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.

June, Leo, Quincy and Annie

Ugh. Maybe I should watch less Disney Channel. 'Cept I think the commercials are on all the channels. And I don't really watch Disney at all. But apparently there's some DVD called like Baby Einsteins, and the commercials for it drive me up the wall with annoyance and frustration. It's these four little cute cartoon kids. One likes to conduct, one likes to dance, one likes to sing, and one likes instruments. At the end of the commercial, the happy woman selling the dvd asks, "which baby einstein is YOUR child?"

I want to pull an elvis and shoot the screen out with a gun. Listen to me: not all children are geniuses. Not all geniuses are gifted in musical areas. Not all gifted people have such a focused strength in just one area. But really. Come on, people. Get over yourselves. Letting the TV babysit your kid isn't really the best way to nurture a young child, gifted or not. As Ian Holm's character in Chariots of Fire puts it, "you can't put in what God's left out." People expect children to become magically smarter if they listen to mozart. But there is WAY more that goes into a child's brain development than that. Music may stimulate the mind for a short period of time, but you can't play one song to a kid and then expect them to ace a history exam, or understand calculus. Learning takes work, folks, no matter whether you're Cameron Diaz or Albert Einstein or Joe Schmo. If you want to be smart, go out and study something. Be all that YOU can be, not all that someone else is (or was).

I am a Mouse Whore

No, mom, don't worry. It isn't anything morally wrong, I don't think. But really, I think I've got like five mice for my computer already, and I'm always on the lookout for another. Like seriously comparing features and prices and stuff. I've got one that's really tiny (REALLY tiny), with a retractable cord. I like that one for when I'm at school or somewhere where I can't really take a bunch of stuff with me, and can't use a whole lot of space up. It's portable, easy to use, and really cute. I've got a normal-sized mouse that I like to use at home. It's the closest thing I've got to a remote control for iTunes, being optical and wireless, so you can use it on any surface, like all the way across the room from my computer. Its usefulness is only limited by how far away I can be from my computer and still see the cursor. Also, the receiver is way too big, with like a three foot long cord. I've been seeing these newer mice that are smaller than my current wireless one, whose receivers are about the size of a thumb drive, and fit into the bottom of the mouse when not in use. That is what I really want. But I feel bad- I've almost purchased one several times, stopping short each time. I can't bring myself to buy something like that when I've already got several perfectly functional ones sitting at home. Plus, I just know that if I do buy one, the next week they'll come out with some amazing new one that is exactly what I want in a mouse and I'll have to buy that too, and I'll have an embarassingly large mouse graveyard in my desk drawer. Perhaps I should donate my extraneous mice to charity. But first I'll have to find one that is good for both traveling and staying at home, with all the features I've grown to love in all my other mice.

And, hooray! It's raining!

sigh.

you know that feeling where your plans for the evening fall through for the second night in a row, and you're looking all cute but have no one to show it to, so you decide to go shopping to make cupcakes, but you can't find those little paper umbrellas that you need for the cupcakes, so you spend an hour and a half looking for them at four different stores, finally find them, then come home and it's still only nine o'clock? that's how i feel right now.

Two reasons why ice skates are not to be trusted

Exhibit A: the blister from Hell. It's been almost a week, and it still hurts to walk on that foot.















Exhibit B: the bruise that is as big as my hand, and has since turned deep purple and green.




The rest of the night was just peachy, though. I had fun skating around, and I got pretty good at going fast without falling down. The only trouble with going fast is that if you don't know how to stop, you end up running into a wall at full speed. Which is what I did. Learn from my mistakes, children, and never, ever go skating in a place with walls. I vow not to go ice skating again till I'm in Canadia, where they can skate out in the open, and fall down onto the ground to stop. Or maybe I'll learn the real way to stop, and not have to fall down at all.

Today I'm packing up. Which is like, So Cool. Well, not really, because I'm packing up to move back to my parents' house for two weeks, but it's cool because it means I'm this close to leaving for school. Today begins my two-week preparation for the trip, and the year, and the rest of my life. I'm so excited that this whole exchange thing is actually happening, and that it's happening so soon I can smell it. But for now, I need to take a shower and finish boxing stuff up, so I'll be ready when my friend comes over with his truck to move stuff in a coupla hours. Maybe my next post will be a reflection on my few months in this apartment. Tune in next time to find out!

Bitter Much?

A certain roommate of mine is WAY better at the dvd game "Shout!" than I am. Perhaps I'd be better at it if I had actually seen a fair amount of movies, but I don't know. Probably not. Perhaps if I had been on her team, I would be rejoicing in this fact, rather than sullen and aggressive. As it is, we played Cranium later on tonight, and me and my teammate totally smoked the rest of the teams. Go us.

T minus

24 hours till I'll have been alive on this earth for 20 years and five minutes

16 days till I quit working in the Realm of Taco-y Goodness forever

1 month till I move to Parts Unknown for the next two semesters


And all is well with the world. Feel free to send me birthday wishes and/or presents, congratulations on my freedom from work, and things to keep me warm this winter in the place where it snows.

Prep

1. Cut and cook veg
2. Garlic toast 24
3. Garlic butter 6lb


that is what you would have seen on a white board in the kitchen if you'd been at the 5&Diner a few nights ago. I'd never been there before, but now i feel vindicated in saying that it's a strange place that i never want to go to again.

curious

guess what! a guy likes me! and it's appropriate! two other males have ever actually shown interest in me in my entire life. the first was seventeen when i was fifteen (and not allowed to date). he spoke barely any english, and kept emailing me, asking me to go to "a restaurant to eat fine food." it felt good to know that he was interested, but i was not yet ready. the second one has been sniffing around me (figuratively, not literally) for the past six months or so. he is 15 years my senior, divorced, and amazingly dorky and short. it creeps me out that he is so persistently trying to get at a girl who is so much younger, taller and heavier than him. this guy that is currently interested in me is only about 4 years older than me, and only a little dorky. he's friendly, and funny, and all that stuff that makes you like a guy.

however. i'm not terribly interested in him, except that he's interested in me. cause, you know, i've never had any kind of relationship before, so it feels good to be noticed and liked. i love the feeling of knowing that someone thinks i'm special. but at the same time, i feel like being receptive would be so very selfish of me. partially because i don't think we are particularly good for each other in terms of personality or mental processes (read: he's not quite as smart as me), but mainly because i'm going to be leaving town in a month, so it's like openly acknowledging the fact that i have no faith in any type of relationship we could have.

my question: should i encourage him and act like i want him in order to make myself feel good and get some practice at having a boyfriend, or should i discourage his efforts in order to keep from hurting him later on? it seems like i always do the nobler thing when given a choice like this, but it also seems that my life hasn't been very fun up to this point. perhaps i should indulge in a little selfishness now that i have the opportunity...

Andrew

Ok. Right now, the word that is probably most descriptive of my life is "DT." This does not stand for delerium tremens, and it also does not stand for Deseret Towers. Similarly, it doesn't stand for Duck Tales. Although i wish it did, because that would be awesome.

Once upon a time, after I had just graduated high school, my friend Uffish and i went out in search of our first jobs. She got hired at a local sandwich shop, and about a week later I got hired at the taco bell right next to it. Two years later, I'm still there (even though I've quit twice), and Uffish has been living elsewheres for school. Anyway, probably about a year ago, my managers realized that I was pretty good on the drive-through, onnaccounta I'm nice to the customers and I put on my special voice so i don't sound like death through the microphone. For about the past month or so, I've been on drive through eight hours a day, five days a week.

A few Things To Know about drive-through:

1. When a car pulls up to the speakerbox, a bell rings. Like, BING! right in your ear.
2. Some people have really quiet voices, so you have to turn the volume up all the way on your headset.
3. Some people drive diesel trucks.
4. Some people have loud voices, and others have barking dogs, screaming children, or a cell phone. Or all three.
5. Some people don't know what they want when they drive up, and sit there for several minutes trying to decide, while fifteen cars drive up behind them and start to honk because it's taking so long.
6. Some people are just plain stupid.

Which brings me to my first point, which is this: working the drive through for many, many, many days in a row can drive a quiet, shy person like me completely insane. This happened last thursday. I got to work in the morning, was on drive-through for about 45 minutes, and suddenly and unexpectedly exploded into hysterical sobs for a good ten minutes or so. The worst part was that for the first two minutes of my out-freaking, I was still taking orders and taking people's money through the window. That was a little awkward, and I got some interesting looks. The rest of that day, I was put in the kitchen area, making food. I had a great day once I was working with food, and not people.

Which brings me to my second, and main point. When a person is nice to you in the drive-through, or knows exactly what they want, and tells you clearly, or has an even voice, you notice, and are grateful. When a person is all three, and is attractive too, well, that person is Andrew. Andrew went to my high school, and I think he must've graduated when I was a freshman, because he is just barely familiar to me by sight. Andrew has a sexy voice through the speakerbox, and he is my Very Favorite Customer Ever. He used to come in all the time late at night when I used to work late at night, and you could always tell it was him by how wonderfully smooth his order was. Then he stopped coming. Then I started working daytimes. Then today he came again. His order was slightly different- he used to get the Mountain Dew Code Red. Now he gets the Mountain Dew Baja Blast. But he still got his mexican pizza with no tomatoes or green onions, and he still was as wonderfully wonderful as he always was before. Even though I hadn't seen him in months and months, probably since december, I still knew it was him as soon as he started ordering.

Every time I see him, I tell him how much I love him and how much I wish everyone was like him. And every time I tell him, he tells me how much of a jerk he is, and how if I met him on the street, I would think he was an *******. And every time he tells me that, I don't believe a word he says.

Percoset

I got my wisdom teeth out on Friday. All four of them. The oral surgeon sent me home with an envelope with two of them in it, and boy were they huge! I don't know how teeth even fit in your head. Anyway, we've discovered that percoset (or however you spell it) really makes me drowsy. As in, ten minutes after taking it, I'm so asleep that I don't even change positions in my sleep for 3 hours. I've been staying in my parents' house so mom can baby me and make me smoothies and stuff, and we have like fifteen kinds of pudding, lots of ice cream, three kinds of chocolate milk, and all the "cream of" soups I can imagine. Plus, I've been watching movies up the wazoo. Which is also great. The best thing of all, though, is that I don't have to go to work until Tuesday. And four days without setting foot in work is four days well spent.

The only problem? It's been two days now, and I know I should brush my teeth. But I'm afraid. What if I accidentally rip open the wounds? What if the toothpaste doesn't come out? What if I try to spit and my clots come out too? But my mouth is really starting to gross me out. I can smell my own breath. When I close my mouth and bite down, my teeth stick together with the accumulated grunge. This is Not Cool. I must brush my teeth soon. I'll put up a few pictures for your delight soon as well. Not of me brushing my teeth, but of my Marlon Brando jowels, and the teeth that I got in the envelope. That'll be fun to see, no?