Rusty didn't like my list of completely random things about not me. He threatened to take away my "the great" title. I can't have that. So here you go, a list of 48 random things about me:
1. I have very weird feet. My second and third toes are longer than my big toe, and the next one is just as long.
2. I’ve been searching for the perfect pair of green shoes for a little more than two years.
3. I am completely terrified of yellow jacket wasps.
4. When I can’t sleep I memorize poetry
5. I have Wegener’s Granulomatosis.
6. I used to have a really bad lisp. I’m afraid it will come back someday
7. I own 22 pairs of sunglasses
8. I had back surgery for scoliosis when I was 13.
9. My favorite constellation is Corona Borealis
10. I have been in love with Errol Flynn since I was 6 years old. He is the absolute coolest actor/action hero/all around dude who ever lived.
11. Until I was 17 everyone thought I was older than I actually was. Now they think I’m younger than I am. I think for a while I was in a hurry to grow up; then at some point I decided I wanted to stop. Somehow that seemed to reflect on my physical appearance.
12. I have been in love twice. The first love loved me back. The second did not. They are both married now. The first one doesn’t talk to me anymore. The second does sometimes
13. I have made a point my whole life to not develop a Utah accent. I think I’ve done well. I do, however, sometime slip into a New York accent. I’ve never lived in New York. I’ve visited a few times and my mother grew up there.
14. Because of my back, I can never go skydiving. This is one of the great disappointments of my life.
15. I abhor Valentines Day. I think it is the stupidest, least romantic holiday in the history of holidays. I like it even less when I have a boyfriend. I fully believe romance should be spontaneous. There is nothing romantic about a day set aside just for romance.
16. I think better when I’m walking. If I have something I need to work out, I will go on a very long walk. After I’ve figured it out, I will usually write about it in my journal.
17. I once closed my right middle finger in a door. The fingernail fell off and grew back funny. I also hold my pens oddly because I got used to writing without that finger.
18. I have a list of every guy I have ever kissed, including random one-time drunk kisses. There are 43 names on that list; that is a lot. I like kissing.
19. My eyes change color depending on what I’m wearing. When I wear a certain green shirt of mine, my eyes turn exactly the same color. I like when my eyes are green more than when they are blue.
20. Until recently I’ve never had any long lasting quality friendships. I tend to go from one group of friends to another without even really noticing that I’ve completely made the switch. I think I still do it (I’m kind of in the process of moving into my third group of friends in 5 years), but I’ve kept a few very important friendships from old groups.
21. I never had a best friend until just a few years ago.
22. I am always disappointed with Cajun food. I get excited when I order it and expect to like it a lot, but I never do. I don’t know why.
23. I envy people with strong religious beliefs. They have something special that I think must be very comforting when life gets difficult. I haven’t joined any religion though because I can’t believe the mythologies that are out there. They just don’t make sense to me. I would feel like a great hypocrite going through the motions without actually having faith.
24. I hate, hate, hate romantic comedies. This is a loathing that I has just developed in the last year or two.
25. I am not ticklish anywhere except one spot on my lower back. I am very ticklish there if you do it just right.
26. I believe in reincarnation. I’m not sure there’s really a purpose for it, but I’m positive it happens.
27. I always have my toenails painted
28. I have, at various points in my life, had a crush on six different Newsies (Jack Kelly, Spot Conlon, Mush, Kid Blink, Specs and Dutchy).
29. I never had a crush on a teacher until my freshman year of college when I fell totally in like with my physics professor.
30. I can never remember the difference between lay/lie lain/laid so I usually avoid using those worlds. I always “set the book on the table” rather than “lay the book on the table.”
31. I have proclaimed that I will not date a guy who isn’t taller than me. The guys I’m most attracted to are usually very tall. Most of my boyfriends have been on the shorter side – my height or just an inch or two taller.
32. The night before I started high school, I decided that I was going to keep a journal. I had tried a few times earlier in life, but was never able to keep it up for more than a month or so. Since that day though I have written fairly regularly and now I have 17 full notebooks covering the last 10 years. It’s a great therapy for me. I go a little nuts if I stop writing for more than a couple weeks.
33. Every time someone uses the (non)word “funner” I die a little inside
34. I read my first Shakespeare play (Midsummer Night’s Dream) the summer before 7th grade. I don’t think I understood most of it, but I’ve been mildly obsessed with The Bard ever since and have read 15 of his plays and will undoubtedly read more. Eventually I’m sure I will have read them all.
35. The first CD I ever purchased was Ace of Base The Sign
36. I really enjoy cheese
37. I think humans have a natural tendency toward hypocrisy. I try my best not to be hypocritical. I’m not perfect about it, but I really do try. I will forgive people almost any offense unless it is blatantly hypocritical.
38. I’m usually a very social person and I really enjoy spending time with friends. I also really value my alone time and occasionally have to retreat and spend a day or two by myself reading (or sometimes writing).
39. When I was little I didn’t have imaginary friends, but I had imaginary children. Their names were Zoe (the E is silent) and Cassie (I guess I have always been very self-centered. But if guys can name their kids after themselves, why can’t I? She was like Cassie Jr). They grew up much faster than normal kids. By the time I was 10, Zoe was in jail and Cassie was getting her PhD. They never even called home anymore, such ungrateful kids!
40. I don’t want to have real kids. I’m not completely dead set against it – if I meet the right guy, fall madly in love, and he really wants kids, I can probably be talked into it. The more I think about it though, the less procreating appeals to me. The slew of recent pregnancies among my friends has made me want kids even less.
41. I have names picked out for the kids I don’t want to have: Andromeda (Andi for short) for a girl and Orion (Ryan for short) for a boy.
42. I really hate armpits. I think they are ugly and disgusting. I really hate when people touch mine, not because I’m ticklish there, but because I think it’s gross.
43. I am fascinated with language
44. I have better than perfect vision
45. I collect thimbles.
46. I wrote a wikihow article about walking in high heels. I did it anonymously though so you will never know if you’re reading the one authored by me. Except that I just linked to it. Damn.
47. I frequently have bruises on my legs (and sometimes other places) but I don’t know how I get them. I think I may kick myself in my sleep. More likely, I run into things all the time and forget/don't notice.
48. I’m convinced that I should have been a red head. I think it fits my personality and red hair is actually in my family, not too far back. Unfortunately nature decided I would be a brunette. That’s why they make hair dye.
There! Are you happy now Rusty? Does that have Ooomph? Actually, it was really easy to do. I just copied the list of 100 random things that I'm working on (I'm up to number 75) and erased the ones that were not appropriate. I have family that reads this blog; there are some thing they don't need to know.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Sunday, February 08, 2009
1. 2. 3. 4. a Follow Up
I refused to do the 25 random things about myself (I am working on 100 things though. I've gotten to 65... it's harder than it looks. I don't think I'm going to share that list with the internet). Shan left me this lovely gem in the comments though and I just couldn't resist. It makes me laugh.
Rules: Once you’ve been tagged, make up 25 facts, habits, goals, philosophical principles, recipes, shell scripts, sestinas, web comics, stained glass windows, or rotating bow ties. At the end, choose 25 people to “tag,” which is to say, draw on with cans of spray paint. When you have finished your “tags,” “Twitter” the results to your “Facebook” and run away.
1. You only give money to homeless people if they have an interesting sign
2. Whenever you eat broccoli you imagine that you are a huge monster and you are eating actual trees.
3. You sometimes will follow complete strangers in your car just to see how paranoid they will get about someone following them.
4. When you were six you got a carrot stuck up your nose.
5. You really believe that twisting off an apple stem will tell you the initial of the person you will fall in love with.
6. Your mother was once arrested for assault but the charges were dropped.
7. You eat onions raw, like apples.
8. You occasionally have psychic flashes, but they are always about useless and mundane things, like the color socks your best friend will wear on Tuesday.
9. You wore water wings at the pool until you were 8. When you finally took them off, you discovered you were actually an excellent swimmer and joined a swim team.
10. You spent the summer after high school "liberating" garden gnomes and flamingos. You still have them all stored in your parent's basement.
11. You read all the cartoons in the New Yorker even though you almost never think they're actually funny.
12. You're secretly a big fan of Rick Astley and get a thrill out of being rickroll'd.
13. You have a (very) irrational fear of wearing the color Orange.
14. You spent most of 8th grade wearing all black and listening to your walkman (because ipods weren't around then). People assumed you were listening to goth rock or something, but it was actually KC and the Sunshine Band
15. You have a collection of fast food kid's meal toys from when you were a kid.
16. You never get around to doing laundry until you only have one pair of clean underwear left
17. You are addicted to Barq's Red Cream Soda. You always have one box in your fridge and one in the pantry. When one runs out you start to panic a little and go to the store as soon as you can.
18. You cried when you got home after dissecting a frog in biology class because you felt like you were hurting the frog every time you cut into it.
19. You dyed your hair blonde once and did not have more fun.
20. You have the perfect murder all planned out, you just haven't found someone who deserves to die by your hand.
21. You don't actually see anything wrong with wearing socks with sandals, but you don't do it anyway because your significant other raved at you for an hour last time you did.
22. You were an extra in a Touched By an Angel episode that never aired
23. You don't have pets because you are allergic to dogs, always feel rejected around cats and iguanas are just not very good for petting.
24. You don't go on dates because you are allergic to girls, always feel rejected around boys and hermaphrodites are just not very good for petting.
25. You actually called a number you found written on a bathroom wall. The person didn't answer and you chickened out about leaving a message.
[tagged: Jeremy, Roy, Scott, Bags, Kate, Dave, Aaron, Meagan, Celcey, Doug, Claire, Shannon, Mike, Luke, Alex, Brad, Jake, Meghan, Vanessa, Talia, Sam, Ilya, Jennie, Nick, Alessa)
Rules: Once you’ve been tagged, make up 25 facts, habits, goals, philosophical principles, recipes, shell scripts, sestinas, web comics, stained glass windows, or rotating bow ties. At the end, choose 25 people to “tag,” which is to say, draw on with cans of spray paint. When you have finished your “tags,” “Twitter” the results to your “Facebook” and run away.
1. You only give money to homeless people if they have an interesting sign
2. Whenever you eat broccoli you imagine that you are a huge monster and you are eating actual trees.
3. You sometimes will follow complete strangers in your car just to see how paranoid they will get about someone following them.
4. When you were six you got a carrot stuck up your nose.
5. You really believe that twisting off an apple stem will tell you the initial of the person you will fall in love with.
6. Your mother was once arrested for assault but the charges were dropped.
7. You eat onions raw, like apples.
8. You occasionally have psychic flashes, but they are always about useless and mundane things, like the color socks your best friend will wear on Tuesday.
9. You wore water wings at the pool until you were 8. When you finally took them off, you discovered you were actually an excellent swimmer and joined a swim team.
10. You spent the summer after high school "liberating" garden gnomes and flamingos. You still have them all stored in your parent's basement.
11. You read all the cartoons in the New Yorker even though you almost never think they're actually funny.
12. You're secretly a big fan of Rick Astley and get a thrill out of being rickroll'd.
13. You have a (very) irrational fear of wearing the color Orange.
14. You spent most of 8th grade wearing all black and listening to your walkman (because ipods weren't around then). People assumed you were listening to goth rock or something, but it was actually KC and the Sunshine Band
15. You have a collection of fast food kid's meal toys from when you were a kid.
16. You never get around to doing laundry until you only have one pair of clean underwear left
17. You are addicted to Barq's Red Cream Soda. You always have one box in your fridge and one in the pantry. When one runs out you start to panic a little and go to the store as soon as you can.
18. You cried when you got home after dissecting a frog in biology class because you felt like you were hurting the frog every time you cut into it.
19. You dyed your hair blonde once and did not have more fun.
20. You have the perfect murder all planned out, you just haven't found someone who deserves to die by your hand.
21. You don't actually see anything wrong with wearing socks with sandals, but you don't do it anyway because your significant other raved at you for an hour last time you did.
22. You were an extra in a Touched By an Angel episode that never aired
23. You don't have pets because you are allergic to dogs, always feel rejected around cats and iguanas are just not very good for petting.
24. You don't go on dates because you are allergic to girls, always feel rejected around boys and hermaphrodites are just not very good for petting.
25. You actually called a number you found written on a bathroom wall. The person didn't answer and you chickened out about leaving a message.
[tagged: Jeremy, Roy, Scott, Bags, Kate, Dave, Aaron, Meagan, Celcey, Doug, Claire, Shannon, Mike, Luke, Alex, Brad, Jake, Meghan, Vanessa, Talia, Sam, Ilya, Jennie, Nick, Alessa)
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
1. 2. 3. 4.
I think I've become obsessed with lists. I'm trying to trace the origin of this obsession back to the beginning. When did this seed get planted in my brain? I think I can safely blame my creative writing class last semester. We did a lot of lists. I do know why, but don't feel like explaining it. As a writing exercise for that class, we made our own lists, so I guess that started the ball rolling in my brain.
The subconscious idea of making lists of things was fed by some of the silly websites I look at occasionally. Cracked seems like the obvious contributor to a list obsession, but I think it's been nurtured more by Found Magazine and Post Secret. Not because those sites are particularly list oriented, but because their content reduces a person's story down to something simple, like a postcard or a list.
I adore the idea of that kind of reduction - that concentration of an event or a story into something so concise. I think it makes the story more interesting to leave out more of the details. I love finding to-do lists, either left in library books or posted on Found, and trying to figure out what is going on with the person who made the list. They're even more fun if there is something completely random on that list.
So I have played around a little with fitting life into lists. It's an interesting exercise. With a list you just get a tiny snapshot of something, and if you do it right, that little piece tells a great deal about the whole. Or it leaves a lot up to speculation and makes it more interesting than it actually is. For example (and this is a repeat if you read my twitter... arggg twitter):
Last Sunday Activities:
Laundry
Cheesecake
Football
Harem Pants
That list is a log more fun than my actual day. I went to my parent's house to do laundry, made cheesecake for a dinner party with my belly dance friends, watched a little Superbowl, then went to a dinner party with my belly dance friends (we were going to make harem pants, but never got around to it. We talked about them a lot though). It's more interesting as a simple list because all four items seems completely unrelated. The story becomes more intriguing when you have to fill in the blanks to make it all fit together.
To be fair, I am not the only one obsessed with lists. The internet is too. If you've spent any time online in the last week or so, you may have noticed the list that Ivan (which is what I, along with friends, Jake and Vanessa, named the internet. His full name is Ivanovich Malcolm Gore, just so you know) is obsessed with. Tell me if this rings a bell: "25 random things about me."
This viral phenomenon has taken over facebook and a few blogs. I haven't seen it in e-mail yet, but not many of my friend use e-mail anymore. I haven't done it yet. Not because I think the list itself is not worth doing, but I don't like the viral spreading process. It annoys me when you tell me that I have to do something like pass on a stupid letter/note/post/whatever. I am not the only one who steadfastly refuses to do it, but we holding-outers are few and far between.
There was even an article about it in the NY Times. It's a very interesting article, and it started me thinking about it a little. It's a very interesting article. Go read it. I'll wait.
This is one of my favorite parts:
For most, it seems to be a creative way to indulge in social networking without coming off as needy or shamelessly self-absorbed.
That makes me giggle. How does that not seem self-absorbed? Can someone explain that to me?
The part that talks about it as a writing exercise is really interesting to me though. And I do admit that I have read several lists and found them very fascinating. It is indeed interesting to see "what people reveal when there isn't a particular requirement." I'm thinking of making my own list, just as an exercise for myself. I may even do 100, which the article mentions was probably the original game. Actually, if I do 100 random things about me, I might post it here. After all, I am shamelessly self-absorbed and like to show that off here on my little blog thing.
Don't worry, if I do decide to post a list of my own, I wont require anyone else to make their own.
The subconscious idea of making lists of things was fed by some of the silly websites I look at occasionally. Cracked seems like the obvious contributor to a list obsession, but I think it's been nurtured more by Found Magazine and Post Secret. Not because those sites are particularly list oriented, but because their content reduces a person's story down to something simple, like a postcard or a list.
I adore the idea of that kind of reduction - that concentration of an event or a story into something so concise. I think it makes the story more interesting to leave out more of the details. I love finding to-do lists, either left in library books or posted on Found, and trying to figure out what is going on with the person who made the list. They're even more fun if there is something completely random on that list.
So I have played around a little with fitting life into lists. It's an interesting exercise. With a list you just get a tiny snapshot of something, and if you do it right, that little piece tells a great deal about the whole. Or it leaves a lot up to speculation and makes it more interesting than it actually is. For example (and this is a repeat if you read my twitter... arggg twitter):
Last Sunday Activities:
Laundry
Cheesecake
Football
Harem Pants
That list is a log more fun than my actual day. I went to my parent's house to do laundry, made cheesecake for a dinner party with my belly dance friends, watched a little Superbowl, then went to a dinner party with my belly dance friends (we were going to make harem pants, but never got around to it. We talked about them a lot though). It's more interesting as a simple list because all four items seems completely unrelated. The story becomes more intriguing when you have to fill in the blanks to make it all fit together.
To be fair, I am not the only one obsessed with lists. The internet is too. If you've spent any time online in the last week or so, you may have noticed the list that Ivan (which is what I, along with friends, Jake and Vanessa, named the internet. His full name is Ivanovich Malcolm Gore, just so you know) is obsessed with. Tell me if this rings a bell: "25 random things about me."
This viral phenomenon has taken over facebook and a few blogs. I haven't seen it in e-mail yet, but not many of my friend use e-mail anymore. I haven't done it yet. Not because I think the list itself is not worth doing, but I don't like the viral spreading process. It annoys me when you tell me that I have to do something like pass on a stupid letter/note/post/whatever. I am not the only one who steadfastly refuses to do it, but we holding-outers are few and far between.
There was even an article about it in the NY Times. It's a very interesting article, and it started me thinking about it a little. It's a very interesting article. Go read it. I'll wait.
This is one of my favorite parts:
For most, it seems to be a creative way to indulge in social networking without coming off as needy or shamelessly self-absorbed.
That makes me giggle. How does that not seem self-absorbed? Can someone explain that to me?
The part that talks about it as a writing exercise is really interesting to me though. And I do admit that I have read several lists and found them very fascinating. It is indeed interesting to see "what people reveal when there isn't a particular requirement." I'm thinking of making my own list, just as an exercise for myself. I may even do 100, which the article mentions was probably the original game. Actually, if I do 100 random things about me, I might post it here. After all, I am shamelessly self-absorbed and like to show that off here on my little blog thing.
Don't worry, if I do decide to post a list of my own, I wont require anyone else to make their own.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
All Things Dance
I hope no one has been holding their breath waiting for me to blog about ULX. I had the best intentions to do it, because it was a spectacular weekend, but I was distracted by the inauguration and, you know, life in general.
It's very hard to go from an exchange back to the real world. Never mind that my sleep schedule is still a little skeewompus, but to actually have to do something besides dance is... a little bit of a downer. In an ideal world I would be able to go around to country attending exchanges and workshops and things and not have to worry about anything else. How cool would that be?
I will say that I'm really happy with my experience this year. I met so many amazing people and have hopes of keeping up with them. So I now have contacts around the country so when I do manage to get out of UT, I have people I can meet up with.
It's an odd thing (I'm going off on a tangent here)... All these new friends of mine, it was really cool hanging out with them this weekend. Now most of them are friends on facebook and I'm not quite sure what to do with it. Part of me says I should send them messages and things like that, but it feels... somewhat insincere. I guess small talk in person is much easier for me than over the internets. I'm not sure that's a bad thing. Isn't it better to be less awkward in person than online? I like to think so. Still, any new friendship is going to fizzle if it's not fed, and facebook is the only way to feed some of these. I'm sure I'll manage.
Moving on! Enough about swing (what? there's something besides swing? ... I really do feel that way sometime lately. I've gotten so into it, I feel like I hardly do anything else) I'm not going to talk about Belly Dance! Yes. Booty shaking, shiney, sparkly belly dance.
This weekend I went with three friends of mine, with whom I belly dance, down to Wendover. One of the gals is involved with the VFW and they were hosting a fundraiser for cancer research. As part of that we volunteered to come down and dance. It was a lot of fun! In the twenty minutes or so we were dancing, we collected around $410! Not too shabby.
Now it's all over. My fair city is sitting in the middle of a snow storm, which is really lovely. I love snow like this. The flakes are big and soft and everything is quiet and clean. I'm also glad to be getting actual winter weather. The last few days it's been raining. Rain! in January! Bah!
It's very hard to go from an exchange back to the real world. Never mind that my sleep schedule is still a little skeewompus, but to actually have to do something besides dance is... a little bit of a downer. In an ideal world I would be able to go around to country attending exchanges and workshops and things and not have to worry about anything else. How cool would that be?
I will say that I'm really happy with my experience this year. I met so many amazing people and have hopes of keeping up with them. So I now have contacts around the country so when I do manage to get out of UT, I have people I can meet up with.
It's an odd thing (I'm going off on a tangent here)... All these new friends of mine, it was really cool hanging out with them this weekend. Now most of them are friends on facebook and I'm not quite sure what to do with it. Part of me says I should send them messages and things like that, but it feels... somewhat insincere. I guess small talk in person is much easier for me than over the internets. I'm not sure that's a bad thing. Isn't it better to be less awkward in person than online? I like to think so. Still, any new friendship is going to fizzle if it's not fed, and facebook is the only way to feed some of these. I'm sure I'll manage.
Moving on! Enough about swing (what? there's something besides swing? ... I really do feel that way sometime lately. I've gotten so into it, I feel like I hardly do anything else) I'm not going to talk about Belly Dance! Yes. Booty shaking, shiney, sparkly belly dance.
This weekend I went with three friends of mine, with whom I belly dance, down to Wendover. One of the gals is involved with the VFW and they were hosting a fundraiser for cancer research. As part of that we volunteered to come down and dance. It was a lot of fun! In the twenty minutes or so we were dancing, we collected around $410! Not too shabby.
Now it's all over. My fair city is sitting in the middle of a snow storm, which is really lovely. I love snow like this. The flakes are big and soft and everything is quiet and clean. I'm also glad to be getting actual winter weather. The last few days it's been raining. Rain! in January! Bah!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Proud American
Obama has officially been president for about an hour now.
I listened to his speech on the radio. I would have watched it, but I don't have a television. I know I could have seen it online, but I happened to be in the car on my way to get groceries.
I can't remember the last time I had any faith in my country or the administration.
It's wonderful to have an articulate president. I truly believe that he will be able to do a world of good for our country.
I'm not naive enough to think that he will change things overnight. It's going to be really hard to undo all the things that the Bush administration did. I have faith that Obama can get things done though and that he will change our country for the better.
I suppose there were times when I was little that I was proud to be an American. Patriotism is instilled in us in elementary school, right? I feel like I have never in my adult, or even young-adult (read teenage) years, really truly felt patriotic. The 4th of July has been a nice break from school and work. I always enjoy fireworks, but I scoff at the people parading around in red, white and blue and roll my eyes at the pomp of the patriotic music.
Today I am, for the first time in years, not wishing that I lived in Canada or Europe. I won't say that the grass is suddenly greener on my side of the fence, but I can see the fertilizer and the new seed that will make it lush and verdant again. I am actually happy to be a citizen of the United States today. It's a very strange feeling.
I listened to his speech on the radio. I would have watched it, but I don't have a television. I know I could have seen it online, but I happened to be in the car on my way to get groceries.
I can't remember the last time I had any faith in my country or the administration.
It's wonderful to have an articulate president. I truly believe that he will be able to do a world of good for our country.
I'm not naive enough to think that he will change things overnight. It's going to be really hard to undo all the things that the Bush administration did. I have faith that Obama can get things done though and that he will change our country for the better.
I suppose there were times when I was little that I was proud to be an American. Patriotism is instilled in us in elementary school, right? I feel like I have never in my adult, or even young-adult (read teenage) years, really truly felt patriotic. The 4th of July has been a nice break from school and work. I always enjoy fireworks, but I scoff at the people parading around in red, white and blue and roll my eyes at the pomp of the patriotic music.
Today I am, for the first time in years, not wishing that I lived in Canada or Europe. I won't say that the grass is suddenly greener on my side of the fence, but I can see the fertilizer and the new seed that will make it lush and verdant again. I am actually happy to be a citizen of the United States today. It's a very strange feeling.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Ain't What You Do It's the Way that You Do It
Guess what! This weekend is the Utah Lindy Exchange! You may remember me posting about it last year. It's amazing how much things are different now though.
Last year I had only been dancing Lindy for a few months so I was totally out of my league. Friday night I didn't dance much and even though I danced a lot of Saturday, I was often awkward and not really up to par with most of the leads there. After a year of pretty hardcore dancing, I am a million times better suited for this event.
There are still a few dancers here that I am a little intimidated by. They are seriously brilliant and have been dancing for years. I can really hold my own with most of the leads though. Not only that, but this year guys are actually asking me to dance more than once. Know what that means? That means they think I'm fun to dance with.
Ok, that sounds a little silly, but it's true. A lot of leads will, at the beginning of an event, try to dance with every follow present. They shop around and see who is really fun to dance with and who is not. Naturally they're more prone to dance with the fun girls. For some guys at least, I'm not one of the fun girls.
The really big dance of the weekend is tonight. I'm kind of catatonic right now because I was dancing pretty hard for nearly 11 hours yesterday (wow, when I actually add it all up, it's pretty damn impressive). There were three dances I went to - one in the afternoon, one in the evening and the Late Night, which went until 5. I had to stay because I volunteered to help clean things up. I'm taking it easy this afternoon because I've got about 8 more hours of dancing ahead of me tonight. I don't know if I'll make it til 5 though again.
Also this year, I'm hosting someone. Vanessa is staying on my couch for the weekend and she is pretty cool. Plus she's an amazing dancer.
I'll write more about the weekend later. Now I'm either going to make lunch, or take a nap. I just woke up about an hour ago, so I think lunch makes a little more sense.
Last year I had only been dancing Lindy for a few months so I was totally out of my league. Friday night I didn't dance much and even though I danced a lot of Saturday, I was often awkward and not really up to par with most of the leads there. After a year of pretty hardcore dancing, I am a million times better suited for this event.
There are still a few dancers here that I am a little intimidated by. They are seriously brilliant and have been dancing for years. I can really hold my own with most of the leads though. Not only that, but this year guys are actually asking me to dance more than once. Know what that means? That means they think I'm fun to dance with.
Ok, that sounds a little silly, but it's true. A lot of leads will, at the beginning of an event, try to dance with every follow present. They shop around and see who is really fun to dance with and who is not. Naturally they're more prone to dance with the fun girls. For some guys at least, I'm not one of the fun girls.
The really big dance of the weekend is tonight. I'm kind of catatonic right now because I was dancing pretty hard for nearly 11 hours yesterday (wow, when I actually add it all up, it's pretty damn impressive). There were three dances I went to - one in the afternoon, one in the evening and the Late Night, which went until 5. I had to stay because I volunteered to help clean things up. I'm taking it easy this afternoon because I've got about 8 more hours of dancing ahead of me tonight. I don't know if I'll make it til 5 though again.
Also this year, I'm hosting someone. Vanessa is staying on my couch for the weekend and she is pretty cool. Plus she's an amazing dancer.
I'll write more about the weekend later. Now I'm either going to make lunch, or take a nap. I just woke up about an hour ago, so I think lunch makes a little more sense.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Where Does the Time Go?
I can't believe it's been this year for two weeks. I've been filling every waking moment with very fun things... and work. Which is not to say that work isn't fun, it's just not super fun. Anyway, I feel like I've done enough in the last two weeks to satifyingly fill four.
Where to start? Last weekend, just on friday, I went sledding, which was awesome. I also went on an amazing date. I was supposed to go skating with my friend, Roy. The weather was really bad though, so we went to dinner and then we went to an archery place and shot bows and arrows. How cool is that? I was like freekin' Robin Hood! Plus it was really awesome just hanging out with Roy. I have an itty-bitty crush on him now, but it's completely rediculous and won't possibly go anywhere. Still, he's a cool kid.
Saturday I worked then I was supposed to go snow shoeing with my friend, Jason, but he flaked - he had committed himself to something which didn't give us enough time to go. But we did hang for a little while. That evening I went dancing.
I worked a lot this past week, and when I wasn't at work I was hanging out with friends, working on stuff for swing club, or getting stuff together for this belly dance thing I'm doing in a couple weeks. I did my usual dance thing on Thursday and made it out to dance at the Skillet on Friday.
Yesterday afternoon I rode around on trax (the local light-rail train system thing) with no pants. It's an ImprovEverywhere thing. I'm not going to say much about it, except that it was wicked fun and a bit chilly.
Last night I went with a friend of mine down to Provo for dancing. BYU has their swing dance there on Saturday nights (which was ok, not much different from the U and not something I would make the trip for by itself). There is also a late night dance from 10:30 to about 2:00 at this little sandwhich shop downtown. That was a lot of fun! I will probably try to get down that way again for that.
That's a quick overview of what I've been up to and things are not going to slow down any time soon. School starts tomorrow so it'll be back to the books. Next weekend is the Utah Lindy Exchange, so I will be busy all weekend dancing there. The weekend after that I going to Wendover to belly dance at a cancer fund raiser thing.
Maybe February will be less crazy.
Where to start? Last weekend, just on friday, I went sledding, which was awesome. I also went on an amazing date. I was supposed to go skating with my friend, Roy. The weather was really bad though, so we went to dinner and then we went to an archery place and shot bows and arrows. How cool is that? I was like freekin' Robin Hood! Plus it was really awesome just hanging out with Roy. I have an itty-bitty crush on him now, but it's completely rediculous and won't possibly go anywhere. Still, he's a cool kid.
Saturday I worked then I was supposed to go snow shoeing with my friend, Jason, but he flaked - he had committed himself to something which didn't give us enough time to go. But we did hang for a little while. That evening I went dancing.
I worked a lot this past week, and when I wasn't at work I was hanging out with friends, working on stuff for swing club, or getting stuff together for this belly dance thing I'm doing in a couple weeks. I did my usual dance thing on Thursday and made it out to dance at the Skillet on Friday.
Yesterday afternoon I rode around on trax (the local light-rail train system thing) with no pants. It's an ImprovEverywhere thing. I'm not going to say much about it, except that it was wicked fun and a bit chilly.
Last night I went with a friend of mine down to Provo for dancing. BYU has their swing dance there on Saturday nights (which was ok, not much different from the U and not something I would make the trip for by itself). There is also a late night dance from 10:30 to about 2:00 at this little sandwhich shop downtown. That was a lot of fun! I will probably try to get down that way again for that.
That's a quick overview of what I've been up to and things are not going to slow down any time soon. School starts tomorrow so it'll be back to the books. Next weekend is the Utah Lindy Exchange, so I will be busy all weekend dancing there. The weekend after that I going to Wendover to belly dance at a cancer fund raiser thing.
Maybe February will be less crazy.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Another Year Gone By
Hello everybody, welcome to 2009!
I rang in the new year with the most incredible night of dancing. Royal Crown Review played at a local club. People were encouraged to dress up and there was a dance contest (which I entered with my friend Celcey. We were by far the best girl/girl couple in the contest) and great music. The band was really good. Right before the break the bass player and the drummer did solos that absolutely blew the mind. There were tons of good dancers there and the energy was really high. Plus you could actually get a drink, which rarely happens for swing dancing in Utah. Not that it's really necessary to have drinks when dancing, it's just one of those things that makes Utah special. When I went to Lindy on the Rocks in Colorado, every dance had a bar. People had a couple drinks throughout the night, but no one ever got belligerent. It was kind of nice to have that options.
After last night, I'm kind of exhausted and sore today... in that really good way. I also worked 8 hours yesterday so I was on my feet a lot. It's no surprise that my legs feel like they are going to fall off now and, actually, my lower back is pretty tired as well. That said, I'm going over to my parent's for dinner tonight and I'm thinking about walking over there. Best way to cure tired legs is to use them, right?
So, it being the start of the new year and all, I thought about doing an epic year in review post like I did last year, but I really haven't had time. The last few days have been so full of... I don't even know what. Besides the holidays I've been working a lot and playing a lot. It's all been very fun, but I'm getting a little burned out. I feel like almost every day I've left the house at 8 and haven't gotten home until 11 or later. So the whole year in review is out. If you want to know what I did all year, you can go back and read all the little post thingies I did.
I will, however, take a look at my list of things to do in 2008:
I rang in the new year with the most incredible night of dancing. Royal Crown Review played at a local club. People were encouraged to dress up and there was a dance contest (which I entered with my friend Celcey. We were by far the best girl/girl couple in the contest) and great music. The band was really good. Right before the break the bass player and the drummer did solos that absolutely blew the mind. There were tons of good dancers there and the energy was really high. Plus you could actually get a drink, which rarely happens for swing dancing in Utah. Not that it's really necessary to have drinks when dancing, it's just one of those things that makes Utah special. When I went to Lindy on the Rocks in Colorado, every dance had a bar. People had a couple drinks throughout the night, but no one ever got belligerent. It was kind of nice to have that options.
After last night, I'm kind of exhausted and sore today... in that really good way. I also worked 8 hours yesterday so I was on my feet a lot. It's no surprise that my legs feel like they are going to fall off now and, actually, my lower back is pretty tired as well. That said, I'm going over to my parent's for dinner tonight and I'm thinking about walking over there. Best way to cure tired legs is to use them, right?
So, it being the start of the new year and all, I thought about doing an epic year in review post like I did last year, but I really haven't had time. The last few days have been so full of... I don't even know what. Besides the holidays I've been working a lot and playing a lot. It's all been very fun, but I'm getting a little burned out. I feel like almost every day I've left the house at 8 and haven't gotten home until 11 or later. So the whole year in review is out. If you want to know what I did all year, you can go back and read all the little post thingies I did.
I will, however, take a look at my list of things to do in 2008:
Things to do in the new year (not resolutions, mind you. No one ever keeps resolutions):
1. Find a new job.
2. Get into hardcore biking shape again
3. Eat veggies
4. Shrink my "to-read" list... by reading.
5. Make new friends and strengthen the friendships I already have
Things to NOT do in the new year:
1. Date complete douchewads
2. Waste away in my death job
3. Go on a psycho mass murdering tour de world
4. Waste all my time watching TV and adding books to my "to-read" list that I will never get around to because I'm wasting all my time watching TV.
5. Eat meat (that's right kids, I'm going to give the vegetarian thing a try)
I think I've done pretty well for the most part. I did, indeed, find a new job. I quit the receptionist gig and am now doing something that I really love. I rode the MS 150, so I think that counts as getting back into hardcore biking shape. However, after that I kind of slacked. So I got there, but didn't maintain. I have eaten several veggies. I read a lot, but my "to-read" list is longer now than it was before. It's a hazard of working with books.
I have made several new friends and become better friends with those I already had. That's a tricky one though. I think some of my older friends have slipped through the cracks. I still keep up with a few, because they are the best friends I have, but.... If I look at who I was spending most of my time with this time last year compared to now, the dynamic is really different. I think it's mostly due to regular drifting apart. I've gotten so into the dancing thing, and most of the friends I have outside of that just aren't interested. I mean, that's why I started going to the U swing club in the first place. I wanted to meet people who I could go dancing with because none of my friends did it. I'm really passionate about swing, so there's no way I'm going to give it up. It's sad, but it makes sense that if I spend so much time dancing, I'm going to bond more with the people I go dancing with. C'est la vie.
As for what I wanted to not do in 2008... I didn't date any douchewads. I actually didn't really date anyone. I went on a few dates with a few people, but they didn't seem to go anywhere. And you know what, I'm totally ok with that. I've had fun, and I don't need to be with someone to be happy. I'm not saying that I want to stay single, anyone who has read my blog knows that I want to find love just as much as the next gal. I just am in no major hurry. It will come when it comes, meanwhile, I am perfectly content with what I have. Moving on, job o' death is no more, I didn't not mass murder anyone. I don't have a TV. I do watch shows online, but I don't spend too much time doing that. Especially not lately. I really don't miss TV at all. The vegetarian thing totally failed.
I'd say that I did pretty well on my goals for the year. Nine out of ten ain't bad. For 2009 I have a long list of things I would like to do, but don't know how possible they really are. First I want to do the Seattle to Portland Bicycle Ride in July. And, since doing the MS 150 early in the season made my brain say "hey, I don't have anything to train for anymore. I can totally slack off," I think I may do the ULCER again too. (Hey, Aaron, you should come back and do the ULCER with me again). I want to go to a few Lindy Exchanges outside of Utah. Exchanges are so much fun, and the best way to get better at dancing is to go out and dance with good dancers. There are a few good dancers here, but the really brilliant dancers are elsewhere. They all go to the exchanges though. Plus doing that exposes you to all sorts of different styles. I also would like to get a one bedroom place or a studio when our lease is up this summer.
These three big things are high on my list of things I want to do. They're all kind of on the expensive side though, so they may not be possible. I'm definitely going to do the bike rides, and I'd really like to do the apartment thing. I may have to settle for just one exchange though. We'll see. There are other, not big things I would like to do too. So I guess I'll do a list of goals again, just like last year:
Things to do in the new year (still not resolutions. Resolution is a bad word)
1. Get a merit position at one of the libraries (I like the subbing thing, but I wouldn't mind having a steady schedule, and I'm going to need a job with benefits soon)
2. Get back into hardcore biking shape, and stay there!
3. Improve my lindy. I'd like to get to the point where I feel comfortable seriously entering a contest. Yes, I did do a contest last night, but that was just for giggles. Celcey and I knew we wouldn't place or anything. We just thought it was fun.
4. Put my monies in order enough that I can afford a place by myself
5. Write regularly and often. Not blog writing or journal writing but Writing writing.
6. Get swing club running and fabulous.
Things to NOT do in the new year
1. Drink soda
2. Date douchewads (it was a good goal)
3. Go on a mass murdering tour de world (also a good goal, might as well carry it over)
4. Fail at school
I have to say, I think 2008 was a really good year. I'm sure 2009 will be as well. There are lots of things I'm looking forward to. Not the least of which is I will hit the 5 year mark of being in remission in March! My bestest buddie, Arrakis, is getting married in August. Who no what other fabulostiy awaits.
I hope your year has been lovely. I hope your next year will be lovelier still. Happy New Year, my dear and faithful readers!
1. Find a new job.
2. Get into hardcore biking shape again
3. Eat veggies
4. Shrink my "to-read" list... by reading.
5. Make new friends and strengthen the friendships I already have
Things to NOT do in the new year:
1. Date complete douchewads
2. Waste away in my death job
3. Go on a psycho mass murdering tour de world
4. Waste all my time watching TV and adding books to my "to-read" list that I will never get around to because I'm wasting all my time watching TV.
5. Eat meat (that's right kids, I'm going to give the vegetarian thing a try)
I think I've done pretty well for the most part. I did, indeed, find a new job. I quit the receptionist gig and am now doing something that I really love. I rode the MS 150, so I think that counts as getting back into hardcore biking shape. However, after that I kind of slacked. So I got there, but didn't maintain. I have eaten several veggies. I read a lot, but my "to-read" list is longer now than it was before. It's a hazard of working with books.
I have made several new friends and become better friends with those I already had. That's a tricky one though. I think some of my older friends have slipped through the cracks. I still keep up with a few, because they are the best friends I have, but.... If I look at who I was spending most of my time with this time last year compared to now, the dynamic is really different. I think it's mostly due to regular drifting apart. I've gotten so into the dancing thing, and most of the friends I have outside of that just aren't interested. I mean, that's why I started going to the U swing club in the first place. I wanted to meet people who I could go dancing with because none of my friends did it. I'm really passionate about swing, so there's no way I'm going to give it up. It's sad, but it makes sense that if I spend so much time dancing, I'm going to bond more with the people I go dancing with. C'est la vie.
As for what I wanted to not do in 2008... I didn't date any douchewads. I actually didn't really date anyone. I went on a few dates with a few people, but they didn't seem to go anywhere. And you know what, I'm totally ok with that. I've had fun, and I don't need to be with someone to be happy. I'm not saying that I want to stay single, anyone who has read my blog knows that I want to find love just as much as the next gal. I just am in no major hurry. It will come when it comes, meanwhile, I am perfectly content with what I have. Moving on, job o' death is no more, I didn't not mass murder anyone. I don't have a TV. I do watch shows online, but I don't spend too much time doing that. Especially not lately. I really don't miss TV at all. The vegetarian thing totally failed.
I'd say that I did pretty well on my goals for the year. Nine out of ten ain't bad. For 2009 I have a long list of things I would like to do, but don't know how possible they really are. First I want to do the Seattle to Portland Bicycle Ride in July. And, since doing the MS 150 early in the season made my brain say "hey, I don't have anything to train for anymore. I can totally slack off," I think I may do the ULCER again too. (Hey, Aaron, you should come back and do the ULCER with me again). I want to go to a few Lindy Exchanges outside of Utah. Exchanges are so much fun, and the best way to get better at dancing is to go out and dance with good dancers. There are a few good dancers here, but the really brilliant dancers are elsewhere. They all go to the exchanges though. Plus doing that exposes you to all sorts of different styles. I also would like to get a one bedroom place or a studio when our lease is up this summer.
These three big things are high on my list of things I want to do. They're all kind of on the expensive side though, so they may not be possible. I'm definitely going to do the bike rides, and I'd really like to do the apartment thing. I may have to settle for just one exchange though. We'll see. There are other, not big things I would like to do too. So I guess I'll do a list of goals again, just like last year:
Things to do in the new year (still not resolutions. Resolution is a bad word)
1. Get a merit position at one of the libraries (I like the subbing thing, but I wouldn't mind having a steady schedule, and I'm going to need a job with benefits soon)
2. Get back into hardcore biking shape, and stay there!
3. Improve my lindy. I'd like to get to the point where I feel comfortable seriously entering a contest. Yes, I did do a contest last night, but that was just for giggles. Celcey and I knew we wouldn't place or anything. We just thought it was fun.
4. Put my monies in order enough that I can afford a place by myself
5. Write regularly and often. Not blog writing or journal writing but Writing writing.
6. Get swing club running and fabulous.
Things to NOT do in the new year
1. Drink soda
2. Date douchewads (it was a good goal)
3. Go on a mass murdering tour de world (also a good goal, might as well carry it over)
4. Fail at school
I have to say, I think 2008 was a really good year. I'm sure 2009 will be as well. There are lots of things I'm looking forward to. Not the least of which is I will hit the 5 year mark of being in remission in March! My bestest buddie, Arrakis, is getting married in August. Who no what other fabulostiy awaits.
I hope your year has been lovely. I hope your next year will be lovelier still. Happy New Year, my dear and faithful readers!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Winter Wonders
It started snowing today just in time for me to drive home from my parent's. I'm sitting in my apartment, listening to The Beatles, putting stuff away and generally enjoying the peace. It was a lovely Christmas. I'm keeping this brief; I leave you with this holiday message:
Monday, December 22, 2008
Oh Hai!!1!!
Christmas is coming way too fast.
I have no free time at all.
It's worse than when school was in. I thought I was busy with classes and stuff, but no, that wasn't busy. Now is busy.
I've discovered that being busy and stressed (because I'm so busy) makes me extra anal about having things clean. Is it so bad to want to come home to a tidy apartment? I don't think so. Funny how these things manifest themselves.
For the first time in I don't know how many years, I'm not already completely burned out on x-mas carols. I don't listen to the radio (except NPR) and I haven't spent much time in stores so I haven't been hearing the Christmas music that has been playing since October. The last couple days I've actually been tuning in to the "all carols all the time" station when I'm in my car. I can only stand it for a song or two, because then they play something terrible or go to a ten minute long comercial break. Still, I'm actually enjoying Christmas songs this year. Weird.
I have no free time at all.
It's worse than when school was in. I thought I was busy with classes and stuff, but no, that wasn't busy. Now is busy.
I've discovered that being busy and stressed (because I'm so busy) makes me extra anal about having things clean. Is it so bad to want to come home to a tidy apartment? I don't think so. Funny how these things manifest themselves.
For the first time in I don't know how many years, I'm not already completely burned out on x-mas carols. I don't listen to the radio (except NPR) and I haven't spent much time in stores so I haven't been hearing the Christmas music that has been playing since October. The last couple days I've actually been tuning in to the "all carols all the time" station when I'm in my car. I can only stand it for a song or two, because then they play something terrible or go to a ten minute long comercial break. Still, I'm actually enjoying Christmas songs this year. Weird.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Burning Ring of Fire
I've had a crazy weekend, but I haven't had a chance to write about it until now. Friday night! I have a story! I even have visual aids. This is it:
First, a map. It's easier if you have some idea of the geography of my neighborhood.
Friday night I went to a "rubiks-cube" party (located at X). That should have been the most exciting thing to happen that night, but it wasn't. I left the party around 12:30 - didn't stay too late because I had work Saturday morning. Because the party was just up the street and around the corner from where I live, I had left my car at home. I set out walking home (along the path of the little grayish-bluish dots... which you may not be able to see very well). When I turned on to the pink street (point !), I noticed a few flashing lights. I was surprised, but not very concerned.
We continued walking. Yes, we. By the way, I was with my roommate and two of our friends. The closer we got to the Point ? the more lights we noticed. The entire pink street was blocked off at that point and we could see at least four fire trucks, plus a couple of cop cars and an ambulance. Naturally by the time we got to ? we were all turning to each other and saying "What the fuck is going on?"
There were 5 fire trucks total parked on the pink street. People were mulling about. Firemen and all the other emergency response people were all over the place. All this is a very strange sight for one o'clock in the morning. I walked up to one of the fire dudes (standing quite near to point !!!) and asked him what was going on. He pointed in the general direction of my apartment (Z) and said "Oh, some apartment building caught fire."
For a second, I panicked. Was it my apartment? Oh shit. I turned down the dark blue street, which leads to my back door, and noticed a crowd of people about where my apartment is. As I got closer, I realised that they were all looking away from my place (at Y). I'm sure I don't have to tell you that I was releived. Eventually I joined the crowd and saw this:
erm... sort of. I didn't actually take a picture Friday night, so this is a recreation, using photoshop, badly. There were some guys with hoses that I didn't bother putting in because I'm lazy. There was also no snow or tarps. But you get the general idea.
It was kind of crazy. I'm really glad it wasn't my place. I watched for a little while from my kitchen, then I went to bed because I still had to go to work Saturday morning. Here's what it looks like now:
The one on the right is literally the view from my kitchen window. According to the newspaper there were active flames for about 2 hours and over 100 firefighters were there fighting it. The fire was caused by a cigarette butt and started on one of the 6th floor balconies. About 80 people now have to find new places to live. It's going to take about a year to get the apartments in that building repaired to the point that people can live in them again.
First, a map. It's easier if you have some idea of the geography of my neighborhood.
Friday night I went to a "rubiks-cube" party (located at X). That should have been the most exciting thing to happen that night, but it wasn't. I left the party around 12:30 - didn't stay too late because I had work Saturday morning. Because the party was just up the street and around the corner from where I live, I had left my car at home. I set out walking home (along the path of the little grayish-bluish dots... which you may not be able to see very well). When I turned on to the pink street (point !), I noticed a few flashing lights. I was surprised, but not very concerned.
We continued walking. Yes, we. By the way, I was with my roommate and two of our friends. The closer we got to the Point ? the more lights we noticed. The entire pink street was blocked off at that point and we could see at least four fire trucks, plus a couple of cop cars and an ambulance. Naturally by the time we got to ? we were all turning to each other and saying "What the fuck is going on?"
There were 5 fire trucks total parked on the pink street. People were mulling about. Firemen and all the other emergency response people were all over the place. All this is a very strange sight for one o'clock in the morning. I walked up to one of the fire dudes (standing quite near to point !!!) and asked him what was going on. He pointed in the general direction of my apartment (Z) and said "Oh, some apartment building caught fire."
For a second, I panicked. Was it my apartment? Oh shit. I turned down the dark blue street, which leads to my back door, and noticed a crowd of people about where my apartment is. As I got closer, I realised that they were all looking away from my place (at Y). I'm sure I don't have to tell you that I was releived. Eventually I joined the crowd and saw this:
erm... sort of. I didn't actually take a picture Friday night, so this is a recreation, using photoshop, badly. There were some guys with hoses that I didn't bother putting in because I'm lazy. There was also no snow or tarps. But you get the general idea.
It was kind of crazy. I'm really glad it wasn't my place. I watched for a little while from my kitchen, then I went to bed because I still had to go to work Saturday morning. Here's what it looks like now:
The one on the right is literally the view from my kitchen window. According to the newspaper there were active flames for about 2 hours and over 100 firefighters were there fighting it. The fire was caused by a cigarette butt and started on one of the 6th floor balconies. About 80 people now have to find new places to live. It's going to take about a year to get the apartments in that building repaired to the point that people can live in them again.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
People are Strange
Sorry I've been absent for a while. I've been busy getting sick, getting built up and then getting shot down.
Remember my stranger? Of course you do, it's the last thing I wrote about. We're going to call him Joe. After my last blog I resolved to keep more of an open mind about my budding relationship with Joe. I made an effort to stop doubting that he was as fabulous as he seemed. We went out again, twice, and it was fantastic.
I'm not saying that I really got to know everything about him right away. I guess he is essentially still a stranger. But what I have found out is great. And hanging out with him... It's going to sound really stupid and corny... he made me laugh. Hard. The way I laugh with pretty much only with my favorite friends. I'm not sure anyone I've dated before has done that.
I'm not saying it would have work out perfectly or anything. I'm enough of a realist to not expect too much right away. But I did see a lot of potential and things were looking like they were going to keep going really well.
Then Saturday night he blindsided me with the "I just want to be friends speech." Except it wasn't the normal cliche speech. He was right to do it. He's dealing with some shit that would make it really unfair of him to go into a relationship. He just isn't at a place in his life that he could give as much as he took. I know that sounds a lot like the typical lame excuse, but it's just my summation of what he said. He was completely right and kind and... impossible to argue with. What was I going to say? No, I want to date you so I deny you a chance to fix your life first. I want to be in a relationship that is doomed from the beginning because you're not ready for one.
I'm not heartbroken or anything. We weren't seeing each other long enough for any real serious attachment to form. I'm extremely disappointed, and sad to loose something that had such great potential. More than anything I'm feeling a little wiped out by the whole romance thing. I feel like I've just run through one failure after another. Whenever I meet someone I'm interested in, it never goes anywhere. We might have a fun flirtation or a short lived series of dates that lead nowhere. I'm beginning to doubt that I am even capable of connecting with someone on a deeper level.
With Joe I was impressed by something that made me think for a second that I might have found someone with whom I could connect. I guess I still can, but it will have to be as just a friend. Fuck. Whatever potential might be there, any possible romantic relationship has been given the kiss of death. We're off to friend land, a mythical place from which few ever return.
So the morning after Joe and I downgraded our relationship from "dating" to "just friends" I woke up with a fever and a very swollen, very sore throat. The doctor confirmed strep. I spent most of the day sleeping or watching TV at my parent's house.
This is the last week of class, which means finals, lots of homework, tying things up. High stress. No fun.
Life kind of sucks for me right now.
Remember my stranger? Of course you do, it's the last thing I wrote about. We're going to call him Joe. After my last blog I resolved to keep more of an open mind about my budding relationship with Joe. I made an effort to stop doubting that he was as fabulous as he seemed. We went out again, twice, and it was fantastic.
I'm not saying that I really got to know everything about him right away. I guess he is essentially still a stranger. But what I have found out is great. And hanging out with him... It's going to sound really stupid and corny... he made me laugh. Hard. The way I laugh with pretty much only with my favorite friends. I'm not sure anyone I've dated before has done that.
I'm not saying it would have work out perfectly or anything. I'm enough of a realist to not expect too much right away. But I did see a lot of potential and things were looking like they were going to keep going really well.
Then Saturday night he blindsided me with the "I just want to be friends speech." Except it wasn't the normal cliche speech. He was right to do it. He's dealing with some shit that would make it really unfair of him to go into a relationship. He just isn't at a place in his life that he could give as much as he took. I know that sounds a lot like the typical lame excuse, but it's just my summation of what he said. He was completely right and kind and... impossible to argue with. What was I going to say? No, I want to date you so I deny you a chance to fix your life first. I want to be in a relationship that is doomed from the beginning because you're not ready for one.
I'm not heartbroken or anything. We weren't seeing each other long enough for any real serious attachment to form. I'm extremely disappointed, and sad to loose something that had such great potential. More than anything I'm feeling a little wiped out by the whole romance thing. I feel like I've just run through one failure after another. Whenever I meet someone I'm interested in, it never goes anywhere. We might have a fun flirtation or a short lived series of dates that lead nowhere. I'm beginning to doubt that I am even capable of connecting with someone on a deeper level.
With Joe I was impressed by something that made me think for a second that I might have found someone with whom I could connect. I guess I still can, but it will have to be as just a friend. Fuck. Whatever potential might be there, any possible romantic relationship has been given the kiss of death. We're off to friend land, a mythical place from which few ever return.
So the morning after Joe and I downgraded our relationship from "dating" to "just friends" I woke up with a fever and a very swollen, very sore throat. The doctor confirmed strep. I spent most of the day sleeping or watching TV at my parent's house.
This is the last week of class, which means finals, lots of homework, tying things up. High stress. No fun.
Life kind of sucks for me right now.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
What Is This Thing Called Love?
Seems to me it’s been a while since I made my dear readers read something really long. Lucky for you, I’m feeling particularly pensive (and, apparently, alliterative) this morning. I also woke up much earlier than I intended and can’t seem to recapture sleep. So instead I will blog (and hopefully I’ll manage to fit a nap in sometime this afternoon, ‘cause I’m still kind of tired, just can’t fall back to sleep).
Love is an immense and complicated subject. Partially because the word “love” itself is so vague and subjective. As a writer, I try to steer clear of the term; the ultimate goal being to write a poem that captures the feeling of love without ever saying “love.” The big problem with “love” is it expresses a whole range of emotions from familial love to friendly love to romantic love and even the crazy, irrational, fairytale love of chick-flicks and, well, fairytales. This last version is something I usually roll my eyes at, call infatuation, and avoid falling for (all the while secretly hoping that Mr. Perfect will come breezing by and completely sweep me off my feet). I have it in my head that Love is something deeper and longer lasting than that fluttering, Hollywood, romance that implies a happily ever after, which we all know doesn’t really happen.
I have been in love, to the point that I could say “I love you” to another person, exactly twice in my life. Funny enough, both men I have loved are now married to women who are not me.
I don’t really believe in falling in love quickly. I tend to be of the philosophy that true and lasting love has to have a strong foundation and really can’t be rushed into. It baffles me that some friends of mine will date a person for just a few weeks and suddenly be “in love.” I think they fall out of love just as quickly. That kind of love, to me, isn’t really love. It’s much too fickle and cheap to really be truly meaningful.
Once upon a time, at Found Magazine, I read a “to not do” list. I don’t remember what was on it except one item: Don’t fall in love with strangers. That really resonated with me and has stuck to the edge of my consciousness. It has seemed particularly pertinent recently after a slew of failed attempts at dating and some empty liaisons (read: regular sloppy meaningless make-outs).
I, being slow to fall in love anyway, am in no danger of actually falling instantly in love with a stranger, but I take that imperative in my own way. To me it rings the truth that it is dangerous to expect too much from someone you don’t know. Though it may not be love exactly, letting my guard down early on in the dating game and giving in to twitterpation is an easy way to get hurt.
This philosophy has not always been bad, I guess. It has saved me from being devastated over some failed little romances. And thank God I was guarded enough to not fall in love with El Douche (though I will admit that I came very close). Still, with the slew of short lived, dead end, attempts at dating that has been my love life lately, I’m wondering if maybe it is, in fact, better to not hold back. Maybe a new approach is better. Could falling in love with a stranger actually work?
Right now is exactly the time for me to decide if I want to take this new approach. I happen to have a stranger who would be very easy to fall in love with. I don’t mean real Love, the kind that really lasts. I don’t think I’m wired to get that way about someone I don’t know really well. If I let myself “fall in love” with said stranger, it will be … well, I guess it would have to be the fairytale kind. Falling in love with strangers for me would mean giving in to the potential for real Love with them. It would mean putting my faith in the expectation of plenty. It would mean letting myself go into a relationship unguarded and very vulnerable to a world of hurt. The very idea is terrifying and exciting. It goes so much against the way I’m used to approaching things that it just might be worth trying. Maybe it’s my own inhibitions that are keeping me from getting into a healthy, lasting, sort of relationship.
I guess I should tell you about my stranger now. I met him dancing on a Friday, we went on a date the next Monday. So things started out rather quickly, but since then they’ve really slowed to a snail’s pace. Our date was about three weeks ago. I’ve talked to him on the phone, sporadically, since then. For a few days following our date I talked to him daily, then he vanished for a week. Finally, he called me, from a pay phone, and told me he had lost his cell phone. We talked on the phone a few times since then; just about every other day. I haven’t talked to him at all since Wednesday though because he is in Virginia for a week, visiting family for the holiday.
So here I am. I will say that our date went really well and I see a world of potential in him. Despite that, and our handful of conversations, I don’t feel like I really know him at all. Thus he still qualifies as a stranger. Still, I’m instinctively hesitant. Maybe I shouldn’t be. I wonder if it’s even possible for me to trust that this could actually go really well and let my guard down. It would almost certainly be good for me to take that approach. After all, if I expect it to fail, the chances go way up that it will… self fulfilling prophecy and all.
I haven’t decided how I want to handle things. This whole ridiculously long post was pretty much me thinking out loud...er... in type. It just barely occurred to me late last night that “falling in love with a stranger” might not be that bad. It’s a bizarre concept for me and I’m still kind of wrapping my head around it. My stranger doesn’t get back in town until tomorrow, and I’m going to be pretty busy the rest of this week, so I have some time to figure it out. Wish me luck, and feel free to put your two cents in the comments.
Love is an immense and complicated subject. Partially because the word “love” itself is so vague and subjective. As a writer, I try to steer clear of the term; the ultimate goal being to write a poem that captures the feeling of love without ever saying “love.” The big problem with “love” is it expresses a whole range of emotions from familial love to friendly love to romantic love and even the crazy, irrational, fairytale love of chick-flicks and, well, fairytales. This last version is something I usually roll my eyes at, call infatuation, and avoid falling for (all the while secretly hoping that Mr. Perfect will come breezing by and completely sweep me off my feet). I have it in my head that Love is something deeper and longer lasting than that fluttering, Hollywood, romance that implies a happily ever after, which we all know doesn’t really happen.
I have been in love, to the point that I could say “I love you” to another person, exactly twice in my life. Funny enough, both men I have loved are now married to women who are not me.
I don’t really believe in falling in love quickly. I tend to be of the philosophy that true and lasting love has to have a strong foundation and really can’t be rushed into. It baffles me that some friends of mine will date a person for just a few weeks and suddenly be “in love.” I think they fall out of love just as quickly. That kind of love, to me, isn’t really love. It’s much too fickle and cheap to really be truly meaningful.
Once upon a time, at Found Magazine, I read a “to not do” list. I don’t remember what was on it except one item: Don’t fall in love with strangers. That really resonated with me and has stuck to the edge of my consciousness. It has seemed particularly pertinent recently after a slew of failed attempts at dating and some empty liaisons (read: regular sloppy meaningless make-outs).
I, being slow to fall in love anyway, am in no danger of actually falling instantly in love with a stranger, but I take that imperative in my own way. To me it rings the truth that it is dangerous to expect too much from someone you don’t know. Though it may not be love exactly, letting my guard down early on in the dating game and giving in to twitterpation is an easy way to get hurt.
This philosophy has not always been bad, I guess. It has saved me from being devastated over some failed little romances. And thank God I was guarded enough to not fall in love with El Douche (though I will admit that I came very close). Still, with the slew of short lived, dead end, attempts at dating that has been my love life lately, I’m wondering if maybe it is, in fact, better to not hold back. Maybe a new approach is better. Could falling in love with a stranger actually work?
Right now is exactly the time for me to decide if I want to take this new approach. I happen to have a stranger who would be very easy to fall in love with. I don’t mean real Love, the kind that really lasts. I don’t think I’m wired to get that way about someone I don’t know really well. If I let myself “fall in love” with said stranger, it will be … well, I guess it would have to be the fairytale kind. Falling in love with strangers for me would mean giving in to the potential for real Love with them. It would mean putting my faith in the expectation of plenty. It would mean letting myself go into a relationship unguarded and very vulnerable to a world of hurt. The very idea is terrifying and exciting. It goes so much against the way I’m used to approaching things that it just might be worth trying. Maybe it’s my own inhibitions that are keeping me from getting into a healthy, lasting, sort of relationship.
I guess I should tell you about my stranger now. I met him dancing on a Friday, we went on a date the next Monday. So things started out rather quickly, but since then they’ve really slowed to a snail’s pace. Our date was about three weeks ago. I’ve talked to him on the phone, sporadically, since then. For a few days following our date I talked to him daily, then he vanished for a week. Finally, he called me, from a pay phone, and told me he had lost his cell phone. We talked on the phone a few times since then; just about every other day. I haven’t talked to him at all since Wednesday though because he is in Virginia for a week, visiting family for the holiday.
So here I am. I will say that our date went really well and I see a world of potential in him. Despite that, and our handful of conversations, I don’t feel like I really know him at all. Thus he still qualifies as a stranger. Still, I’m instinctively hesitant. Maybe I shouldn’t be. I wonder if it’s even possible for me to trust that this could actually go really well and let my guard down. It would almost certainly be good for me to take that approach. After all, if I expect it to fail, the chances go way up that it will… self fulfilling prophecy and all.
I haven’t decided how I want to handle things. This whole ridiculously long post was pretty much me thinking out loud...er... in type. It just barely occurred to me late last night that “falling in love with a stranger” might not be that bad. It’s a bizarre concept for me and I’m still kind of wrapping my head around it. My stranger doesn’t get back in town until tomorrow, and I’m going to be pretty busy the rest of this week, so I have some time to figure it out. Wish me luck, and feel free to put your two cents in the comments.
Monday, December 01, 2008
Monday Again
What a waste of a weekend. Despite my lack of bloggage I was actually not running around having fun in the great outdoors. I was, instead, sleeping mostly. I was wretched all weekend and had no fun at all. I feel better now, but not 100%. It's all been very yuck.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Gracias
Happy Thanksgiving!
In spirit of the holiday today's post is all about the things that I am truly and deeply thankful for. I think it is nice to have a day to seriously sit and ponder that which makes our life worth living and to give thanks for those things. So here (in a dancing-turkeyed list) are the things I'm most thankful for this morning:
First would have to be my family. Especially my parents. I'm not only thankful that I have them, but also that they are so awesome. I've run into a few examples lately of really overbearing, controlling parents and I'm so glad my parents are not like that. They've always been supportive, but they've also (almost always) let me live my own life and do my own thing. Thanks, Mom and Dad!
I have, I would say, three friends that I am particularly thankful for. Arrakis, Aaron and Cheng have been there for me when I'm been slobbery and stupid. They've helped me through some really tough times and have been there when I need them. I hope I've done the same for them. If I haven't I hope they know that I will be. They are all amazing people and I'm so glad I know them
Of course, I'm thankful for all my old friends too. They make me laugh every time I see them and I think that's really important. I'm glad a have a group of people I can be really happy with.
I'm also specifically thankful for my new friends too (Not everything on my list is going to be friends/family, I promise. But those are pretty freekin' important so they get a few turkeys). Since I started dancing again (it's only been about a year, can you believe it?) I've met all sorts of new people. I feel like the community has really embraced me and I think that's awesome. Many of my new friends are really awesome and I'm very glad to know them.
One more friend one. I am very grateful that my roommate is not crazy, or super uptight, or strung out, or passive-aggressive. I hardly ever see her these days. We're both so busy that we are pretty much just at the apartment to sleep, and if we're both there at the same time, we tend to be doing homework. But we still get along and any squabbles we've had we've been able to talk about them like rational people. She's pretty much awesome.
I went over to my Grandmother's house today to bake pie (mmmm pie). I walked in and she had the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade on. Two seconds in the door and I heard "Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down." I ran to the living room and there was Rick Fucking Astley! Yes, Macy's Thanksgiving Parade was Rick Roll'd! I am wicked thankful for that.
Thank Baby Dinosaur Jesus we elected a democrat and Bush is no longer in charge.
I am super grateful that I am still healthy. Without modern medicine I would be dead several times over by now. Thanks to whatever it is that keeps me from getting really really sick again.
I am also thankful for all sorts of material things that make my life more fun/interesting/easy: my books, poetry, my computer, my car (which still works miraculously), duct tape, good beer, comfy shoes, not comfy shoes that make my legs look freekin' hot, lamp, good music, bad puns, etc etc etc
That's a pretty good list, I think. I still have my cold, but I'm battling furiously. Camping is still the plan. I'm not going to sick out on that until I absolutely have to. Here's to leaving things to the last minute! So hopefully I wont be blogging again until Monday because I'll be in the middle of the Utah desert running around having a good time.
In spirit of the holiday today's post is all about the things that I am truly and deeply thankful for. I think it is nice to have a day to seriously sit and ponder that which makes our life worth living and to give thanks for those things. So here (in a dancing-turkeyed list) are the things I'm most thankful for this morning:
First would have to be my family. Especially my parents. I'm not only thankful that I have them, but also that they are so awesome. I've run into a few examples lately of really overbearing, controlling parents and I'm so glad my parents are not like that. They've always been supportive, but they've also (almost always) let me live my own life and do my own thing. Thanks, Mom and Dad!I have, I would say, three friends that I am particularly thankful for. Arrakis, Aaron and Cheng have been there for me when I'm been slobbery and stupid. They've helped me through some really tough times and have been there when I need them. I hope I've done the same for them. If I haven't I hope they know that I will be. They are all amazing people and I'm so glad I know themOf course, I'm thankful for all my old friends too. They make me laugh every time I see them and I think that's really important. I'm glad a have a group of people I can be really happy with.I'm also specifically thankful for my new friends too (Not everything on my list is going to be friends/family, I promise. But those are pretty freekin' important so they get a few turkeys). Since I started dancing again (it's only been about a year, can you believe it?) I've met all sorts of new people. I feel like the community has really embraced me and I think that's awesome. Many of my new friends are really awesome and I'm very glad to know them.One more friend one. I am very grateful that my roommate is not crazy, or super uptight, or strung out, or passive-aggressive. I hardly ever see her these days. We're both so busy that we are pretty much just at the apartment to sleep, and if we're both there at the same time, we tend to be doing homework. But we still get along and any squabbles we've had we've been able to talk about them like rational people. She's pretty much awesome.I went over to my Grandmother's house today to bake pie (mmmm pie). I walked in and she had the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade on. Two seconds in the door and I heard "Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down." I ran to the living room and there was Rick Fucking Astley! Yes, Macy's Thanksgiving Parade was Rick Roll'd! I am wicked thankful for that.Thank Baby Dinosaur Jesus we elected a democrat and Bush is no longer in charge.
I am super grateful that I am still healthy. Without modern medicine I would be dead several times over by now. Thanks to whatever it is that keeps me from getting really really sick again. I am also thankful for all sorts of material things that make my life more fun/interesting/easy: my books, poetry, my computer, my car (which still works miraculously), duct tape, good beer, comfy shoes, not comfy shoes that make my legs look freekin' hot, lamp, good music, bad puns, etc etc etcThat's a pretty good list, I think. I still have my cold, but I'm battling furiously. Camping is still the plan. I'm not going to sick out on that until I absolutely have to. Here's to leaving things to the last minute! So hopefully I wont be blogging again until Monday because I'll be in the middle of the Utah desert running around having a good time.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Oh Noes!
I feel like crap today.
My entire head feels stuffy and my nose is running. I've been sneezing a lot. Everything feels slower and fuzzy because of the yuck that has taken over. It feels like a nasty little cold. It smells like a nasty little cold. I refuse to acknowledge that it is a nasty little cold.
This is not a good thing.
Camping is still the plan for this weekend. I can't be sick! I'm going anyway. But I need to kick this head cold/gunk A.S.A.P. because camping in November with a cold = not fun.
Blegh.
I am self medicating with tea and Airborne. Hope it works.
My entire head feels stuffy and my nose is running. I've been sneezing a lot. Everything feels slower and fuzzy because of the yuck that has taken over. It feels like a nasty little cold. It smells like a nasty little cold. I refuse to acknowledge that it is a nasty little cold.
This is not a good thing.
Camping is still the plan for this weekend. I can't be sick! I'm going anyway. But I need to kick this head cold/gunk A.S.A.P. because camping in November with a cold = not fun.
Blegh.
I am self medicating with tea and Airborne. Hope it works.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Google, You Crazy!
Yesterday I was playing with the webstats for this little blog o' mine. I have a thingy set up that tells me how many hits I get, where they come from, if they come from a search engine what keywords were searched, that sort of thing. I know those things aren't exactly the most accurate things, but it's kind of fun to look at once in a while.
I discovered something really freaky yesterday though. When you ask google: taoism and existentialism the very first result is This Post I did last year. That is kind of creepy, I think. That post was pretty much me just talking out of my ass. It's probably one of the best blogs I've done, but that doesn't mean that it's the first thing people should see when they're trying to figure those philosophies out.
The reason I did that search was because that page is the one with the most hits, besides my home page. I thought maybe I'd be in the first couple pages or something. It would make sense if someone who was really interested in the subject and wanted to read everything they could stumbled across my blog somewhere in their browsing. But no, I'm the very first result. What is Google thinking? It's not even a totally obscure and weird thing to ask about, really. It just goes to show you have to be very careful when you ask the internet questions.
What if there's some kid out there who, because they haven't been taught how to analyze sources or, you know, think, is using my blog as a source in a paper or something. Doesn't that just give you the heebie-jeebies? It does me. That hypothetical kid gets whatever he deserves for using me as a source because he'd have to be pretty dumb to do it. Still, the fact that it's possible is bizzar.
On the other hand, it's totally flattering. I get to pretend that I'm just a little famous on the internet. Go me.
I discovered something really freaky yesterday though. When you ask google: taoism and existentialism the very first result is This Post I did last year. That is kind of creepy, I think. That post was pretty much me just talking out of my ass. It's probably one of the best blogs I've done, but that doesn't mean that it's the first thing people should see when they're trying to figure those philosophies out.
The reason I did that search was because that page is the one with the most hits, besides my home page. I thought maybe I'd be in the first couple pages or something. It would make sense if someone who was really interested in the subject and wanted to read everything they could stumbled across my blog somewhere in their browsing. But no, I'm the very first result. What is Google thinking? It's not even a totally obscure and weird thing to ask about, really. It just goes to show you have to be very careful when you ask the internet questions.
What if there's some kid out there who, because they haven't been taught how to analyze sources or, you know, think, is using my blog as a source in a paper or something. Doesn't that just give you the heebie-jeebies? It does me. That hypothetical kid gets whatever he deserves for using me as a source because he'd have to be pretty dumb to do it. Still, the fact that it's possible is bizzar.
On the other hand, it's totally flattering. I get to pretend that I'm just a little famous on the internet. Go me.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Blah Blah Blah
I'm not in the mood today. But blah blah blah NaBloPoMo... freeking November.
Remember Monsterpiece Theater? That was fun. Don't? Oh, well, here's one. Watch it.
I figure since I posted the clip from Waiting for Godot earlier this month that the "Waiting for Elmo" M.T. was appropriate.
Remember Monsterpiece Theater? That was fun. Don't? Oh, well, here's one. Watch it.
I figure since I posted the clip from Waiting for Godot earlier this month that the "Waiting for Elmo" M.T. was appropriate.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Holy War
I spent the afternoon at my parent's house watching the "big game." The BYU vs UofU football game is the event of the year here in my fair state. It's more than just a stand off between two rival schools, but it's symbolic of the faith divide that is more prominent in Utah than any other state in the US (I think. I don't really know). BYU represents the Mormons who dominate the population here and pretty much control the politics. Utah represents all us liberal nutcakes who hang out in Salt Lake.
Utah won. w00t. Actually, Utah more than won. We dominated. The final score was 24-48.
During time outs and boring bits, I flipped channels. I haven't watched TV in ages and I was relishing in the mindless glow of that silly little brain eater. I was accosted with Christmas on almost every channel. Some stations were already playing Christmas movies. Others just had millions of Buy-Your-X-Mas-Present-Here ads. It made me glad I don't have a set. Remember when Christmas season didn't really start until after Thanksgiving? Next thing you know, they'll start running x-mas ads right after the 4th of July.
Utah won. w00t. Actually, Utah more than won. We dominated. The final score was 24-48.
During time outs and boring bits, I flipped channels. I haven't watched TV in ages and I was relishing in the mindless glow of that silly little brain eater. I was accosted with Christmas on almost every channel. Some stations were already playing Christmas movies. Others just had millions of Buy-Your-X-Mas-Present-Here ads. It made me glad I don't have a set. Remember when Christmas season didn't really start until after Thanksgiving? Next thing you know, they'll start running x-mas ads right after the 4th of July.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Absolute Bull Crap
ABC and I are no longer friends. I don't have a TV but I do occasionally watch shows online. It's nice that way. No commercials.
Anyway, one of the shows I like to watch (and I'm way behind on this season because I haven't had time to zone out in front of the computer lately) is Pushing Daisies. It's a fun little show. I like it.
ABC has canceled it. We're now officially fighting. Daisies was one of the few original and interesting shows on television. Ok, well, it wasn't particularly deep or anything. It's a little (maybe a lot) cheesy and over the top, but I like it. *sigh* I guess it was bound to happen sometime. I was kind of surprised that it even got a second season, truth be told.
Anyway, one of the shows I like to watch (and I'm way behind on this season because I haven't had time to zone out in front of the computer lately) is Pushing Daisies. It's a fun little show. I like it.
ABC has canceled it. We're now officially fighting. Daisies was one of the few original and interesting shows on television. Ok, well, it wasn't particularly deep or anything. It's a little (maybe a lot) cheesy and over the top, but I like it. *sigh* I guess it was bound to happen sometime. I was kind of surprised that it even got a second season, truth be told.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Oooooo Sparkly
I was going to go see Twilight on Tuesday. I had two of those little promotional sneak-preview passes that you can pick up around town. They always have more passes than seats available, so it's always a good idea to get to the theater early to get tickets. The movie started at 7. I got there around 4. The actual tickets had been sold out since 11:30. So I missed my chance. Darn.
Twilight is kind of a strange phenomenon. The books (I have read all of them) are mediocre at best, terrible at their worst. I'm not sure I understand why they are so popular. They are not well written at all. The story is kind of awful - the first book all of the action takes place in the very end. Edward is a creepy, possessive, moody, stalker, sparkly vampire. Jacob is better, but still not exactly a great romantic hero. Bella is kind of insipid.
I guess I can't expect too much from a YA novel. But there's really no reason why I shouldn't. The Book Thief, for example, is a YA book that was absolutely brilliant. But it's not nearly as popular as Twilight. I guess I shouldn't really be surprised. In a world where Dan Brown is a best selling author over and over again, it's no shock that another mediocre writer should be just as popular.
I have to say though, Dan Brown may have an atrocious writing style, but his stories are fun and he knows how to tell a story. Stephanie Meyer's vampire saga has a pretty weak story as well as poor execution. I don't get it.
On the other hand, I did read them. All four books. I guess I was suckered in just as much as anyone else. And the books were very engaging. I burned through them very quickly and was entertained the whole time. So I guess there is something to them. Of course, I am also going to see the movie (though I may wait until it hits the dollar theater) because, well, I read the books. Maybe it will actually work better as a movie. Probably not, judging by the trailer. We'll see.
Twilight is kind of a strange phenomenon. The books (I have read all of them) are mediocre at best, terrible at their worst. I'm not sure I understand why they are so popular. They are not well written at all. The story is kind of awful - the first book all of the action takes place in the very end. Edward is a creepy, possessive, moody, stalker, sparkly vampire. Jacob is better, but still not exactly a great romantic hero. Bella is kind of insipid.
I guess I can't expect too much from a YA novel. But there's really no reason why I shouldn't. The Book Thief, for example, is a YA book that was absolutely brilliant. But it's not nearly as popular as Twilight. I guess I shouldn't really be surprised. In a world where Dan Brown is a best selling author over and over again, it's no shock that another mediocre writer should be just as popular.
I have to say though, Dan Brown may have an atrocious writing style, but his stories are fun and he knows how to tell a story. Stephanie Meyer's vampire saga has a pretty weak story as well as poor execution. I don't get it.
On the other hand, I did read them. All four books. I guess I was suckered in just as much as anyone else. And the books were very engaging. I burned through them very quickly and was entertained the whole time. So I guess there is something to them. Of course, I am also going to see the movie (though I may wait until it hits the dollar theater) because, well, I read the books. Maybe it will actually work better as a movie. Probably not, judging by the trailer. We'll see.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Sorry Sorry
The internet gods are conspiring against me. Well, just the ones at my apartment. I don't know if its an issue with my computer or with the wireless, but I haven't been able to get online the last couple days (thus the lack of bog posts). There are several solutions to this problem - if it's not my computer, I could shlep my laptop up to campus or to the library and use the internet there. I can also just use the computers on campus or at the library that are available to whoever. That's what I'm doing now.
Besides the internets thwarting me, the last couple days have been really busy too. The weekend I was home just long enough to sleep. Life is for living, people, not for blogging!
Besides the internets thwarting me, the last couple days have been really busy too. The weekend I was home just long enough to sleep. Life is for living, people, not for blogging!
Friday, November 14, 2008
Hit That Jive
I've had a busy last couple days. On Tuesday I conspired with my friend, Jake, to take over the U Swing Club. Yesterday we talked to the current president and... well, Jake is now officially the president of the U of U Swing Kids and I'm the V.P.
Today we took care of all the official stuff. Paperwork and all with people on campus.
We have big plans. It's going to be awesome!
That is all.
You may call me Madame Vice President.
Today we took care of all the official stuff. Paperwork and all with people on campus.
We have big plans. It's going to be awesome!
That is all.
You may call me Madame Vice President.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Death Becomes Me
I didn't post yesterday, you might have noticed. I had a good excuse though: I was fighting for my life. Yes, your humble authoress was nearly the victim of really terrible poetry.
Anyone who has read the Hitchhiker's Guide knows that bad poetry can be deadly, or at least very very torturous. Last night I was reading two sets of 5 poems for my creative writing class. They were by two different classmates and I had to read them because we are workshopping. Of course, because we're workshopping, I had to read them carefully, closely and more than once. It was literally painful.
These two writers could give to Vogons a run for their money. It was worse than blog -poetry, though I wouldn't be surprised if they would put it on their blogs if they had them. It wasn't even poetry, really. It was fresh dog-shit dressed up in broken lines and declared "poem." It was an amaturish attempt to take the clay block and sculpt it; resulting in a "brilliant" exhibit titled Block. It was the poetic equivilant of the awkward acne riddled teenager drooling on his desk while sitting behind the hot, blonde, popular cheerleader. It was the prattle of an inarticulate idiot whose vocabulary is limited to the drivel picked up in kitchens and back alleyways (bad use of ordinary language, is to me, more vulgar than any profanities that you could throw at me).
I'm having way too much fun with my metaphores, it's getting out of control.
On an interesting, and completely unrelated note, I saw HotFedExBoy on campus today. I didn't talk to him because he was on one side of a window and I was on the other. It was odd seeing him though.
Anyone who has read the Hitchhiker's Guide knows that bad poetry can be deadly, or at least very very torturous. Last night I was reading two sets of 5 poems for my creative writing class. They were by two different classmates and I had to read them because we are workshopping. Of course, because we're workshopping, I had to read them carefully, closely and more than once. It was literally painful.
These two writers could give to Vogons a run for their money. It was worse than blog -poetry, though I wouldn't be surprised if they would put it on their blogs if they had them. It wasn't even poetry, really. It was fresh dog-shit dressed up in broken lines and declared "poem." It was an amaturish attempt to take the clay block and sculpt it; resulting in a "brilliant" exhibit titled Block. It was the poetic equivilant of the awkward acne riddled teenager drooling on his desk while sitting behind the hot, blonde, popular cheerleader. It was the prattle of an inarticulate idiot whose vocabulary is limited to the drivel picked up in kitchens and back alleyways (bad use of ordinary language, is to me, more vulgar than any profanities that you could throw at me).
I'm having way too much fun with my metaphores, it's getting out of control.
On an interesting, and completely unrelated note, I saw HotFedExBoy on campus today. I didn't talk to him because he was on one side of a window and I was on the other. It was odd seeing him though.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Put This in Your Pipe and Smoke It
I'm really excited about a couple things today. I'm not going to blog about them though because I don't want to jinx anything.
Instead, I am going to give you something to ponder. It's from the brilliant Beckett play, Waiting For Godot
Instead, I am going to give you something to ponder. It's from the brilliant Beckett play, Waiting For Godot
Monday, November 10, 2008
This is Just To Say
I was discussing with a friend of mine how I'm kind of stuck for things to write about here every single day. I've decided that I don't like posting every day, and I feel like the quality of my posts goes down when I'm posting just to post, not because I have something to say. But that is beside the point. My friend suggested that I post some of my writing (poems or short stories). It's not like I would be the first blogger to put up his/her own poetry, and it would be a easy, little effort thing to do (as long as I did stuff I've already written rather than write something new each day. Which is what I would do, because I would want to post stuff that's been milling for a while and might actually be good).
I'm not going to post my stuff. I am generally against blog poetry. Why? Because it is almost always completely terrible. And people who don't know any better leave comments on it like "zomg wow that was so amazing and deep your like the best poet ever" which only encourages bad poetry. The logical side of my brain says that just the act of putting a poem on a blog doesn't make the poem bad. The other side of my brain sticks its tongue out and says, "you don't know that for sure. What if it does!" I don't like it when my brains fight.
My friend made the argument that, even if the poetry is not very good, it serves a purpose. It conveys a message to people who know the author really well. It exposes the author in a safe, kind of personal level, to those who he is comfortable exposing himself to (hee hee, exposing oneself). To that I say, why not just write your close friends a letter/e-mail/text message. Or, here's a radical idea, call them if you're Feeling enough to write a poem.
I think the problem is that most people think that poems are all about feeling and/or things that happen. It's an easy mistake to make. Poetry, if it's done right, can be overwhelmingly emotional and can often capture very poignant moments. But, in the words of Stephane Mallarme: "you do not make a poem with ideas, but with words." Poetry is all about the language, the constuction, the process itself. All poetry is, in some ways, just about the poem itself. The subject matter of the poem is irrelevant. True poetry can stand alone without all the background information about the author and what he's been through. I know there are many literary critics who may disagree with that. But a good poem is still a good poem if you take the author out of it. You may not be able to interpret it exactly without some biographical information, but it is still a good poem.
I have never read a blog-poem that was good.
I've read some blog-poems that would make interesting songs for some hipster, obscure indy-band. And that has some merit, but it's a whole different thing. If any of my readers really want to read my stuff... well, let me know. I'm not above sharing my work, and it's always nice to get feedback. I'm just not posting it here.
I'm not going to post my stuff. I am generally against blog poetry. Why? Because it is almost always completely terrible. And people who don't know any better leave comments on it like "zomg wow that was so amazing and deep your like the best poet ever" which only encourages bad poetry. The logical side of my brain says that just the act of putting a poem on a blog doesn't make the poem bad. The other side of my brain sticks its tongue out and says, "you don't know that for sure. What if it does!" I don't like it when my brains fight.
My friend made the argument that, even if the poetry is not very good, it serves a purpose. It conveys a message to people who know the author really well. It exposes the author in a safe, kind of personal level, to those who he is comfortable exposing himself to (hee hee, exposing oneself). To that I say, why not just write your close friends a letter/e-mail/text message. Or, here's a radical idea, call them if you're Feeling enough to write a poem.
I think the problem is that most people think that poems are all about feeling and/or things that happen. It's an easy mistake to make. Poetry, if it's done right, can be overwhelmingly emotional and can often capture very poignant moments. But, in the words of Stephane Mallarme: "you do not make a poem with ideas, but with words." Poetry is all about the language, the constuction, the process itself. All poetry is, in some ways, just about the poem itself. The subject matter of the poem is irrelevant. True poetry can stand alone without all the background information about the author and what he's been through. I know there are many literary critics who may disagree with that. But a good poem is still a good poem if you take the author out of it. You may not be able to interpret it exactly without some biographical information, but it is still a good poem.
I have never read a blog-poem that was good.
I've read some blog-poems that would make interesting songs for some hipster, obscure indy-band. And that has some merit, but it's a whole different thing. If any of my readers really want to read my stuff... well, let me know. I'm not above sharing my work, and it's always nice to get feedback. I'm just not posting it here.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Oh Weekend
I was really looking forward to this weekend. I didn't have anything going on Friday and was really excited to sit around and do nothing for once. It was really nice. I spent most of my time reading and drinking tea. Friday night I went dancing at the Golden Skillet- I've been trying to get out there (some AMAZING dancers go there, so it's a great opportunity to dance above my level) for months and haven't been able to. All in all it was a very relaxing day.
I made up for it yesterday. I got up fairly early, for a Saturday, to go shopping for a bridesmaid dress. Exciting, right. My best friend is getting hitched in August. It may seem kind of early to be shopping for dresses, but it's better to do it now than to wait to the very last minute. I was kind of dreading the whole thing, but it ended up being really fun. There are four of us bridesmaids, we're all wearing different dresses. I think it would have been impossible to get us all in the same dress and had us all look not-hideous. All the dresses will be the same color, and our flowers will match, so it's all going to mesh. I'm strangely actually looking forward to this wedding. Click Here if you want to see the dress I ended up with.
I went straight from shopping to work and then straight from work to my friend, Val's house where I quickly changed clothes and then set off for the Symphony. I have to say that last night was one of the most amazing symphony performances I've been to. They started out kind of weak, with Brahms. Brahms is lovely, but doesn't do anything for me. I find him kind of pretty, but boring. The last two pieces were incredible! The second was Elgar's Cello Concerto with a guest soloist... I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it was. For her encore she played an arrangement of a Piazzolla (I think) that was written literally two days before last night special for her by a composer she met on the plane here from Argentina. How cool is that? The final piece was Ginastera, some Argintine dude. It was incredibly exciting. The piece made me want to stand up and cheer. It was awesome.
After the symphony we went to an after party. I didn't get home until about 2 am. Good times. Today I don't have much going on. I'm going to laze around with friends this afternoon, then it's off to Grandma's for dinner with the family.
I made up for it yesterday. I got up fairly early, for a Saturday, to go shopping for a bridesmaid dress. Exciting, right. My best friend is getting hitched in August. It may seem kind of early to be shopping for dresses, but it's better to do it now than to wait to the very last minute. I was kind of dreading the whole thing, but it ended up being really fun. There are four of us bridesmaids, we're all wearing different dresses. I think it would have been impossible to get us all in the same dress and had us all look not-hideous. All the dresses will be the same color, and our flowers will match, so it's all going to mesh. I'm strangely actually looking forward to this wedding. Click Here if you want to see the dress I ended up with.
I went straight from shopping to work and then straight from work to my friend, Val's house where I quickly changed clothes and then set off for the Symphony. I have to say that last night was one of the most amazing symphony performances I've been to. They started out kind of weak, with Brahms. Brahms is lovely, but doesn't do anything for me. I find him kind of pretty, but boring. The last two pieces were incredible! The second was Elgar's Cello Concerto with a guest soloist... I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it was. For her encore she played an arrangement of a Piazzolla (I think) that was written literally two days before last night special for her by a composer she met on the plane here from Argentina. How cool is that? The final piece was Ginastera, some Argintine dude. It was incredibly exciting. The piece made me want to stand up and cheer. It was awesome.
After the symphony we went to an after party. I didn't get home until about 2 am. Good times. Today I don't have much going on. I'm going to laze around with friends this afternoon, then it's off to Grandma's for dinner with the family.
Friday, November 07, 2008
Let There Be Light
I (apparently) like florescent lights. That was a comment made in my writing journal (yes, we're back to my Creative Writing class). I do like florescent lights though. They have much more personality than regular lights. They flicker when they come on, they slowly gain luminosity, they hum and buzz once they're fully lit. It's odd, I never thought I would be a florescent liking person.
There is a down side too. Florescent lights tend to make people look washed out and occasionally cast a greenish tint on one's skin. To be honest, I do enjoy the personality to be found in them, but I seem to vilify them too. Any wholesome environment ought to have, at the very least, boring, normal bulbs. At best it would have sunlight. Ah sunlight.
There is a down side too. Florescent lights tend to make people look washed out and occasionally cast a greenish tint on one's skin. To be honest, I do enjoy the personality to be found in them, but I seem to vilify them too. Any wholesome environment ought to have, at the very least, boring, normal bulbs. At best it would have sunlight. Ah sunlight.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Here We Go Again
Sorry about yesterday. I was really not in the mood to blog anything. But, since it's nablopomo (still really fun to say!) I felt like I had to do something. That, of course, begs the question: Is it really worth posting if there is nothing to post about?
I guess for the purposes of this month, the answer would be yes. I promise not to do any more like yesterday though. That was a pretty serious cop-out. And, to be fair, I have often posted when there has been nothing to post about. I just usually do it more eloquently than I did yesterday.
So today... what wants to be blogged?
Yesterday my fair city got a decent dusting of snow. It feels kind of early to be starting winter. But I guess it is November, so it was bound to happen sometime soon. Last week the weather was lovely though - in the 70s, perfect fall days - so it's kind of sad to go away from that to snow already. I do love snow though. Watching it fall is a very calming activity. I love the way it makes everything silent and clean.
Besides the weather... I guess I should write about something more than the weather. After all, this is my blog of awesome, not my blog of small talk.
On second thought. I don't want to sit at the computer anymore. I have a book calling my name, and some homework to do. So I'll wait until tomorrow to go on about something more than the snow.
I guess for the purposes of this month, the answer would be yes. I promise not to do any more like yesterday though. That was a pretty serious cop-out. And, to be fair, I have often posted when there has been nothing to post about. I just usually do it more eloquently than I did yesterday.
So today... what wants to be blogged?
Yesterday my fair city got a decent dusting of snow. It feels kind of early to be starting winter. But I guess it is November, so it was bound to happen sometime soon. Last week the weather was lovely though - in the 70s, perfect fall days - so it's kind of sad to go away from that to snow already. I do love snow though. Watching it fall is a very calming activity. I love the way it makes everything silent and clean.
Besides the weather... I guess I should write about something more than the weather. After all, this is my blog of awesome, not my blog of small talk.
On second thought. I don't want to sit at the computer anymore. I have a book calling my name, and some homework to do. So I'll wait until tomorrow to go on about something more than the snow.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Ha Ha!
You thought I was going to miss my blog post for today. But you're wrong. I still have, like, 45 minutes until tomorrow. Take that blogosphere!
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Happy Election Day!
Guess what, I'm not going to say anything about politics today. At least not anymore than what I just said, which really isn't much.
I feel fuzzy today. My sleep schedule is all sorts of skewed right now. I don't know if it's because of the daylight savings thing or because I went to Rocky Horror Picture Show on Saturday at midnight and so didn't get to bed until like 4, or maybe 3, depending on when you changed your clock. One would think that I would be over a weird night like that, but I'm not. I'm having a hard time sleeping early at night. I'm still getting up early for class and stuff. The result is that my brain feels blurry. Does that even make sense?
I'm working tonight. That's going to be interesting. All the libraries are polling places so... I'm not sure what to expect. (By the way, this is not talking about politics, it's talking about work) I imagine it's going to be kind of nuts. Oh well. I'll manage to survive.
That's all for today.
I feel fuzzy today. My sleep schedule is all sorts of skewed right now. I don't know if it's because of the daylight savings thing or because I went to Rocky Horror Picture Show on Saturday at midnight and so didn't get to bed until like 4, or maybe 3, depending on when you changed your clock. One would think that I would be over a weird night like that, but I'm not. I'm having a hard time sleeping early at night. I'm still getting up early for class and stuff. The result is that my brain feels blurry. Does that even make sense?
I'm working tonight. That's going to be interesting. All the libraries are polling places so... I'm not sure what to expect. (By the way, this is not talking about politics, it's talking about work) I imagine it's going to be kind of nuts. Oh well. I'll manage to survive.
That's all for today.
Monday, November 03, 2008
NaBloPoMo
Say the title out loud. It's fun.
I just discovered that November is National Blog Posting Month (that's where the nablopomo comes from... seriously, say it out loud! nablopomo). All blogger people are supposed to post a blog everyday. And this is supposed to promote... um... blogging?
I will tell you right now that I am not going to post every day. Sorry to disappoint everyone, but it's just not going to happen. For one thing, I already missed the first day in November. For another, I know for certain that I will not be able to post at all during Thanksgiving weekend because Dad and I are doing our annual T-weekend camping trip.
Still, it's an interesting challenge. Maybe I'll try to blog every day and just let the camping trip be the exception. Writing every day is good, right. But do you guys really want to read me going on about nothing Every Single Day? If you do, posting every day in November will spoil you and then I'll have to keep doing it every day in December and January and on and on forever and then there will be just way to much of my pointless rambling out on the interwebs and there's enough pointless rambling already on the interwebs without me contributing to it.
I guess what I'm trying to say is this: I'm going to just keep on blogging like I always blog. But if you want to read something silly every day, I recommend going over to Bag's blog. He is posting everyday. In fact, he is posting a MUSTACHE every day. Come on, awesomeness ensues.
I just discovered that November is National Blog Posting Month (that's where the nablopomo comes from... seriously, say it out loud! nablopomo). All blogger people are supposed to post a blog everyday. And this is supposed to promote... um... blogging?
I will tell you right now that I am not going to post every day. Sorry to disappoint everyone, but it's just not going to happen. For one thing, I already missed the first day in November. For another, I know for certain that I will not be able to post at all during Thanksgiving weekend because Dad and I are doing our annual T-weekend camping trip.
Still, it's an interesting challenge. Maybe I'll try to blog every day and just let the camping trip be the exception. Writing every day is good, right. But do you guys really want to read me going on about nothing Every Single Day? If you do, posting every day in November will spoil you and then I'll have to keep doing it every day in December and January and on and on forever and then there will be just way to much of my pointless rambling out on the interwebs and there's enough pointless rambling already on the interwebs without me contributing to it.
I guess what I'm trying to say is this: I'm going to just keep on blogging like I always blog. But if you want to read something silly every day, I recommend going over to Bag's blog. He is posting everyday. In fact, he is posting a MUSTACHE every day. Come on, awesomeness ensues.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Unhappy Happenings
I just got some bad news from a friend of mine. I haven't actually met the guy, but he's one of the most important people in my life. I think of him as my Wegener's buddy. He contacted me on Myspace a few years ago. His story with the disease is not entirely dissimilar to mine, though he's had a little more trouble with it than I have. The important thing is that we both kind of have the same attitude about it. It was an absolute godsend for me to find someone around my same age who knew what I was (am) going through.
One of the worst things about getting diagnosed (for both of us, really) was the mental aspect of the whole thing. Neither of us was particularly comfortable asking for help from our friends and family, but it'shard impossible to deal with the thing alone. It's not that we didn't feel like our friends and family would want to help, it's just.... Well, my family was going through the suckiness right along with me so it was hard to burden them with my own issues. And my friends couldn't (most of them... all of them?... still can't) really truly understand what I was going through.
It was awesome to find someone who really Got IT. I don't actually even talk to him all that often, but it's nice to know that someone is out there who understands exactly what it's all like. I am so grateful that he's out there.
I e-mailed him earlier this month with my good news. He wrote back congratulating me and then he told me that he has relapsed.
That absolutely breaks my heart. He'd been in remission for about for, I think, 6 or 7 years. Now he's back on all the awful meds and....
I'm not sure where I wanted to go with this. I'm just really bummed to hear that he's not doing well. If you do the prayer thing, say one for him. Otherwise, cross your fingers, wish on a star, do whatever you do to send him luck. And take a moment to appreciate how incredibly lucky you are to have good health.
One of the worst things about getting diagnosed (for both of us, really) was the mental aspect of the whole thing. Neither of us was particularly comfortable asking for help from our friends and family, but it's
It was awesome to find someone who really Got IT. I don't actually even talk to him all that often, but it's nice to know that someone is out there who understands exactly what it's all like. I am so grateful that he's out there.
I e-mailed him earlier this month with my good news. He wrote back congratulating me and then he told me that he has relapsed.
That absolutely breaks my heart. He'd been in remission for about for, I think, 6 or 7 years. Now he's back on all the awful meds and....
I'm not sure where I wanted to go with this. I'm just really bummed to hear that he's not doing well. If you do the prayer thing, say one for him. Otherwise, cross your fingers, wish on a star, do whatever you do to send him luck. And take a moment to appreciate how incredibly lucky you are to have good health.
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