfield Park
- Northanger Abbey
- Emma
- Sanditon
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
- The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
- Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
- The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
- Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
- Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens



BYU Lib:
- The elements of style by William Strunk Jr.
- The Rivan Codex
- Polgara the Sorceress
- Belgarath the Sorcerer
- The Seeress of Kell
- Sorceress of Darshiva
- Demon Lord of Karanda
- Guardians of the West
- The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
- An Acceptable Time
- A Wind in the Door
- A Swiftly Tilting Planet
- Many Waters
- The Arm of the Starfish
- A house like a Lotus
- Dragons in the Water
- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
- Lord of the Flies by William Golding
- Animal Farm by George Orwell
- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
- A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
- Stardust by Neil Gaiman
- The Jane Austin Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
- Chocolat by Joanne Harris
- The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks


Provo Lib:
- American Nerd by Benjamin Nugent
- The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
- King of the Murgos
- The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm by Brothers Grimm

Buy:
- The Self-Healing Personality by Dr. Howard S. Freidmam
- Mimzy Were the Borogroves by Lewis Padgett

Music's In My Soul

I'm not hugely into politics. What I mean by that is that I have gotten to a point in my life where I realize that as much as we want to believe in a political system that will provide everyone with wonderful lives, it just won't ever happen. I get frustrated with where the American government is today. When I think of the things that are wrong with politics in this world, I yearn for change. I come to a conclusion. Politics just can't do it all.

I find that in general people are unhappy with their lives and feel like they need to blame someone else. I feel like we have reached a point where we don't know how to blame ourselves for mistakes. I mean, why should a woman who is driving her car and accidentally spills McDonald's coffee on herself be able to sue McDonald's? It was not their fault that she spilled on herself.

I feel like people want the government to be the savior/scape goat for all the problems that are things we can fix. It is not the government's responsibility for making sure we have a good life. We make choices that ensure a good life. We are trying to give the government a role it will never be able to fulfill. That will never happen. People are too different. Our needs are filled on an individual level by other people. It is the way we are made.

So, please, stop forcing the government into a position it cannot fill. It will never work.

Remeber when we were such fools and so convinced and just too cool?

BAH HA HA HA HA HA... Nature's dominoes. I want a few nature's dominoes, they would be so fun to play with! I really love Dinosaur Comics, but who doesn't? (don't answer that, if there is someone who doesn't like them, I don't want to know.) This is pretty much what I get paid to do; read dinosaur comics. I think I am actually getting paid to wait around until my boss finds something he wants me to do, and then do it. My life is thrilling, you have no idea.

Speaking of comics, my roommate is hilarious. She writes all these comics while she is at work and posts them on her blog. My favorite so far is when she is asking Utah for advice. Who is Utah's mom? I think that is the question we would all like to know the answer to.

So, on to my life...

I have some good news and some bad news. Good news is, I am leaving for Chicago in 11 DAYS!!! I am SO excited! I have never been to Chicago, or anywhere close. Then it is back to school! I can't wait for school. Not only will I get to live with incredible roommates but I also get to start taking classes for my new major! All this exciting stuff is coming up, but I still have TONS to do before I can leave. I have to pack up my old room, pack for BYU and pack for Chicago. I also have lots of projects i am trying to finish before I leave for school again.

The bad news is that my computer is DEAD. Well, not really dead just severely handicapped. The part on the computer that you plug the cord into is broken which means I have a really hard time getting my computer to charge. Since it is the part inside the computer instead of the cord, it is a non serviceable part which means to fix it I simply have to replace the mother board. Yeah, that totally sucks. Since replacing the mother board costs only a little less then buying a new computer, it looks like I will be buying a new computer. I am pretty excited to get a new computer, but it is quite a bit of a hassle. Although, since I am no longer a Computer engineering major, I don't think I will want a Linux/Windows dual boot, so I won't have to worry about getting that set-up.

I did have fun a few nights ago taking apart my computer. I knew which part had to be fixed, and it could have been a simple soldering problem. Since I have friends who have soldering guns, this COULD have been a quick solution to my problem. So, I found the instructions online, and a few friends and I took apart my laptop. It was crazy! The most exciting part was that we got it all back together and it still works (ish. It works besides it's charging handicap.)

Now, that I have fully exposed my nerd capabilities, I think I will go read some more dinosaur comics. Tune in next time when I discuss the pros and cons of different Rubik's cube solutions. (Actually, I don't think I could hold that discussion, I only know how to solve it one way.)

For me, Choice and Accountability will always be RED!

Today my cousins and I went to the beach. It was perfect weather: not too hot and not too cold. We spent a few good hours at this quaint little beach we found. We played a few games, got a in the frigid water a little and took lots of pictures.

Since it was mostly overcast, so we skimped on the sunscreen. Super BAD idea. We are all dying on the couch because we are so red. Tonight we are nursing our wounds and going to bed.

Good Night!

On Monday my cousins and I went to the Winchester Mystery House. I had forgotten how much I love that house. It is so fun. I have wanted to go on the midnight tour for a while now, but I won't be able to go until next year. Hopefully I will get to go next year.

We had a really awesome tour guide. He agreed with me in thinking that there needed to be a few slides on the tour and the showed us some "ghosts." We then played around in the garden. We took WAY too many pictures, but I am glad we have them all.

We are off to the beach tomorrow; I am super excited!

Love is like home cooking: good and wholesome, but all men need some mutton on the outside now and then.

I have been musing over writing a blog post for a few days now. I created this title and then left it as an empty draft for a while. I feel like I need to write in my blog more. In reality, I think I simply want my friends to write in their blogs and so I am trying to use blog karma to get everyone else to write. I understand why many of my friends don't write more, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Last night this woman in my ward hosted a dinner for all the girls in college. We helped her cook and then we tried everything we cooked and got all the recipes. I enjoyed myself. I really enjoy cooking and want to be a good cook; I simply don't know enough about it yet. I am now really ready to start cooking.

I really feel like my summer is getting super exciting. Tonight I am going with my good friend, WaterGirl, to a San Fransisco Giants game. Last time I went to a game, it was with her, and we had tons of fun. It was a good game. I am pretty sure that Bonds hit the winning run. I obviously don't pay that much attention to baseball games, but I do know how I ate. I can't believe the sickening array of food I consumed. It started with a large Sprite followed by peanuts, kettle corn, cotton candy, a slice of cheese pizza—which was my dinner—and for dessert, a Ghirardelli chocolate ice cream sundae and caramel corn. I am a little surprised I lived through that experience. Needless to say, I have learned from that experience, and I am excited for the opportunity to go to a game again.

On Saturday my two cousins are coming into town. They are staying for a whole week. I am flippin' excited to see them. I took all of next week off of work so that I could go do fun touristy stuff with them. Last year when they came out, a job fell into my lap and I had to work the whole week they were here. It was a total bummer. This time around, I get to party the whole week long. I am not sure about all the stuff we are going to do, but I am pretty sure that it will include San Francisco, lots of swimming in our pool, laser tag and very little sleep. Sounds like a great week!

Lastly—although, I am just as excited about this as the rest, it comes last chronologically—I am pretty sure I am going out to Chicago at the end of the summer to hang with my roommate from this past year. Not only do I get to hang with her sweet family, who I have heard so much about, but I get to go to Chicago for the first time! Since I am visiting a native, she is going to show me all the sites. I am pretty psyched! Actually, I am giddy with anticipation. Seriously, there is a Cupcake bar. What could be better?

Man, this has been/will be the best summer ever! I just need to spend some more time with the friends that are here and this will be a golden age. It is funny how time with good friends can really change a summer. Maybe that is why last summer was so boring...

Happy Summer Everyone!!!!

I kissed a girl

This week I have been working with my family to move into a new house. It is a little bizarre moving all the stuff from the house I have spent a good majority of my life into this random new house. This is the longest we have ever stayed in a house. It is a strange to have "home" be somewhere new.

Today I finished Wuthering Heights. I have been working on this book for a while. I had to force myself to read a little bit everyday so that I would actually finish instead of abandoning it which is what I do with most books I don't like. It wasn't really that the book was terrible, I just found it hard to read about people who were hoplessly determined to be unhappy. I just can't handle books like that. My soul dies a little when I try.

The last part of this post is about this ridiculous song. I really don't like the song "I kissed a girl" and yet, I can't get it out of my head. Why are the most annoying songs always the ones that are the most catchy?

Fun, Fun, Fun!

CPM tagged me to do this, so here it goes!

List the things you love about summer for each of the five senses and tag five people at the end. Simple!

Taste: Watermelon, pineapple, corn on the cob, cotton candy and snow cones

Touch: grass between my toes, water in a swimming pool and sitting in a hammock

Sight: sunlight

Smell: barbecue, sprinklers and a breeze

Auditory: laughter, campfire, and kids playing

Now, to tag people. Pamplemousse, Stacie Lou Whoo, Marcindra, CC and Katie

I don't know this could break my heart or save me...

So, while I was "working" today, I was looking at some puzzle websites. One thing led to another and I ended up looking at rings with my birthstone. So, I was born in June so my birthstones are pearl, moonstone and Alexandrite. Mostly, I was looking for moonstone jewelry because I had never heard that moonstone was a June birthstone. As I was looking, I stumbled on the most beautiful ring ever.
Significant for a few reasons. I don't usually get obsessed with jewelry, but there is something about this ring that just completes me. Long story short, it is a vintage ring and it is already sold. My heart is a little broken inside, but I will get over it.

The way your make-up stains my pillowcase, like I'll never be the same.

So, I do have things going on in my life, and I will update soon. Partially I haven't updated because I have something really exciting coming up and I want to wait until later to talk about it. So, in the mean time, I will do this book thing.


Here’s how it works:
The Big Read says that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they’ve printed.
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read (I am going to make them Black)
2) Italicize those you intend to read. (I am going to make these Red)
3) Make the ones you loved obnoxiously large (I am not going to do this.)
4) Reprint this list so we can try and track down these people who’ve read only 6 or less and make them read.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now….. THE BIG READ TOP 100

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. The Harry Potter Series JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh .
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones’ Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry .
87. Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Read : 16
Want to read: 8 (well, I have italicized 8. I would love to read a lot more, but I haven't specifically thought about it.)

Surfin' Safari

I didn't go surfing today, but it was really fun today. We decided that since we have visitors, we would go "see" California.

We decided we wanted to go to San Francisco and walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. Shortly after we started driving up there, we decided that we were going to drive the scenic route and stop by the beach for lunch. We stopped a little north of Half Moon Bay and we had lunch. Then we walked down to the beach and played around for a while.

It was silly to walk down to the beach with little kids and not bring a change of clothes. The majority of the people got wet. I was really fun to play there and I really enjoy the beach. I want to go there more often.

We then finished our drive up to San Francisco. We then walked across the golden gate bridge. It was super foggy. We could see part of the bridge when we were walking from the parking lot onto the bridge. Once we got to the first tower, we were completely shrouded in fog. It was really cool to be on the bridge like that. I had a ton of fun taking pictures. I think a lot of them turned out well.

I am sunburned, tired, full and very happy. Tomorrow's the 4th and we're having a party. Yippee!!!

This is what work (or lack thereof) has driven me too...

1. Touched an iceberg
2. Slept under the stars (Every year that I went to girls camp.)
3. Been a part of a hockey fight
4. Changed a baby's diaper (I am the oldest of 5. It wasn't a choice)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Swam with wild dolphins
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a tarantula
10. Said "I love you" and meant it
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris (Paris is Yummy!)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Bet on a winning horse
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort (Um... this is probably the best story ever. Ask me if you want to know.)
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Taken an ice cold bath
28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Ridden a roller coaster
31. Hit a home run
32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
33. Adopted an accent for fun (Everyday. Okay, not everyday, but a lot. I am a thespian...)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment
36. Loved your job 90% of the time
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Watched wild whales
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach
41. Gone sky diving
42. Visited Ireland
43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited India (I want to SO SO SO SO SO SO badly)
45. Bench-pressed your own weight
46. Milked a cow
47. Alphabetized your personal files
48. Ever worn a superhero costume
49. Sung karaoke
50. Lounged around in bed all day
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain (sadly, no. Someday maybe...)
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Done something you should regret, but don't
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Been in a movie
60. Gone without food for 3 days
61. Made cookies from scratch
62. Won first prize in a costume contest
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Been in a combat zone
65. Spoken more than one language fluently
66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
67. Bounced a check
68. Read - and understood - your credit report
69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
71. Called or written your Congress person
72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge (I live here, so not a big deal. I walked it multiple times.)
74. Helped an animal give birth
75. Been fired or laid off from a job
76. Won money
77. Broken a bone
78. Ridden a motorcycle
79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph (I haven't driven one, but my dad does this all the time in his new bmw)
80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
83. Eaten sushi
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read The Bible cover to cover
86. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
87. Gotten someone fired for their actions
88. Gone back to school
89. Changed your name
90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands (it didn't live... )
91. Eaten fried green tomatoes
92. Read The Iliad
93. Taught yourself an art from scratch
94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
97. Been elected to public office
98. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
101. Had a booth at a street fair
102. Dyed your hair
103. Been a DJ
104. Rocked a baby to sleep
105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all four
106. Raked your carpet
107. Brought out the best in people
108. Brought out the worst in people
109. Worn a mood ring
110. Ridden a horse (I even got sneezed on by a horse. How many people can say that?)
111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap
112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe
113. Buried a child
114. Gone to a Broadway (or equivalent to your country) play
115. Been inside the pyramids
116. Shot a basketball into a basket
117. Danced at a disco
118. Played in a band
119. Shot a bird
120. Gone to an arboretum
121. Tutored someone (it is a great paying gig)
122. Ridden a train
123. Brought an old fad back into style
124. Eaten caviar
125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need
126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant
127. Published a book
128. Pieced a quilt
129. Lived in an historic place
130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage
131. Asked for a raise
132. Made a hole-in-one (in mini-golf)
133. Gone deep sea fishing
134. Gone roller skating
135. Run a marathon
136. Learned to surf
137. Invented something
138. Flown first class
139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite
140. Flown in a helicopter
141. Visited Africa
142. Sang a solo
143. Gone spelunking
144. Learned how to take a compliment
145. Written a love-story
146. Seen Michelangelo’s David
147. Had your portrait painted
148. Written a fan letter
149. Spent the night in something haunted
150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane
151. Ran away
152. Learned to juggle
153. Been a boss
154. Sat on a jury
155. Lied about your weight
156. Gone on a diet
157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget
158. Written a poem
159. Carried your lunch in a lunchbox
160. Gotten food poisoning
161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission
162. Hiked the Grand Canyon
163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks
164. Gone to the opera
165. Gotten a letter from someone famous
166. Worn knickers
167. Ridden in a limousine
168. Attended the Olympics
169. Can hula or waltz
170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books
171. Been stuck in an elevator
172. Had a revelatory dream
173. Thought you might crash in an airplane
174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert
175. Saved someone’s life
176. Eaten raw whale
177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint
178. Laughed till your side hurt
179. Straddled the equator
180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing
181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival
182. Sent a message in a bottle
183. Spent the night in a hostel
184. Been a cashier
185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
186. Joined a union
187. Donated blood or plasma
188. Built a campfire
189. Kept a blog
190. Had hives
191. Worn custom made shoes or boots
192. Made a PowerPoint presentation
193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course
194. Served at a soup kitchen
195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube (And Rubik's Revenge. Yes, I am a nerd)
196. Know CPR
197. Ridden in or owned a convertible
198. Found a long lost friend
199. Helped solve a crime
200. Responded to a NJP newsletter

People Marching to the drums, everybody's having fun to the sound of love.

Today was so much fun. I cut my hand when i was opening a nunchuk for our wii. I really hate how many electronics are in the really tight plastic packages that are almost impossible to open. Maybe it is a test to make sure that the user is worthy. I guess I am and I get an awesome battle scar ;)

We also have 15 people staying at our house besides our family. That means there will be 22 people sharing 4 rooms and 5 beds plus some air mattresses and sleeping bags. It is going to be an interesting 8 days.

In order to prepare for this exciting week, I spent the day cleaning. It feels good to see the efforts of my labor, but all the stress in all the members of my family was not worth it. I am pretty sure everyone in my family cried at least once today except my dad. That is pretty pathetic.

I love cleanliness. Sometimes I don't like to clean, but I love having clean space. There is something so freeing about clean open space. So, it was nice, but now I have to give all my clean space to our visitors, not that it is bad, I just miss my space.

I also got an email from my roommate for next year. I am super excited! We are going to have so much fun. We are going to make aprons and door signs; we are going to throw tons of parties. It is going to be crazy. Next semester will be incredible!

I am now going to nurse my wound and go to bed now. After I convince my dad to stop watching Doctor Who with little kids in the room. Goodnight!

And I would answer all your wishes if you asked me too...

First things first, I was given a great present for my birthday. I was given knowledge. My friend told me about this fantastic English band called McFly. I have been listening to them nonstop for the past few days. That is how I am with music. If I like it, I listen to it until I know all the words to it and it gets sickeningly old. Then I move on. It is kind of like I have to really learn it and then I don't want it. Oh, how fickle I am!

So, right now I am still in the passionately enthralled phase with them. The reason I bring this up is my blog title comes from one of their songs. I am working on trying to figure their music out. It is still a bit of an enigma to me. I keep trying to place their music into a category, but depending on the song, they remind me of someone else. Oh well.

This post part 2:

(I didn't want to think of a good segue. So I didn't. Sorry for people who like to read things that are well thought through and take time. I am not that kind of girl. so you are stuck with "this post part 2:" Now, on to part 2!)

As part of the 888 challenge and my life reading challenge, I am reading The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. (SIDENOTE: I have come to a discovery that not all nonfiction books are boring. who knew?) I was reading about how some people are more emotionally receptive and others are more emotionally emanative. I don't know were I fall on the spectrum, but I it got me thinking about how our mood affects the moods of those around us. And how I can have an impact on people by changing my attitude.

I have decide that I need to smile more. I realize that I don't smile as much as I could/should. Research has shown a correlation between mimicking facial expressions and having those emotions effect your emotional state. For instance, if you smile you will start to feel happy. Even if this doesn't rub off on others, like I hope it will, at least i will be happy. So, in order to promote a happy lifestyle, I will start to smile. Wish me luck :)

I love the way she glows in ultraviolet light

Everyone thinks I am a dork, but I love Icelandic. I am infatuated with everything Icelandic. I don't know what it is, the language or the culture or what, but I want to be Icelandic. I want to go there and look at it's fjords and eat Icelandic candy while listening to Icelandic music. I can pass on traditional Icelandic food ;)

I am totally excited because I am taking an Icelandic class next semester and I can't wait! I have a dream that one day I will be able to write and speak fluently. I spent a lot of time today writing to my friends in Icelandic and it got me all excited because it reminded me that I only have a few more months before I will be doing all the time for class.

Anyway, I am super excited, that's all.

P.S. I am thinking of getting an Icelandic BOM. Am I ridiculous?

The 888 challenge

I decided to do the 888 challenge. These are my categories:

Jane Austins I haven't read:

1. Persuasion
2. Mansfield Park
3. Northanger Abbey
4. Emma
   
5. Lady Susan
   
6. The Watsons
   
7. Sanditon
8. Love and Friendship
   

Non Fiction:

1. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
   
2. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
   
3. Nerds by David Anderegg
4. Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss
   
5. The elements of style by William Strunk Jr.
   
6. American Nerd by Benjamin Nugent
   
7. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
   
8. The Self-Healing Personality by Dr. Howard S. Freidman
   

David/Leigh Eddings:

1. Guardians of the West
2. King of the Murgos
3. Demon Lord of Karanda
4. Sorceress of Darshiva
5. The Seeress of Kell
6. Belgarath the Sorcerer
7. Polgara the Sorceress
8. The Rivan Codex

Recomended to me:

1. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
2. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
3. Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
   
4. The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas
   
5. Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
   
6. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
   
7. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
   
8. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
   

Madeline L'Engle

1. A Wrinkle in Time
2. A Wind in the Door
3. A Swiftly Tilting Planet
4. Many Waters
5. The Arm of the Starfish
6. Dragons in the Water
7. A house like a Lotus
8. An Acceptable Time

Banned books:

1. The Giver by Lois Lowery
   
2. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
   
3. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
4. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
5. Animal Farm by George Orwell
6. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
7. The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm by Brothers Grimm
   
8. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
   

Classics

1. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
2. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
3. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
4. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
5. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
6. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
7. Notre-Dame of Paris (The Hunchback of Notre-Dame) by Victor Hugo
8. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
   

Movie Books

1. A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
   
2. Stardust by Neil Gaiman
   
3. Howl's Moving Castle by Diane Wynne Jones
   
4. Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
   
5. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
   
6. Chocolat by Joanne Harris
7. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
   
8. Mimzy Were the Borogroves by Lewis Padgett

Books Read: 20
Left to Read: 42

Some Hearts

I have been thinking about anti-intellectualism recently. I am reading a book called Nerds by David Anderegg. I was expecting it to be about anti-intellectualism in America. I discovered that David Anderegg is a child psychologist and book is more about the nerd stereotype and how it is affecting our children and how that is changing America.

I find that many of the points he brings up I can't identify with. I think that mainly has to do with a few things about my life that are uncommon. First, he talked about how the many girls don't pursue a career in math or science because of social pressure that tells them it is unattractive to be more intelligent than boys. He brought up the point that many schools feel that girls and boys should be educated separately than boys in math and science to reduce this pressure. For middle school, I went to a Private Girls School which heavily emphasized math and science. Because of this school, I excelled in math and science and took very advanced classes in High School. I believe part of the main reason why I went there was because my parents felt this is an issue and then wanted to prevent that. Since I haven't felt the pressure myself to dumb myself down for boys, I can't really identify with this societal problem.

Next, Anderegg talks about the portrayal of nerds and how that affects a child's behavior. Since the concept of a nerd is difficult to understand, most young children believe a nerd is a suck-up, someone who pleases the adults around him. The problem that occurs with that is children that hear their parents make jokes about nerds logically believe that if they are to be liked by their parents, then they shouldn't be nerdy. This is also an idea that is foreign to me. My dad is a huge nerd but he defies the traditional stereotype of a nerd. Since I have grown up with my dad as a norm, I never really had the need to rebel. Even now, I don't really feel the negative connotation that most people associate with the term nerd. It is my secret aspiration.

The other day, before I started reading this book, I was talking with my mom.I told here that the two things that bug me the most seem like opposites. The first thing is I hate people underestimating my intelligence. This actually happens a lot. I am blond and I sometime a bit slow and sometime I do dumb things. However, I am not stupid. So, when people see me and try to dumb things down for me, it makes me really angry. The second thing is when people think I am smart. I know it sounds like a contradiction, but it is not. Before I changed my major, back when I was still an electrical engineering major, when they asked, I would tell them my major. One of the most common responses was "Oh, you must be smart." Well, my problem with that statement is to them it is not a good thing. They have just classified me as one of those "smart people" that they can't associate with because I am too smart. Now, that usually doesn't happen, but it just as insulting as if it were true.

Why do Americans look down on those who are smart? Has our success as a country pushed us so far that we believe we don't intelligence and a good work ethic? Is this why our national leadership has suffered? America, it is time to step up and reevaluate who we are and what we want.

Happy Birthday to ME!

So, today is my birthday! I am now a full two decades old. I have always had rather disappointing birthdays but this year there is nothing to be disappointed about. Yesterday I helped my mom cook my birthday dinner. Sometime this week, we will go out to Indian food as a family. I think that the best part of my birthday were all the people who wished me happy birthday. I am feeling like this is a good birthday even though I still had to go to my crappy job :)

Anyway, Here is an update on my job. I work in an office. It is a really cushy job. I make really good money. And I don't have anything to do. Now, I know what you are thinking. A job where you can do what you want and get paid for it? That is not as fun as it sounds.

My cousin had a job last summer where she was basically in the same boat I was. I thought that sounded great. Boy, was I wrong. I feel guilty doing things I want to do while I sit there, so I pretend like I am working while i covertly check my email or read webcomics (they are a disease. Don't start, they will haunt you...) At least I will have money.

Well, I am going to add music to my MP3 player, work a little and then call it a night.

'night everyone :)

Past the point of no return.

So, I am starting my new job on Tuesday. I am fairly excited but I am also a little apprehensive. I don't really know what I am doing, so I can't be that excited about it. I think that it will work out well, but even if it doesn't, I can find a job elsewhere. This year was really nice in that I got lots of job offers. It makes me really optimistic about the future and my ability to make money. Making money and working full time makes me feel like an adult. I think I am too young to be grown up :)

So, I need to go clean my room with my sister and help my family pack, Yippee!

Come on and leave me breathless

I decided to check on my blog and guess what i found? COMMENTS!!!! Comments make me really happy. Since i had comments, i decided to write a new post.

First, I am starting to really like using my Dad's Macbook Air. I never really liked macs that much, but the macbook air is totally different. I think it is the trackpad that makes me the happiest. Anyway, read about it on the web :)

Secondly, I have done basically everything I need to do for my new job. I took my drug test yesterday since I am such a druggy :) So, I should start working there once my background check is done. I hope it will be soon.

I made paper today. Out of cotton. Which means that my paper has more of a kinship with dollar bills than it does with actual paper. It has glitter in it though. I helped out at the exploration day at the Elementary school making paper. It was messy, but fun and as a prized at the end I got to make my own paper. I also taught the moms that were working with me that dollar bills are made mostly out of cotton. Which is why money doesn't grow on trees. ha ha ha. They were all surprised to learn that fact, but it makes sense since money does pretty well in the washing machine.

I need to stop writing this post, it has taken me far too long. I'm off to contract...

I am loving JAM!

So, I am home now. I enjoy being home. Right now at I am watching the office, and I can't believe what is happening!

So, I have been working on having a job for a while now. I have worked and worked and no one had any offers for me so I can't start right now. Now that I am bumming around at home, everyone and their mom has a job offer for me. It is a little frustrating. Anyway, I am glad that I will have a job this summer. So, I am trying to decide what to do.

It is hot here, and i don't like that very much. it was almost 100 today, and that was really sucky.

Peace out from steamy california.

That thing you do!

So, today I finished all my assignments for my independent study classes. That means I have to study, take the two finals, pack, and then chill with my friends before I go home! I am so excited! I am exhausted though. I worked on my assignments from 9-5 today, no breaks. I am totally beat right now.

Although as a reward for myself when I finished, I got to watch "That thing you do." It is totally cheesy, but it is really cute. Unfortunately, the song gets stuck in my head so easily. I will get over it I am sure. I think I am going to get something to eat and then pack a bit before I start to study again. It feels really good to be on the cusp of being done. Yippee!

Even Angels Fall

Today has not gone the way I wanted it to go. I was supposed to wake up early and study then go and take my test, but I woke up at noon and studied the whole day. So, now I sit in my room eating salad, feeling really unprepared to take my tests tomorrow.

I don't know what I should do about it. Since this is my first test, I don't know if I should reread everything or study the lessons or what. GAH!

Well, I really do need to study, so I suppose I should stop writing this and get back to work.

The Price of Life

Last night/today I was thinking about how expensive life is. Last night I was making a wishlist since my birthday is coming up. As I was looking for things I want I discovered the Kindle. Right now, there is nothing I want more in this world than a kindle. Don't worry, that will pass. I think mostly I want to play around with one to see the new technology, and then decide if it is worth $400.

Right now I am having a hard time deciding what I want more for next year; a car or nice cooking utensils. The thing is, it would be really nice to have a car to get around in, but it would also be really nice to have the utensils I need to cook the things I want. Will I cook enough to use the utensils? Do I really need transportation that badly? Maybe I should just ask for a kindle instead...

Seriously though, if they sold texts books through amazon on the kindle, think about how much better the world would be... And if there was a kindle library... *Sigh*

Anyway, speaking of expenses, I am so excited to go home where my expenses go down by A LOT and where I wills start to make money again. Yippee for family :)

Happy May!

Hey Everybody,

It's May! Guess what that means, one month until my birthday, four days until my friend's birthday, 17 days until my sister's and 12 days until I go home. It finally feels like spring/summer. It is weird because my roommate left today. It is finally starting to hit me that I am going home. I have wanted to go home for some time now, but in a few days i will actually be there. That makes me really happy.

What is interesting to me is how quickly time slips through my fingers. In a month, I will be two decades old. How did that happen so quickly? I have enjoyed my life, but how did it happen so quickly. What is funny about time in general is how much time I waste on things that aren't important. If I harnessed the power of every moment and did something productive with it, I could be an intense scholar or a great musician. I don't understand why i have such strong lazy tendencies. All the time I have these great plans to do great things with my life, but I just never reach those goals.

Anyway, enough about my bad habits, I think I should go do something productive.