Yo

:Hello?
-Hi
:Hi
-This isn't Sarah or Jane*, is it?
:No, it's not.
-Oh. Well, how are you?
:I'm pretty good. How are you?
-Alright. Whatcha doing?
:I'm watching a movie.
-Watching a movie? Man, it's friday night! Listen, are they home?
:No, they're not.
-Oh. Well, when they get back, could you tell them to call Steve, Joseph, Michael and Alice? They've got some serious boozing it up to do.
:Kay.
-You're not one of their moms, are you?
:No. I'm their roommate. (nice to know i sound like a mom)
-Oh, ok. I didn't want to be talking to a mom about that.
:Ah.
-So you'll tell them we called?
:Yes.
-And when you're done with your movie, you can come up, too. Party a little.
:Yeah, ok.
-Alright, bye. Wait, do you want our number?
:No.
-Oh, I see how it is. Bye.


*names changed to protect the innocent. and the guilty.

You and your racist friends

My roommates are having a party. Actually, they WERE having a party, and now there's just a few people left hanging around, oblivious to the fact that everybody else has left, and they're no longer having fun. Why stick around? You're just sitting around my kitchen, talking loudly and not saying anything interesting or worthwhile. Go home. You've got school in the morning.

Anyway, I just heard the most embarrassing thing come out of the living room. I'm blushing, and I'm just sitting in my room by myself with my door closed. This girl, (I think she's the same loudly drunk girl that came over a week or so ago and was obnoxious then, too) is talking about her roommates from last year in residence. "Yeah, I walked in the first day, and this girl opens the door, and her name's like Chin-Min-Young-Soon-Freakin-Sing, and I just wanted to burst out crying. And then my other roommate is from like Africa, and she's like blacker than black, and I'm like the whitest person in my apartment, and I just cried for two days straight, till I realized that I could switch rooms."

Loudly Drunk Girl, what is wrong with you? You cry for two days because your roommates aren't just like you? You are upset by this? You switch rooms to get away from people that you've barely even met? I weep for you.

'This is where the party ends; I can't stand here listening to you and your racist friends." Never thought that song would have such meaning in my life.

Once I Flew

The past couple of days have been good days. I've been going to classes, and feeling happy about them, and I've been sleeping, and eating, and spending some time with my roommates. And I'm just feeling ecstatic about how comfortable I feel in Parts Unknown. It's good. My room is generally kept clean and pretty looking, the campus is cozy and nice, the town is lovely right now. They have seasons here, like, where the leaves on the trees turn colors, and fall off. It's so pretty to see the carpet of dead leaves on the ground. Probably I wouldn't think they were so pretty if I had to take care of a yard and rake them up and stuff, but just to look at them is so gorgeous. This weekend I'm going to go and see another city somewhat north of here, which is apparently even lovelier than here. And I might be going to my roommates' hometown for Thanksgiving, which should be interesting. Or I may just stay here and be lonesome by myself. We'll see. But autumn is my favorite season right now. All pretty and brisk-feeling.

Willoughby was a Player

I was going to put up a picture of the candy cane trees from the park, but blogger is again hating me and my photography. So all you get today are words. I went to a dance the other night, where I danced like a Dancing Fool. So much like one, in fact, that some people believed I was one. Towards the end of the dance, I decided that everyone would profit by my sitting down and observing for a while. The last song they played, they ordered the young men to go and find someone who wasn't dancing, and make them dance just this one time during the night. So I was asked by one of the three brothers who are incredibly self-assured. They are very friendly to everyone, but at the same time, are very pleased with themselves and their coolness. I don't mind these type of people, as long as they are sufficiently charming, which these brothers are. So I danced with this guy, and during the song, the three brothers and their partners maneuvred towards each other, and decided to have a "dipping contest:" whichever brother could dip his partner the lowest, or with the most grace, won. The first girl got confused as to which way she was being dipped, and they didn't do so hot. My partner gave me a little better direction- "I want you to just fall back, and don't worry, I won't drop you." He spun me around first, with great flourish, and I did my stuff. Or rather, I fell back, and let him do his stuff. I must say I've never felt as graceful as I did just then; I went so low, I even pointed one leg out rather stylishly. I think I could have lived my life happily without ever being dipped, but I'm not going to say I didn't enjoy that moment. The moment was hilariously ruined a few minutes later, when the brothers stopped dancing in order to stand together and sing the closing lines of the song in perfect harmony. Well sung, but still rather silly and foppish.

Barbeque

I know you've all heard of the Trojan Horse, but did you know that there is also a Trojan Goose? I didn't know, either, until yesterday afternoon. We had a day full of fun that started in this park on the lake. The playground was all kinds of cool- besides the goose, which is actually a slide(!), there are fun things to jump on, and a tube to crawl through, and these weird candy cane-looking tree trunk things. I don't know what they're for, but they're like something you'd see in a Dr Seuss book, and they make me happy. Every town should have a Dr Seuss park. Our children would be happier, and our criminals would be more inventive.

Anyway. The barbeque was fun, we had all kinds of hamburgers and chicken and hot dogs, and we played games, and I was able to meet some more fun people. The last activity of the barbeque was a game of mass-disorganized-football, and as I was too wimpy to play, I sat on the grass and felt the sun on my back and took pictures. I'd say it was my favorite weekend I've had since I got here. Here's to hoping the weekends get even better!

Brrr

I got home around midnight last night, and got on the computer to talk to check my email, etc. I went to bed around 1:30, feeling tired and happy, snuggled into my covers. At around 4:00, I was jolted awake by a loud noise. What was it? Were my roommates home early? Did something go wrong with my alarm clock? I stumbled around the apartment, trying to turn off whatever this loud noise was, because it was probably waking up the whole building. Somehow, I figured out that it was SUPPOSED to wake the whole building, because that's what fire alarms do. While I was still half unconcious, I returned to my bedroom and changed my pants. I don't know why I did that, because I was still very much groggy. I think I may have fallen over in the process; I don't remember. Then I searched for my keys- I looked in my backpack, on the kitchen table, on my dresser, then finally found them on my desk, next to my computer. Duh. I was almost out the door, when I remembered a friend retelling the story of the fire alarm going off in HER building last week, and how it took them an hour to check every room before they could go back inside, and how she was just wearing her pajamas, and nearly froze to death. So I lunged drunkenly back into my room and grabbed my sweatshirt, then high-tailed it out of there. I was probably one of the first twenty to get outside, since I'm only on the second floor, and the stairs are right next to my apartment. We stood outside for probably twenty minutes, feeling tired and cold. Even with my sweatshirt and jeans on, I was shivering like nobody's business. I don't know how the people in their pajamas must've felt. Cold, probably. After the fire trucks arrived, somebody realized that this was going to take a while, and trotted over to the kinesiology building closeby. This started a mass migration of all the residents of the two towers into the big hallway of that building. We camped out there for maybe another 45 minutes, mingling and sleeping and being a little warmer than we were outside. I grabbed a spot on the far side of a big column from the rows of glass doors, which protected me from some of the radiant chilliness, and tried to relax and be drowsy, so that I could fall asleep again once we were allowed back inside. People were there in every degree of dress and undress you can imagine: many were in pajamas, with bare feet, many in flip-flops and pajamas with a coat on, some were fully dressed like myself, some were even more fully dressed, wearing scarves and coats and mittens, there was one guy wearing socks but no shoes, one guy wearing only a pair of shorts, some people were wrapped in fleece blankets, one guy had an entire comfortor draped over his head and body, and one girl was wearing only an overcoat. It was interesting to see how many people chose warmth over a quick exit, and how many people left so fast they didn't even think to put shoes on. I pity the people who live on the twelfth floor, or even the fifth floor, because you know there must have been a giant mass of people trying to get into the elevator when we came back inside, and they couldn't very well go up all those stairs happily. Fortunately, I only had one set of stairs to go up, so I didn't have to wait in line for the elevator. I went back to bed around 5:15, with a huge stomach-ache and shivering legs. And I think I'll go back to bed again, since I don't have anywhere to be for a few hours yet.

Site Revamp

As you may have noticed, things are a little different here. I'd like you all to know that that was ALL ME. Well, really, I used the old template, and fiddled around with the colors and fonts and other settings. But for me, that's a big accomplishment. I will say that it took me a fair... uh, five hours from conception of idea to finishment of task. Now that I think of it, that's a little embarrassing. But when you take into account the fact that I knew absolutely NOTHING about html when I woke up this morning, it makes sense that I would have to google "hex colors" and "font families" and read through some stuff before even starting on what I wanted it to look like. Basically, I just went through the template, googling stuff that looked important, and changing colors of various commands to figure out what that line was in control of. So it took me a while. While I am proud of my work, I know that it's nowhere near perfect. You'll just have to live with that; I am. Please enjoy the new look, and I'll see you again when I have something real to say.

Sometimes you must listen to Crappy Johnny Cash Music

I finally got my film developed from the week before I left home, and from the trip up here to Parts Unknown. It was kind of hard, because I just wanted cd's, without prints, and cd's made in photo places don't usually play nice with my Mac. It took some doing, but I got the pictures into my Giant File Of Photos. So now I'll be posting some of those pictures here. Maybe I'll do something of a photoblog. I'll pick one picture per day, and talk about it; that way I'll actually post regularly, and there will maybe be something interesting for you guys to read. Today's picture:

This is what looks interesting if you live in Wyoming.

When does it rain?

Seriously, I'll be sitting at my desk, reading or whatever, I'll get up and look out the window, It's completely dry and cloudless. I'll sit back down again for awhile, get up again and look out the window, and the ground is all wet and it's cloudy. What gives? Why don't I notice the water falling out of the sky? It's not like I close my shades or anything. I really love to watch rain fall. I hate seeing the evidence of rain that's passed. It's depressing; I'd much rather see it happening, and I keep on missing it! I'll just have to sit outside ALL DAY EVERY DAY so I can experience the rain.

THE WORLD MUST BE PEOPLED!

That is one of my top ten favorite movie quotes. That, along with many others, like "'I love you.' 'I know.'" And, "Should you be drinking alcohol when you don't have a liver?" And some other ones that I can't remember right now. Oh! Like, "HERE is where the birds sing! HERE is where the sky is blue!" THAT one is my very favorite of all. But you must jab yourself with a fork while saying it. Anyway. What was I talking about? Oh, right. Why do my hands smell like onions? No, that's not what I was talking about... Ok, I've forgotten the real point of this post, so I'll just conclude with one more quote, that I believe sums up all that is important in the world (and I'm not even joking): "Candy doesn't have to have a point. That's why it's candy."

five shillings to anyone who remembers where all those quotes come from.

Subcutaneous Phat

This is because I know you all want to see what my desk looks like right now. As in, I took the picture thirty seconds ago. You can also be assured that my left foot is perfectly healthy, as shown in the picture. My digital camera works sporadically, so I have to take advantage of it when I can, whether or not anything worthy of being photographed is happening.

I was just sitting today, thinking, and watching TV. A couple of things caught my attention during this activity. The first was that I already am familiar with the station jingle of a previously unknown channel. I've only lived here for... two weeks and a half, and I already have memorized commercials, jingles, etc. I don't even watch that much tv. Just goes to show you how powerful advertising is. The second, and more funny thing, was a commercial that I wasn't familiar with, that showed maybe 3 seconds of some kid playing the bagpipes. This reminded me not of one, not two, but three personal memories that involve bagpipes.

Memory the first: I was maybe fourteen, and we were visiting my grandma. We found the old set of bagpipes that had belonged to some ancestor, and had fun watching my younger cousins try to play them, resulting in some pretty awful and frightening noises.

Memory the second: I was at a youth conference when I was about 17, at which we had something of a battle of the bands. Imagine six bands of fairly untalented 16-year olds, doing covers of Weezer songs, or even worse, singing their own original songs. One band had a guy who played the bagpipes. He was actually pretty good, and I had a total crush on him for the rest of the night.

Memory the third: hmm. Can't seem to remember it anymore... oh yeah! When I went to BYU in March to visit my friend Carrottop, we were sliding down this long outdoor banister (which got my pants all rusty and brown. don't try to do it while wearing nice pants), when we saw this guy walking around on the street, playing the bagpipes, for no apparent reason. Probably cause he was Mormon and weird, and come to think of it, it was St. Patrick's day, or close to it. Scotland and Ireland are close enough in most people's minds that it could seem a reasonable idea. For whatever reason, he continued walking up the street, playing his song, and we paused to watch and laugh and enjoy the randomness.

Shopping Spree

Ok, not really. But I did buy some stuff to help me make it through winter here in Parts Unknown. I gots an orange sweater (wool!), a green, double-layer hoodie, and a scarf! A scarf! Can you believe that I've got one? It's all... black, and red, and beige. It's pretty cool. And by cool, I mean warm. And fun. And stylish. I'm all trying to remake myself, pretending that I always buy stylish things, that I just don't know how to dress in cold weather. I'm letting my style-concious roommates tell me what I should and shouldn't buy, and I'm actually halfway enjoying looking like I abide by some style rules when putting together an outfit. S'fun. Excuse me, I have to go and play with my new scarf.

Sometimes I touch my wall, just to see if you're there.

One of my roommates said that to one of my other roommates the other day. I don't know why she said it, but I think it's unbearably funny. I'm so enjoying this whole thing. I'm enjoying writing letters and buying stamps to send them with, I'm enjoying living with fun people that are including me more and more as we get comfortable with each other, I'm enjoying even walking out of class and being chilly and wrapping my sweater around me more tightly. I'm also enjoying my classes. Especially now that I've discovered that I'll be ok if I drop the stupidly hard and boring one. I got my first real piece of mail today, a card from my mom that said how much she missed me, and told me not to walk around at night, and to study, and to go to classes and stuff. I really loved the feeling of opening my little box and seeing an envelope in there. Please please send me letters. It makes me happy. I'm sending some out tonight, and it'd make me happy to have regular letter-writing back and forth. It's so much more satisfying than email. But it's actually kind of fun to be a little lonely, too. Makes me feel independant and brave, being in a foreign town with foreign people and foreign coldness. Parts Unknown seems to be a little small for my tastes, but it's still pretty cool.

Threadless, you know I love you...

But why didn't you tell me something went wrong when i ordered my shirts? I thought i purchased two shirts, but when they didn't come and didn't come, i finally checked my receipts in my email, and there was nothing saying that i ever ordered them. I know i selected them and gave my credit card info and stuff. Something weird must've happened, because threadless doesn't have any idea that i wanted those shirts. Now i am sad because i have lost my enthusiasm for one of the shirts, and have only ordered the other. I guess it's a good thing, and i'm actually saving money this way, but still.

Abote

Here I am, in the dorms at Parts Unknown University, laying down for my fourth night on a hard, hard mattress. It's like, foam. Hard foam. Hard, thin foam. But really, that (and the amazingly long line at the bookstore this afternoon) is the only thing I'm not enjoying abote my exchange. I say "abote" because that's how they say it here, and not "aboot," as I'd been led to believe. Anyway. My roommates, they are all from the same hometown, along with maybe a third of the university's population. They all went to the same highschool together, and have all kinds of inside jokes and history and stuff. They're nice to me, and friendly, when they think about it. But really, I can't blame them for hanging out with their friends all the time. I would, if I had friends around.

That's why today was so great. Today I went to the orientation and reception for exchange students. It was the most fun I've had for a long time, meeting people from Australia and Sweden and Mexico and Finland and Belgium and Brazil and stuff. Everybody had a different accent, everybody didn't really know anybody, but was anxious to get to know people and make friends. We all sat around and talked about our countries, and what languages we speak, and what we think of Parts Unknown so far, and why we came, and how worried we are about the winter and snow and stuff. It was excellent. We're all looking forward to doing stuff as a group, like skiing in november, and maybe having dinners together, and going to other cities to see the sights, and playing games and all kinds of stuff. We sat around, eating pizza and drinking tang and exchanging emails. I'm glad I've got that group to be with, because my roommates and other natives tend to be a little clique-ish, and not do much except sit around talking about the old times and going to the bar. Tomorrow I'll go to the rest of my classes, meet all my professors, and maybe get a little more shopping done. I keep thinking of things I need to buy, and I've been to the store like 6 times in the past four days. I'll try and keep you all posted with my comings and goings, if I'm not too busy having fun!

Dude.

I'm in South Dakota right now. About 2 miles from Mt Rushmore. Just thought I'd check in and tell you all that. Much as I'd like to speak at length about the past coupla days, nyquil makes me just a tad drowsy. Since I've read about the dangers of blogging while drunk, I think I'll leave it at that for tonight. See you in a couple of days, o internet people.