Day 27: An Original Photo of the City I Live In

This post has certainly been long enough coming. Criminitly! It turns out that I'm rather picky about my cityscape conditions. These are actually pictures of campus, taken from the top level of the LDS Institute's parking structure.

Last year, during that mandatory all-freshmen-must-live-on-campus year, I actually lived in that building in the second picture with all of the triangles on it. That was a fun year. I will always have a soft-spot for that edifice.

I still find the climate here totally surreal. There's jacket weather and pool weather, and that's about it. I miss clear seasons, but I can't deny that it's really beautiful here sometimes. Citrus season is especially gorgeous and smells great to boot.

I seem to be all about smells recently. There's some plant here I can't identify that just smells divine.

The great vague They say that scent is the most powerful memory. I'll believe it.

Listening to: Castle

Reading: Avalon High by Meg Cabot

You are not alone.

Day 27 of the not-so 30-Day Blog Challenge will be delayed another day until I can take a picture of campus.

In the meantime, I'm going to deviate from the regularly scheduled program to make a few observations.

First, the people in my ward are sensational. I saw a friend pulled over on the side of the road on my way to church this morning, so I stopped to make sure she was okay. Some people on their way to church saw me and called or stopped to make sure I was okay. I hear that they even made an announcement in church to see if anyone had a spare tire that would work for my truck. (They didn't realize that I wasn't the one with a flat.)

My second observation is about the people who stopped or called me. I knew them all by sight and reputation, though I have certainly never spoken with all of them before, and they knew me.

This is what I want you to learn from this, dear reader: People notice you. Etch it onto your heart.

Several times in my life, I have felt alone, abandoned, unwanted, unwelcome, even invisible. Each time I was pulled out of that ocean of despair by someone I didn't expect knowing my name and calling it out as though it were the most natural thing to say in the world, as though they'd been addressing me for years.

While I haven't felt that utter loneliness in a long time, I was still surprised today by the people who came to my rescue and checked on me like we were friends who frequently hung out. It turns out that these people are as aware of me as I am of them.

Many people may feel it's trite to say that people notice what you do. In the past, I myself have blown it off as an exaggerated maxim. Please believe me when I say that it is not. Something I've been learning recently is that no sensation we experience is unique to us. This is not trite, either. To prove it, let me tell you about my friend Laura. We've only known each other for two weeks, but I've already lost track of how many times we've spoken out in sync or discovered that we were trying to describe the exact same feeling in the exact same words. Joy, anger, fear, frustration, sorrow, homesickness, infatuation, contentment: To whatever extent and in whatever shade you have felt them, felt anything, I promise you that someone else has felt them in exactly the same way.

This universal principle of emotion is how I know that someone else has felt that crushing solitude, like they could just blow away on the wind and no one would notice. To you who feel that: Do not believe it.

Someone sees you. Someone knows your name. Someone cares that you are there.

As a Christian who frequently spends time with other Christians, I have often heard people try to comfort one another with the words "Jesus knows what you're going through." While I believe this to be true, I know how feeble that saying can be when you're floundering in crippling emotion. I also know that not everyone believes in Christ. I know that some people do not believe in the existence of any deity at all.

You don't always have to try to find comfort in a higher power. There is someone in your life, even if you aren't aware of them yet, who is aware of you. There is someone who concretely knows what you're going through.

You are not alone.

I promise.

Listening to: "Abide With Me; 'Tis Eventide" by Catherine Papworth
Reading: Avalon High by Meg Cabot

Day 26: My Dream Wedding

Funnily enough, I actually once had a dream that I was getting married. I have no idea who the groom was, but I remember the dress in vivid detail. The dress itself was a scoop-neck princess cut with bell sleeves and a little bit of a train. Once outside the St. Louis temple, where I think this dream wedding took place, I added a crocheted cream piece I suppose I'll call an overcoat. The bottom hem was just an inch or two shorter than the actual dress in all directions, including the train. I think the sleeves were just a tiny bit longer than those of the dress. It buttoned with three unglazed ceramic roses. I think that I was barefoot for those straight-outta-the-temple pictures, and I was wearing real white flowers in my loose hair.

The only other detail I can recall from this dream is that either Britney Spears came to my reception and Harrison  Ford sent his apologies because he couldn't make it, or Harrison Ford came to my reception and Britney Spears sent her apologies. I'm leaning toward the second one.

Of course, that was just a dream about my wedding. My real dreams for my wedding are a little different. For starters, I would like to get married in Winter Quarters, not St. Louis.

This pretty little temple features some exquisite stained glass and beautiful grounds.

I want to wear my mom's wedding dress from her last marriage. It's a Georgian cut (think Jane Austen) made of raw white silk. I do love an empire waist. Of course, I'm a few inches taller than her, so we would have to come up with some way to make up that inch or so below the hem.

My ideas about my reception change a lot. Right now I'm thinking that I want to hold it out in a field or something. There would definitely have to be large quantities of bubbles. If I held it in the evening in the right part of the country during the right season, maybe there would even be fireflies! And stargazing!

Who needs artificial decorations, no matter how elegant, when they can have nature?

Listening to: "Leonie" by Arjan Brass

Reading: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Day 25: The First 10 Songs That Come Up With My iPod on Shuffle

1. "Dearest Forsaken" by Iron & Wine

2. "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" by Glee Cast

3. "School" by Supertramp

4. "River Understands Simon" from Firefly (Original Television Soundtrack)

5. "Arms of a Thief" by Iron & Wine

6. "Straight On" by Heart

7. "That's The Way Boys Are" by Leslie Gore

8. "Go On Cry" by Heart

9. "Lacrymosa" by Evanescence

10. "Weight Of The World" by Evanescence

Gidget, my iPod, knows me so well.

Listening to: School of Rock
Reading: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Day 24: Something I've Learned

The word 'silly' has had an interesting life.

It comes from the Middle English word 'seely', meaning 'blessed'. Over time it came to mean "deserving of pity, compassion, or sympathy", then "helpless, defenseless", "weak, feeble, frail", "insignificant, trifling", "scanty, sorry, meager, poor", "unlearned, unsophisticated, simple, rustic, ignorant", "feeble-minded", and "foolish, senseless, empty-headed".

That's quite the resume for a poor little word.

Of course, all of that just makes me love it more.

Listening to: Standing Up
Reading: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Day 23: My Favorite Books

For me, one of the surest markers that a book has wormed its way into my heart is something I'm going to call rereadability. With so many splendid books out there, it's difficult to weigh them against each other, especially when I am so easily pleased by anything with the semblance of a plot. However, certain titles have burrowed into my soul. I crave them. I miss them. I turn to them again and again. They are among my dearest friends.

For this post I have set certain parameters for myself. The first is that I will not include any series. It doesn't seem fair to compare a stand-alone book with a set that had many volumes to improve upon its style and perfect its tale. Thus I will not rank Harry Potter, which is less like a book to me anyway and more like a favorite cousin. Another series I would like to mention is called The Half-Blood Chronicles. It is a marvelous tale of elves and dragons, but it is woefully incomplete. Andre Norton, who was co-authoring it, died. Mercedes Lackey has implied that she intends to finish it, but that woman is busier with more projects than Jerry Bruckheimer. While I'm at it, I'd like to give a nod to Elfquest, which is especially hard to classify in terms of favorite books because it is a comic.

My second restriction is that I have decided not to rate books that I have only read once. I don't feel like I know them well enough to pass any sort of judgement on them. The two that I considered listing which were set aside for this reason are The Once and Future King by T. H. White and The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. Both are hulking behemoths that take true commitment to power through on the first run. I really want to revisit them, but so far I haven't had the time.

With that said, on to my favorite books.

6. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
What can I say? That last line gets me every time.

5. Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman
Sweet, innocent, teenage love stories will tickle me forever. Especially if they include characters like Grandison Parr.

4. Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty & the Beast by Robin McKinley
I can't help but love a book that combines one of my favorite fairy tales with characters who are so dimensional and flawed and...human.

3. Hawksong by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
While perhaps not as well written as Beauty or Enthusiasm, my sensibilities are no match for Danica and Zane. Especially Zane.

2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
So much is said in praise and censure of this beautiful piece that I scarcely desire to add to the heap of testimonials. Most important for me, I suppose, is the fact that this is the book that sparked so much of who I am. Here began my love of Jane Austen. Here began the schism in brain and personality which left me living half now and half in Regency England.

1. Persuasion by Jane Austen
Perhaps it isn't fair that two books by the same author make my list, but that's the way it is sometimes. Whichever other books jostle each other to be in my favor, whichever fluctuating order they fall into, this one will always sit here. I know it like I know myself. When I am happy, I snuggle with it and bask in its glow. When I am sad, I turn to it desperately as a dying man turns to water in the desert. When I am lonely, when I am angry, when I am apathetic, I turn to it. It doesn't matter. It's my comfort book. When I see my mom reading it, I'll ask her which part she's at. It doesn't matter what she says, my first response is always, "Oh! That's my favorite part." And it's true. I know it so well that I just pick it up wherever a bookmark has been left in it and carry on like I just left off reading a moment ago. It is a part of me.

Listening to: "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" by Looking Glass
Reading: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Day 22: The Contents of My Purse

This challenge was obviously created with the average female in mind. Unfortunately for these faceless meme generators, I am not your average female. In fact, I detest purses. They make me feel imprisoned. I mean, when you're carrying one around you have to keep track of it all the time. You have to watch it and hold on to it and make sure no one steals it or riffles through it. It's just so inconvenient! It's really inhibiting having a small pouch constantly tucked under your arm. I never carry one if I can get away with it. Pockets are beautiful things.

I suppose the real miracle of this post is that I own a purse and that I know where it is. What's more, it's kind of cool looking:

I know, right? If I have to own a purse, at least I made a good choice. I used to store jewelry in it, probably mostly because it was a convenient way to transport and keep track of all of it while I was moving, but now the innards mostly look like this:

You could lose your sanity in a black abyss like that.

Listening to: "Bella Notte"
Reading: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Day 21: All-Time Favorite Picture of Myself and Why

My first choice is either of my permit pictures. Yes, really. The first one expired, okay? I had to renew it. Or possibly the picture from my first driver's license. Of course, I don't have access to any of those because the nice people at the DMV took them away each time they issued me a new one.

Instead all I have to show you is my current license picture. It's definitely not the best of the lot, but it'll do.

I don't know what it is. Maybe I just like what that DMV blue does to my skin tone, but I always love pictures of myself that are taken there.

It also seems to be the one time I don't mind posing for a picture. I wouldn't be bothered if people snapped my picture like a tabloid was paying them to do it. I just despise having to stop whatever I'm doing and hold a cheesy grin until someone's done figuring out how to work their camera. Candid shots all the way.

Except, of course, apparently, if it's for an official, state-issued identification card. I think the fact that all four of them have turned out relatively awesome has made me a little more willing to hold still for a few seconds. But only at the DMV. My passport picture is terrible.

Listening to: "Tik Tok" by Ke$ha

Reading: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Day 20: My Nicknames

Here we go:

Reb
Rebby
Rebigail
Rebel
Rebeldee
Ebekah-ray
Pepper*
Earl
Eternal
Ice Cap
Bekah
Bekahboo
Roobekah
Ruby
Duckie

*Sometimes my mom confuses me with the dog. That's okay. I have a lot of fond memories of that dog.

I feel like I may be missing a few. Any additions?

Listening to: "Take Me Home Tonight" by Eddie Money
Reading: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Day 19: Something I Miss

The trouble with loving too many places is that I'm always missing something.

I miss the smell of pine trees and the way the stars look from the top of the world. I miss the sound of a clear mountain river leaping over rocks. I miss sagebrush and those three days in July when the temperature leaps 30 degrees.

I miss the smell of soil after three days of heavy rain and the way the fireflies dance over a freshly-mown lawn. I miss the sound of cicadas. I miss the world being a division of emerald green flora and black-brown dirt.

I miss the vibe of London, the feel of Paris, and the atmosphere in Barcelona.

I miss my friends. Lately, I've especially been missing a certain friend who never failed to cheer me up just by being the mellowest Pink Floyd fan I've ever met.

I miss being around people who know what I'm thinking without asking me.

I miss extended Lord of the Rings marathons and reminiscing. I miss s'mores followed by zany attempts at homemade movies. I miss spilling my guts at 1 o'clock in the morning between watching The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and that crappy Keira Knightley Pride & Prejudice. I miss exchanging knowing glances with A and giving BK crap for renting the most random movies and forcing me to watch them.

I miss the comforting smells of my very best friends in the world. I miss melting into them like we're a litter of puppies.

I miss my mom's horrible puns. I miss quoting movies with her that no one else has even heard of.

Listening to: Baby Mama
Reading: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Day 18: My Favorite Place to Eat

I struggle to decide where to eat here in central Arizona, but back in Missouri there is one clear answer: Winstead's.

It's true that there are good '50s-themed diners wherever you go, but Winstead's is special. It's mine. The fries are amazing, the burgers are spectacular, but most importantly, it is the home of the skyscraper sodas and shakes.

Imagine, if you will, ordering a banana shake to rival in taste Coldstone's banana ice cream. It's that good. Now, they bring that delicious shake out to you in a vase most floral arrangements are too chicken to try to fill. It's so tall that they have to splice two straws together to reach the bottom. Slurping one of those down with a couple of friends until there's nothing left but frothy, whipped cream and a few stray cherries is one of the true pleasures of life.

Now I'm hungry. Road trip?

Listening to: What Not to Wear
Reading: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Day 17: Something I'm Looking Forward To

Living in an environment that encourages dating and mating (for eternity, of course), I've been thinking a lot about love lately. I've been thinking about romance and friendship, about uncertainty and trust, about flirtation and companionable silences. All of this thinking has led me to one inevitable conclusion: I'm ready for all of this to be over, durn it! I'm looking forward to meeting someone who will understand me well enough to come at me sideways so he won't scare me off, and who will see something so infinitely desirable in the conglomerate of traits that make up...this, he won't be scared off.

Pffffft! Like that's going to happen. I crack myself up.

More than that, though, I'm looking forward to watching all five movies I borrowed from my dad's girlfriend tomorrow and doing the amazingly teensy jigsaw puzzle I bought last time I was at the zoo.

Listening to: "Who Says" by Selena Gomez & The Scene
Reading: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Day 16: My Dream House

When it comes to residential architecture, there are many kinds I would be happy with, most of them old-fashioned. I'm not picky about brick or frame or log cabin or stonework or what have you.

However, there are a few optional feature I'd rather like to have. I'm rather enamored of window seats, and I wouldn't say no to it being in a bay window. I wouldn't say no to a porch swing, either. I'd definitely like a dedicated library, preferably with one of those sliding ladders. A real stone fireplace is a must. None of this electric fire nonsense. Who thought that was a good idea?

Really, I'm more concerned about the attached property. Give me trees, and lots of them. Make my yards sweep out ridiculously far in both directions. You know what would be positively spiffing? A long front drive that meanders through a tunnel of trees. I don't even want to hear the road from my front porch.

Mom, once again your influence is coming through loud and clear.

Listening to: "Chemical Love" by Charlie McDonnell
Reading: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Day 15: A Bible Verse

My mother is fond of telling me that when she was in seminary, her favorite verse to share when it was her turn to give the devotional was 1 Corinthians 16:20:

All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with an holy kiss.


From what I hear, my mother was quite the flirt and a serial kisser to boot. Looking back at 5-year-old Rebekah, I think I was heading down that path, too. It's strange how events can change even our basic personalities. No one who knows me now would guess how boy-crazy and brazen I was in yesteryear. Life's funny that way, isn't it?

Listening to: Bones
Reading: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

Day 14: A Picture of Myself Last Year and How I Have Changed

This was an odd day in April of 2010. I mean, what am I wearing? Are those clothes that make me look like a girl? Egad! What next?

Good gravy! Have I started doing my hair? Am I seeing the effect of bobby pins? And...and...is that a fitted tee shirt?

Not much has changed in the past year. My hair's a little longer. I'm a little tanner. My posture's a little better.

Pictures will never be able to capture the real changes. I know a little more. I'm a little more outgoing. I'm learning to let loose. Sometimes I even sing where people can hear me or dance in public to the music in my head. I'm a little more independent. I don't feel lost in a crowd without a friend by my side. When I feel like doing something crazy, I might even talk to someone I've never met before. I no longer just occasionally think that the girl in the mirror is pretty. I walk like I believe I'm gorgeous, because I know I am.

I don't feel like I've really changed much. I'm just more willing to share who I am.

Listening to: "A Happy Place" by Katie Melua

Reading: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

Day 13: My Goals

When I was six, I wanted to be a veterinarian. Twenty minutes of Animal Planet cured me of that.

When I was ten, I wanted to write a book. Chalk one up to lack of follow-through.

When I was 14, I wanted to be as great of an artist as Michelle Hoefener (minus the immodesty). Rebekah: 0  Lack of Follow-Through: 2

When I was 19, I wanted to be a famous YouTuber. Man, this follow-through thing is killer.

So what goals do I have? I want to knock that Roman religion test tomorrow out of the park. I want to reestablish that social Zen I had going for me that pulled a Hindenburg at the beginning of February. I want to know what it's like to hold hands with a boy. I want to find a happy medium between completely embarrassing myself in front of others and being a hermit. I want to loosen up and speak up. I want to transcend the scars on my soul.

I want to find someone who'll still want to hear what I have to say when we're a billion and seven.



Listening to: "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles
Reading: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

Day 12: Something I Don't Leave the House Without

I was going to say 'pants,' but as I sometimes wear skirts, that answer is invalid. The two items, then, that I always make sure to have with me are chapstick and my cell phone. It has happened a few times that I chanced to be without my chapstick, and boy, did I really regret it. Never again. As for my cell phone, I seem to have an irrational dependence on it. I harbor this secret hope that someone unexpected and wonderful will send some wireless signals my way. Despite more than two solid years' evidence to the contrary, enlivened by the welcome communique of my friends, this has yet to happen. The number of exchanges I begin compared to the number of exchanges which are begun by others is an incredibly uneven ratio. I think that this eternal, baseless hope is closely related to the hope that someone unexpected and wonderful will make a red notification bubble pop up at the top of my Facebook. I frequently hear from my family and a handful of good friends, but due to what is one of my pettier feelings, they are almost never who I want to hear from. It's not that I'm dying for someone specific to shower me with attention. I'm just hoping for...someone else.

But that doesn't have anything to do with my out-and-about essentials at all.

Listening to: Gilmore Girls
Reading: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

Day 11: My Favorite TV Shows

This is a topic that can get out of hand rather quickly. Instead of typing out the full roster of Shows Rebekah Loves (a full, alphabetized list is available upon request), I have decided to share the few programs that tie for first.

Castle
It's incredibly enjoyable to watch the crazy murder investigations unfold, but my favorite part of this show would have to be the subtle references to Firefly.

Firefly
You just know a show's good when the characters feel like your family.

Gargoyles
You can't beat a classic '90s cartoon, especially when Lexington's involved. He's my favorite. It doesn't hurt that half of the voice cast seems to be from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Gilmore Girls
It's refreshing to see that fast-paced, witty banter didn't die with screwball comedy. On a side note, I kind of want to be Rory when I grow up.

Listening to: "Margaritaville"
Reading: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

Day 10: Something I'm Afraid Of

I'm scared that some guy will propose to me in a public place, and I won't know what to say. Even if I think he's the one, what if I haven't prayed about it yet? I wouldn't want to give him a tentative, public yes and then have to renege later. And what if I don't think he's the one, or I'm not sure yet? I'd have to turn him down with a bunch of people staring at us, and that would just be awful all around.

Listening to: "Toes" by Zac Brown Band

Reading: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

Day 9: A Favorite Picture of My Best Friend

E, A, and S at Coldstone Creamery in June of 2010. I love these girls more than words can express.

Listening to: The Wedding Planner

Reading: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

Day 8: A Place I've Traveled To

The biggest trip in my life was the Spanish club trip to Europe in high school, but I tell that story all the time. I think it was that same summer that my family drove to South Dakota.

One of my uncles is a Lakotah medicine man, and he invited us to the Sun Dance. He's actually a buffalo dancer. The Sun Dance lasts four or five days. We didn't stay for the whole thing, so we didn't get to see the buffalo dance at the end, but it involves medicine men dragging buffalo skulls tied to piercings in their backs. The buffalo is incredibly sacred to the Lakotah.

South Dakota amused me. I swear, I could see for three days in every direction. I used to think Missouri was flat, but I didn't know what I was talking about. South Dakota makes flat look wavy.

We saw a huge bison farm. Have I ever mentioned how much I love bison? They're gorgeous. I just want to snuggle into their fur. It's too bad they're aggressive. A saddle-broken bison might even be cooler than a saddle-broken giraffe. I can just see a herd of nomads chugging around on those big, beautiful beasts.

The location of the Sun Dance was on a black-footed ferret reserve. We've already discussed my irrational love of mustelidae. The place was riddled with prairie dog holes as the funny, wee critters are a dietary staple for black-footed ferrets.

We also stopped by to see Mt. Rushmore. At the time, I hadn't seen the Rockies for years. Those craggy, coniferous Black Hills made my heart ache. The monument was cool, but I think I enjoyed the nature more.

I love the rugged, wild beauty found out there in those mountains. A part of me will always belong there.

Listening to: The Blind Side
Reading: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

Day 7: My Favorite Movies

7. Blackbeard's Ghost

This movie makes the list for a very special reason: It's my nap movie. A skill I inherited from my mother, I can sit down to a certain old-time Disney movie, and without fail, I will sleep between two very specific parts of the plot. I'm out like a light starting right before they wind up in jail, and I groggily come to during the fight at the casino. My mother's nap movie is That Darn Cat!. I also love Blackbeard's Ghost because Peter Ustinov is a riot. I'm rather fond of Dean Jones, too, now that you mention it.

6. School of Rock

This is the movie I turn to when I want to watch a movie, but I'm not in the mood for any movies. I'm always in the mood for School of Rock.

5. Much Ado About Nothing

Shakespeare plus an all-star cast, including the incomparable Kenneth Branagh/Emma Thompson dynamic? Make mine a double.

4. Guys and Dolls

There's just something endearing about a movie wherein Marlon Brando winds up with a girl who is more than a little like me. And he sings while he's doing it. And Frank Sinatra croons in.

3. The Princess Bride

For about ten years, The Princess Bride reigned as my favorite movie of all time. Like so many other lovers of this cult classic, I can quote most of it, though I pride myself on paying particular attention to accents and inflection. The only part I've never been able to get down is Buttercup's dream.

2. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

I can name all seven brothers in order with their brides. Try to find someone else who took the time to figure out the girls' names and which guys they went with. I dare you. I can also name all of the musical numbers. In order.

1. The Philadelphia Story

It was a close race, but I think The Philadelphia Story has finally edged out Seven Brides for Seven Brothers for the top spot. You know how sometimes you wake up with a song stuck in your head? Sometimes I wake up with dialogue from this film stuck in my head. They don't write scripts like they used to. Cary Grant + Katherine Hepburn + Jimmy Stewart = <3

Listening to: "Baby Monkey (Going Backwards on a Pig)"

Reading: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

Day 6: A Picture of Something That Makes Me Happy

It's usually easy to tell when something makes me happy. Either I get a contented, sorry-my-insides-just-melted look on my face, or I start bouncing up and down and making a joyful ruckus. Mustelidae, or members of the weasel family, generally illicit the latter response. I love all of these little buggers. They're like liquid encased in fur. Weasels, otters, martens, stoats, mink, badgers, wolverines, ferrets, you name it. Box that up. I'll take it to go! I can't speak for the rest of them, but ferrets have two modes: on or off. You haven't lived until you've seen a ferret do the war dance. The whole family is almost as effective at derailing my train of thought as one of these:

Corvettes get their own special reaction, though. It's something akin to melty insides, but it's more like my brain gets wiped for a few minutes while my head turns owlishly, mouth agape, after those double taillights until they're out of sight.

Listening to: How It Should Have Ended: Lord of the Rings

Reading: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

Day 5: A Song to Match My Mood

Listening to: Castle
Reading: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

Day 4: My Family

Imagine, if you will, the convergence of a redneck/biker/trucker family and a migrant/hillbilly/rabble-rouser/trucker family. It's like a match made in heaven, though sadly it didn't last. My mom and dad both came into their marriage to each other as divorced single parents with one son apiece. Grand total, I have three brothers, two halves and a full. We're all roughly three years apart in age.

My dad is a genius when it comes to cars. He's like Dr. House for things with wheels and engines.

My mom loves animals and owns too many dogs for her own good, not that I blame her. She also likes puns more than any person should.

My oldest brother is basically a shorter clone of my dad, right down to the red goatee, though he doesn't have quite the same gift with machinery. He's married and has two little blonde girls with ginormous blue eyes.

My second oldest brother kind of looks like Johnny Depp in Cry Baby. He spends his time working out and modeling.

My youngest brother looks, not to be sacrilegious, like a biker version of Jesus. When he smiles he looks like he's baring his teeth. He's a door gunner on a Black Hawk in the army. When he gets out, he plans to tour the country on his Harley.

I'm the youngest.

I think what ties us together is our love of cars, guns, John Wayne, and Johnny Cash.

My parents divorced in 2000. Since then, they've each had another failed marriage. My mom and ex-stepdad adopted a girl from Russia some years ago, but she is now a ward of the state.

My dad is now dating a biker chick with two grown kids just as redneck and biker as the rest of us.

My mom's boyfriend is an old Missouri farmer who likes to call dogs "hounds" and eyes "peepers."

As far as extended family goes, my dad's brother and sister, who are fraternal twins, bought adjacent property and built houses next door to each other. It's like they have their own little compound where they fix dirt bikes and give each other a hard time. My mom has 9 brothers. Their numbers include several truckers, a few ex-military personnel, some mechanics, jacks-of-all-trades, and a Lakotah medicine man. They have some awesome stories about shark hunting and bull riding.

Every once in a great while I wonder what it would be like to have lived in one place all my life or to have a family that had always remained intact. The rest of the time I feel like it's more fun this way.

Listening to: "Crocodile Rock" by Elton John
Reading: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling

Day 3: My First Love

When I was very young, my mom watched a lot of soap operas. Consequently, at age four, I had a huge crush on Rick Springfield. To this day, "Jessie's Girl" is the one song that I will always stay in the car to hear the end of. It's tradition. That, and it's a fantastic song.



Listening to: "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield
Reading: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling

Day 2: Meaning of My Blog Name

Since before my memory began recording, back in the days when I must've learned chess and the difference between the first and second person pronouns (to hear my mom tell it), there has been a heavy blue poetry anthology on my mother's bookshelf. It includes such classics as "Paul Revere's Ride" and "The Tale of Custard the Dragon." My favorite page, however, is marked by a small, rectangular scrap of blank white paper. On it is an obscure poem called "Cradle Song." I can still recite it, though I haven't seen a copy of it in many, many years.

In fact, the last time I read it was probably in sixth grade. I was in a gifted class. It was supposed to replace our English class, but since our teacher had a doctorate in art, we mostly ended up having movie marathons and making brooches out of puzzle pieces and playing with puppies, ducks, and turtles. It was pretty much the best class ever, unless you wanted to learn something. We had to recite lines from poetry to get into the classroom. She would stand in front of the door like the Fat Lady, refusing us entry until we successfully regurgitated the current password. Those who had already made it in frequently mouthed it from behind her back to those still stuck outside. The first one we ever had was the first few lines from "Daffodils" by William Wordsworth. I went above and beyond and eventually memorized the whole thing, but that is neither here nor there.

Our teacher, whom we all lovingly referred to as a hobbit because of her small stature and her penchant for wearing things like slippers shaped like bear feet, must have decided that turnabout was fair play. One day she asked us to bring in our favorite poems. Naturally, I brought in that poem which had been a part of me as long as I had been aware of the very concept of me.

From groves of spice,
O’er fields of rice,
Athwart the lotus-stream,
I bring for you,
Aglint with dew,
A little lovely dream.

Sweet, shut your eyes,
The wild fire-flies
Dance through the fairy neem;
From the poppy-bole
For you I stole
A little lovely dream.

Dear eyes, good night,
In golden light
The stars around you gleam;
On you I Press
With soft caress
A little lovely dream.

Now, our teacher was the sort to drag us all along on a knowledge adventure anytime we encountered anything that anybody felt inclined to ask a question about. With my poem, I unwittingly unleashed the very contents of Pandora's Box. Okay, I may be exaggerating a wee bit.

However it happened, we started dismembering her shelves in a quest to figure out what the dickens a "fairy neem" or a "poppy-bole" was. This was back before the advent or popularization of Wikipedia, which proves most unhelpful on either subject anyway. Our search eventually brought us to something called a fairy ring.

A fairy ring is a naturally occurring ring of mushrooms, which will continue to grow in diameter every passing year because of the way the fungus spreads. In days of yore and superstition, these rings were thought to be the homes of fairies. People believed that if you stepped into the ring, you would be trapped in the world of the fairies Rip Van Winkle-style.

Something about that idea enchanted me. I was starting to get pretty heavy into the online art scene back then, and I got this crazy notion into my head that if I ever had my own web domain name it would be something to do with fairy rings.

Drive your DeLorean forward about seven years. Football season of my freshman year in college. My friend and I would get on Facebook after we got home from our respective games (BYU for him, ASU for me), and we would chat about football. Eventually chatting about football led to chatting about every other topic in the known universe. When he got a blog, I thought it looked fun. I made one, too.

This blog was originally called Adventures of an Austenite, but after a short while I felt like that was trapping me in some way. True, I'm a hardcore Austenite, but that particular title irked me something fierce. One day, something reminded me of that dear old concept of fairy rings, and I knew that I wanted it to be my livery. For some reason now lost to time, I didn't end up using the actual term "fairy ring." Instead, I landed on the Middle English word "elferingewort."

There was a bit of a kerfuffle with my posts showing up in people's feeds right after I changed the URL, but it was all sorted out in good time. Now I use the name on other sites, as well.

Listening to: Facebook chat
Reading: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling

Day 1: Introduction, Recent Picture of Myself, and 15 Facts

When people ask me where I'm from, my brain seizes up and panics a little. What do I say? What do I say? Depending on my mood, I might just settle for Missouri, but most of the time that just doesn't cut it for me. That's not who I am. I wasn't born and bred there. True, so far I've lived there longer than anywhere else, but I still feel like I belong to other places, too. They snuggle together in my heart like a litter of puppies. I belong to all of them equally. I was born in Spokane, WA, which I feel is an important part of the story, even though it is always followed by "but I don't remember anything about it." Next, "I did my time in Utah," as I like to say. This means nothing to most people, but as I proudly belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this has some significance in certain circles. I started elementary school in Evanston, WY, which I start plugging hard core every year right around the middle of June. I keep trying to convince my friends to go there for the 4th of July. There's nothing quite like it. I finished elementary school and the rest of my public education in three different places in Northwestern Missouri, including Kansas City (north of the river). I went to two different high schools. My graduating class had 48 students. Now I study English linguistics at Arizona State University.

1. The 4th of July is my favorite holiday. That may have something to do with the smell of fireworks.

2. I make some mean deviled eggs, which is fortunate because there's no such thing as too many deviled eggs.

3. I was MVP of my high school academic bowl team.

4. My first teddy bear is eight years older than me. His name is Brently Bear.

5. I have a special signature that I use solely for artwork.

6. If I could, I would never wear shoes.

7. My best friend says that my hair color is Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper.

8. I use caffeinated drinks and tea medicinally.

9. We had spaghetti for dinner on the night I first started reading Harry Potter. I remember because I refused to put the book down and a sauce-slathered noodle left a stain on one of the pages. I was seven.

10. My family calls me the Puzzle Wizard because of my aptitude for jigsaw puzzles.

11. Once, I drank six and a half gallons of eggnog in a week.

12. When I hear a zipper, I think of camping.

13. When I read a piece of classic literature, my thoughts mimic the author's prose until I start a new book.

14. My maternal grandparents were migrant workers during the Great Depression.

15. I have been to London, Paris, and Barcelona. I desperately want to revisit all three.

Listening to: "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" by Dead or Alive

Reading: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling

30-Day Challenge.

B asked me to join her in her 30-day blog challenge. It's something about blogging every day for 30 days on different topics. But what's this? Hold the phone! "Day 0?" Come on, Anonymous Blog Meme Creators. How does that even work? I see how it is. It's really a 31-day challenge, but you wanted a nice, round number, so you somehow annihilated a whole day and labeled it by an abstract concept. Some cultures never had a zero, you know. Look at the Romans.

Day 0: The 30-Day Challenge Explanation and Description
Day 1: Introduction, Recent Picture of Myself, and 15 Facts
Day 2: Meaning of My Blog Name
Day 3: My First Love
Day 4: My Family
Day 5: A Song to Match My Mood
Day 6: A Picture of Something That Makes Me Happy
Day 7: My Favorite Movies
Day 8: A Place I've Traveled To
Day 9: A Favorite Picture of My Best Friend
Day 10: Something I'm Afraid Of
Day 11: My Favorite TV Shows
Day 12: Something I Don't Leave the House Without
Day 13: My Goals
Day 14: A Picture of Myself Last Year and How I Have Changed
Day 15: A Bible Verse
Day 16: My Dream House
Day 17: Something I'm Looking Forward To
Day 18: My Favorite Place to Eat
Day 19: Something I Miss
Day 20: My Nicknames
Day 21: All-Time Favorite Picture of Myself and Why
Day 22: The Contents of My Purse
Day 23: My Favorite Books
Day 24: Something I've Learned
Day 25: The First 10 Songs That Come Up With My iPod on Shuffle
Day 26: My Dream Wedding
Day 27: An Original Photo of the City I Live In
Day 28: Something That Stresses Me Out
Day 29: Three Wishes
Day 30: A Picture of Myself on This Day and Five Good Things That Have Happened Since I Started the Challenge

I'll be making each of these into hyperlinks as I go throughout the challenge. Also, as per my personality, I've gone through and altered the headings of each day for grammar and style. Now they have a somewhat consistent tone and the punctuation is regular. You may have noticed that I have left prepositions dangling at the ends of some entries. If you aren't familiar with my views on this subject by now, let me sum up my usual tirade by saying that English is inherently Germanic and therefore not subject to the Latinate rule that makes prepositions at the end of phrases not only undesirable, but impossible. I would also like to point out that there were two different days asking for my favorite movies. The second has been changed to books. Don't people proofread anymore?

Listening to: "Shadows of the Night" by Pat Benatar
Reading: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling

Druidess.

Yesterday, I started doodling around in my sketchbook in church. Soon my hand holding a flower had morphed into an arm and a body and a whole figure, and the flower had mutated into a torch or a staff or some sort of cup. Before I knew it, what had started off as one vague, romantic idea had manifested itself instead as a pre-existing character of mine. She's not the sort to say "tada!" or anything similarly melodramatic. Rather, she held my gaze for a moment with her enigmatic cerulean eyes, then turned her head and stretched up her arm to grasp that twisted drinking horn.

Today, for the first time in quite a long time, I had a reason to dig out my scrapbooking pens and ink a drawing. It felt right to toss my glasses aside and rest one hand on the other to careful pick out what was important in bold, dark, permanent lines. There's a certain amount of fearlessness required to touch nib to paper, forever altering that satisfying sketch for good or ill.

In the next few days maybe I'll be coloring again. Maybe I'll be enjoying that soft shhhk of pencil sharpener on wood, the shavings curling off colorfully.

Listening to: Castle
Reading: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling

Productivity.

This morning I got up at 7:30, when my body first decided it was ready, instead of going back to bed. It seemed like a novel thing to try, and I must say it was quite enjoyable. Or maybe that was the rain. Either way, I was rewarded for rising early with Saturday morning cartoons. True, these aren't as impressive when cable allows you to watch the shows whenever you please, but they're just so much better of a Saturday morning before the sun has finished scrubbing the crusties out of its eyes.

After doing the dishes, I chugged on over to the zoo. The other day I got the itch in my fingers to sketch a rhinoceros. I figured I better get it over with before it started bugging me. I must say, the old chap turned out rather well. As the day was overcast and sprinkly, the animals were wandering around en masse. I would save my activity up for rainy days, too, if I lived in the sweltering Arizona desert. Oh wait, I do and I do. Since I have a membership and can go any old time I want, I've decided to visit different parts of the zoo every time I go. Today I saw what I've decided to call The Lion King Animals. I think it's rather fitting, since all of the parents kept pointing out Timon and Rafiki to their young offspring, rather than calling them meerkats and baboons.

It was insanely windy on the drive home. I may drive a truck, but my Serafine is petite and she definitely took notice of the insane gusts rolling over the highway. There was also this strange fog-like appearance to everything, but it wasn't really a fog.

Shortly after I got home, it started raining in earnest, and I started being productive. I've decided that that jigsaw clock is just going to have to wait to be put together. I moved the giant TV box out of my room so I could walk around again and started organizing the clutter that has been accumulating around it. I didn't get as far as I wanted with my cleaning, what with Dad bringing me Arby's and I, Robot being on and that nap lasting way longer than I intended.

I rounded off my oddly-full Saturday by going to a concert of Gregorian chants with a friend. This is what I was imaging while the chorale was singing:

Glowing silver-white figures walk in stately procession, five abreast, bearing delicately wrought silver lanterns through a stately cathedral of towering trees whose branches meet high above like a vaulted hall. The leaves are still fresh from the rain and cast back the sunlight as glowing emerald and peridot.

I've also spent no few minutes today browsing a site called craftgawker. It has given me a craving to melt crayons and crochet things and fold paper.

Listening to: Gregorian chants
Reading: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling

Knots.

Some willing volunteers finally helped me break in my Twister game. As usual, I totally failed at an activity of my suggestion. I'm almost bothered by it, but I have too much fun spending time with my friends to really mind making such a fool of myself.

Listening to: "(Do You Wanna Date My) Avatar"
Reading: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling

Little things.

Valentine's Day was wonderful. It was spent laughing and cavorting with friends. For dinner the family went to a marvelous Chinese food place. I got the sweet and sour pork. I topped off the evening with Castle, which I may never get enough of.

Today I took a fabulous nap in the Institute. Later I went to my first Solis Diaboli meeting.

I also went from not being one to give back rubs to giving three in one day, though two were for the same person. I wouldn't say it's a new talent, but there's something fun about making other people happy.

Listening to: Bones
Reading: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling

Clothes pins.

I hate clothes dryers. They shrink things and set in stains and use energy. Part of the reason I'm so anal about doing my own laundry is that it's the one sure-fire way to make sure that no unthinking fool puts it in a dryer.

I love living in a place where I can line dry stuff most of the year. If I can't, the shower rod works fine, but it's one of the best things in the world to be able to pin my clothes up in the sun. They smell like Arizona when I bring them inside.

Listening to: Sweet Home Alabama
Reading: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Oh! They're manual.

I've been meaning to vlog about my birthday all week, but I keep getting distracted or forgetting. Did you know that they've put 3rd Rock From the Sun up on Netflix?

Listening to: Bones
Reading: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling

Cinnamon rolls.

My birthday weekend was amazing. I'm hoping to do a vlog about it in the next few days. I feel like talking about it just wouldn't be the same without props.

For today, I just want to acknowledge my appreciation for my stomach and its fortitude against the invasion of Mothra.

On an unrelated note, washing my delicate Hippie Gypsy clothes wasn't as horrible as I thought it was going to be. I actually got into a groove there after a short time. I'm just glad that my dad was around to think of fixing the plug in my sink with a clothes pin. He's so ingenious.

Listening to: Castle
Reading: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling

S'wonderful.

I wore contacts today for the first time in quite a while. Either my contacts are a weaker prescription than my glasses or I need to use a different set. Beyond a certain distance things got a little hazy.

The cold here is bringing out some rather humorous behavior in the natives. They just don't seem to know what to do with themselves.

Someone shared a pretty song with me today. It's all creamy with sparks of sugar crystal. It makes me crave raspberry creme savers.

I hope everyone had as wonderful a Chinese New Year (or, as I'm calling it this year, Momiji Day) as I did.

Listening to: Xmen
Reading: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling

Adventuring.

This morning I decided to stay on the arterial streets instead of the highway because my fuel was getting low and I wanted to have easy access to a gas station if I needed it. It was a fun decision. The power went out in some areas, including the street I was driving down. For about half the way the street lights were out. It was cool seeing people reacting calmly and politely in the face of adventure. I enjoyed daringly taking turns venturing across intersections.

Listening to: Sky High
Reading: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling

Make a wish.

If this were ancient Rome, the festival of Castor and Pollux would have been held today. Those Romans sure loved their parties.

In more recent millennia, my odometer read all ones today.

I got a prime parking spot. Someone gave me a back rub. I got a gyro for dinner.

It's the little things.

Listening to: Yes Man
Reading: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling

Uncommon courtesy.

As I was attempting to pull out of a gas station today, I found my way blocked by a long line of cars at a red light. I was preparing myself mentally to wait for the light to turn green and the line to eventually dissipate, when the car blocking the parking lot entrance backed up and waved me into the space. I gave him a thumbs up. He deserved it.

Listening to: "Star Trek Girl"
Reading: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling

Acoustic.

The best thing that happened today was that I forgot to make a lunch. I know that sounds bad, but it was for a good cause. I decided to download an album of strummy chilliness onto my iPod before I left for school. It was taking longer than expected, and while I was worrying about being late the concept that I might need to eat around noon completely escaped me. The album was Around the Well by Iron & Wine.

I finally went to the art museum on campus. The architecture alone is stupendous. I wanted to run up and down all the steps. It was serene listening to the fountains echoing cavernously underneath the gentle guitar of Iron & Wine.

I also got to hang out with some good friends tonight. They just got a new roommate (another friend of mine) who brought with her a ginormous bean bag. She was doing flips onto it without incident. I view this as extra incentive to visit these extraordinary ladies. That, and they always feed me yummies.

Listening to: Castle
Reading: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling

Are these funeral potatoes?

I was going to make a post bragging about my Starburst-flavored chapstick, but the awesome conversation at FHE tonight trumps it. I heard somewhere that the mark of a good conversation is that you can't remember what was said. I suppose if I tried I could list some things that were talked about (one of the guys took a class from Brandon Sanderson), but all in all it was a wonderful night because people were laughing and interrupting each other and exchanging knowing looks. For once I wasn't the one doing most of the talking at my table. I spoke my fair share, but there were people with just as much or more to say. I wish every Monday night could be this fabulous.

Listening to: "Tu Angelito Soy Yo"
Reading: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling

Heartstrings.

I've been working my way through the Harry Potter series again. I just finished number four. I love that no matter how many times I experience something, be it a book or a movie or something else, it can still make me cry. I know what's coming. I've felt this all before. Call me a girl (you'd be spot on), but it still touches me in just the same way. In this instance, it was Dumbledore's toast to Cedric at the Leaving Feast. He has a way with words, that one. Great man, Dumbledore.

Listening to: "Take It Easy" by The Eagles
Reading: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling

Romance.

I went to the zoo yesterday intending to sketch. I did a little. The wallabies were being particularly obliging models (they were asleep), but the shifty ocelot...not so much. I wandered through the kids' section for a short while before deciding to head home. Before I did, though, I decided to see just a few more animals, then just a few more. I stumbled across a part of the zoo I don't think I'd ever seen before. I won't describe it because I want to preserve it in my memory. I don't want to warp it or jinx it. The second to last thing I saw was the komodo dragon exhibit. I'm fairly certain they didn't have those last time I was there. I know; I looked. They're such pretty beasts. Naturally the last thing I saw was the giraffes. I can't go to that zoo without visiting the giraffes at their giant, multi-species enclosure. I love that they have room to run. I arrived at just the right time: feeding time. They're fed extremely close to the fence, so the view was amazing. I could've stood there until they all wandered away.

Listening to: "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" by U2
Reading: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling

Burrito.

Today I spent an hour writing a letter and amicably chatting with a friend instead of studying. It was nice.

It looks like my new Latin professor is going to be marvelous. If nothing else, one has to give the man props for enthusiasm.

Institute is going to be fun this semester, and I'll be learning about sections of Church history concerning which my knowledge is currently rather fuzzy.

Listening to: "Don't Look Back" by She and Him
Reading: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling

Hiatus.

I've been spending far too much time on the internet lately, so I'm going to take a break for a while. I'll probably peek at Facebook once a day, but other than that I'm dropping off the radar. My internet use is going to be limited to school-related browsing. I need this. The internet has been eating up my time. I've forgotten what it feels like to be taken over by a book. I need to rediscover that and rediscover the world outside my screen.

There's more to life than this.

For now, ciao.

Listening to: The Rocketeer
Reading: The Buddha of Suburbia

Week in review.

Monday was fabulous. I put off my Spanish homework to go to FHE, and I'm so glad I did. The activity was a crazy don't-get-tagged dash with swords made out of PVC pipe and pool noodles. Dessert was root beer floats. After the activity, one of the guys made a ball out of his sock and some duct tape and an impromptu, teamless, makeshift baseball game commenced. I actually think it was better than the planned activity. While I didn't play myself, I had a blast watching. Someone even got up and started comedically announcing the plays.

Tuesday I stayed after school, ostensibly to study Latin with a friend. We mostly just ended up chatting. It was wonderful. I don't get enough sophisticated discourse in my life.

Wednesday just continued the goodness. I hung out with the Magnificent after school. We went to her apartment and four of us girls watched How to Train Your Dragon. It felt so good to get thoughts and feelings out that I haven't had the opportunity to express for some time. Sometimes you just need to look a friend in the eye and bare your soul. Of course, the conversation degenerated into us comparing our feet, but that's what's marvelous about friends like her. Anything is fair game.

Today was the first Thursday to officially be just for dad and me. We watched HP6, had root beer floats (I snagged leftover ingredients on Monday), and played a couple games of chess. It was nice. I love spending time with him.

Listening to: "Bohemian Rhapsody" by The Muppets
Reading: Language Awareness

Bum-scooching.

There was no school yesterday in honor of Veterans Day, so I slept in to a ridiculous hour and then whiled away the time until I met my friends for a night of awesome. Fortunately for NaNoWriMo, that whiling away included working on my novel. Unfortunately for the same, I've been neglecting said novel for a good week and my word count is laughably low. As in, it's nearly the end of week two and I just barely topped the word count goal for day one. It's all good. Steady on, men.

At 4 PM I met my friends B. and C., and we went to an antique book store and tried not to drool on some pretty amazing tomes. We all completed an exercise in self-restraint and walked out of there with no more than we'd taken in. Next came Panda Express.

Eventually, we met up with some other people and went to a drive-in theater. We saw a double feature of Shrek Forever After and Megamind. I enjoyed both, though the latter a bit more so. It was tremendous. We completely picked the wrong time of year to go. It was quite cold. Granted, it's better than most parts of the country, but it still wasn't the best weather to be sitting around in lawn chairs.

I spent most of today helping out with the Fall Forum, which was an event for high schoolers hosted by the Classics department (think Latin and ancient Greek). It was nice. I didn't really do much more than set up and take down, but it was relaxing to just chill in the SS Atrium all day. It helped that I had a good friend there to chat with.

This evening B. came over to watch some premieres on Disney Channel because we're both 12 and proud of it. I've been referring to it as Gregg Sulkin Night. Avalon High was spectacular! The names were especially clever and some of the plot twists were admirably twisty. I did not see that coming. It's definitely something I would buy. I suppose since I loved the movie so much, it's time to read the book. Sorry, Meg Cabot. School takes up a lot of time, you know?

After the fabulous movie, the season premiere of Wizards of Waverly Place was a wee bit of a let down. Still, all in all a grand night. I think I made a wise decision in topping it off with rewatching all of Alex Reads Twilight.

Listening to: Alex Reads Twilight

Reading: A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh

Expecto patronum.

Let me just get this out. This is my blog, and I can rant like a crazy person if I want to.

To the guy who tried to asked me to see HP7 with him tonight: let me tell you a few things.

1. You've admitted that you've never read the books and that you haven't even seen all of the movies. No. Just no.

2. When a I am trying to inform you gently that I don't want to go see HP7 with you, the correct response is not to tell me that I just must not be a big enough Harry Potter fan. For starters, see point one. Then lets take into consideration that I first started reading HP when I was 7. That means I've been involved with it for more than half my life. Heck, I've known Harry, Ron, and Hermione longer than my best friend. My love affair with HP started about 10 minutes after I started reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I remember what I ate for dinner that night. I loved HP before most of my peers had even heard of it. Don't talk about things you can't even begin to fathom.

3. When I say that I'm funny about movies, the correct response is not, "Oh, yeah, sure." After I see a movie for the first time, I like to be left alone. When I say alone, I mean talk to me and die. I have trouble remembering any movie after which someone hasn't asked me whether something was wrong. After I see a movie, I am lost in a place in my mind where no one can follow. This is a state of mind that should not be disturbed, especially by awkward first date conversation.

4. If you think I'm funny about just any movie, imagine how much worse I am when that movie is one of the last installments in a film franchise based on a book series that has been an integral part of most of my life. If you had trouble wrapping your mind around point two, just try to get it around this one. I dare you.

5. I do not want HP7 to forever be associated with you or any other guy.

6. Even if you didn't see it, I'm sure you heard at some point about the CES fireside in which an apostle of the Lord told the YSAs of the Church that people shouldn't go to the movies on dates until they're, you know, married. Something about it being a horrible situation for conversation, thus for getting to know people, and in a dark and just generally not wise place to be in such a scenario.

So, no. No, I will not go to HP7 with you. Not in this existence.

Listening to: YouTube
Reading: A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh

Impresario.

Sometimes I'll say to myself, "What am I doing? I'm not trying to impress anyone." Mostly this occurs while I'm deciding what to wear. Well, it's a lie.

True, most of the time I don't really try to impress people with the way I dress, but sometimes I actually do. Why am I lying to myself?

Appearances may not be supreme to me, but that doesn't mean I'm not trying to impress anybody. Although I try to deny it and convince myself otherwise, appearances do matter to me. More than that, though, I'm guilty of trying to impress people on a deeper level. There are times when I say nothing because I am afraid of saying the wrong thing. Other times, I look back on conversations I've just had and wonder whether I totally flubbed the situation.

Why would I care if I wasn't trying to make a good impression? It's time I acknowledged this.

I don't yet know what application admitting this to myself will have, but I think it's important to be honest with myself. I'll figure out what to do with that honesty later.

Listening to: Frank Sinatra
Reading: A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh

Serious thoughts.

I've been thinking a lot lately about how I want to be.

Listening to: Frank Sinatra
Reading: A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh

Unnormalcy.

I feel I should mention Monday before it slips from my mind into oblivion.

It all started when I stopped by Grandpa's after school to deliver his mail. I had to wait around for a good 20 minutes while his girlfriend showed off her turtle, then as I was trying to leave they invited me out to lunch.

They suggested going to KFC, so I started following them in my own truck, planning on going straight home afterwards. Not far into our journey, it happened that there were two vehicles in front of me that looked pretty much the same, one being my grandpa's and the other being very much, well, not. Eventually one turned and the other didn't. I chose to stick with the wrong one. Also, it turns out that there really is no KFC to be found where Google Maps thought there should be one.

Finally my grandpa got in touch with me. Apparently he had to go all the way back home to get his cellphone because he'd forgotten it. We went to the Big Apple for lunch instead. Grandpa's girlfriend talked pretty much the entire time and kept hitting on the waiter who, at the end of the meal, turned to me and said, "This may be kind of strange, but I think you're really cute and I'd like to take you out sometime. Can I have your phone number?" Wow, dude. You get mad props for being the first guy to straight up ask me for my number. We have a tentative date set for Tuesday.

I went straight from dinner to K.'s so that we could work on our novels for NaNoWriMo together. On the way, a car in front of me plowed right through a flock of pigeons that was sitting in the middle of the road. Most of them flew away in time, but one of them took a major hit. The car just zoomed on through the explosion of feathers, but I was totally unnerved by the poor little body falling back to the road. I seriously considered stopping, but I didn't know what I could do. I just kept going. It was so sad.

FHE that night was a post-Halloween dance. It was totally awesome. There were some great costumes. My favorites were all four Ninja Turtles, Sean Connery, and Quail Boy. There was also a girl dressed like a lemonade stand. My old home teacher gained instant popularity by dressing up as Justin Bieber. I wasn't really a fan.

At last I fell into bed with worn-out shins that were already promising to ache by Tuesday.



Listening to: "I Like It" by Enrique Iglesias
Reading: The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West

Circadian.

Well, huh. This is unusual. It's before 8 AM on a Saturday and I'm up, quite willingly I might add.

Actually, I first kind of woke up around 6:15, when my weekday alarms usually start going off. Since I didn't go to bed until midnight (I was playing with my Kindle), I decided that wasn't enough sleep, so back I went to La Tierra de los Sueños. The next time I woke up, the sun was streaming through my east-facing window. The birds are singing. I can hear my Dad on the phone. Almost eight hours is much better. I briefly considered going back to sleep again, but why? I'm not really tired. I got a good amount of sleep. Why not get up?

So I did. I am. It's surreal.

Fun tidbit, since I've decided to continue with Latin for the next few years. I hope it can find its way in with my two majors. I would love it if it could. Psh! what am I talking about? I would love this information anyway. It's that whole etymology thing again. Circadian, as in circadian rhythm, comes from Latin circa, meaning around, and diem, meaning day. So, around a day.

Another interesting, and possibly useful thing to know, is that in Roman times, only men and prostitutes wore actual togas. Women wore other garments. Single women wore either a peplos or a chiton, while wives wore something called a stola. Good information to have if you ever find yourselves time travelling.

Listening to: birds singing
Reading: The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne

Accomplishments.

A few highlights, since my week felt like too much at the time for me to want to squeeze blogging in.

First, Conference last weekend was grand. Plus, I made serious progress on a quilt while I was watching. It even turns out that we own an iron, which is great. I'm a big fan of ironing seams open for neatness when stitching various parts together, and by "big fan" I mean I'm a little obsessive about it. This iron exceeds all expectations. It's a beast. I'm guessing it's older than me, but if not, it's at least not from this millennium.

Last Saturday, I also went out to dinner with Dad and company. Halfway through my chimichanga at Matta's, the doors opened like the parting of the Red Sea and the children of Israel crossed in. Men in suits and boys in dress shirts stood four abreast from the counter to the sidewalk. I thought I recognized the missionaries who showed up, but I didn't ask them how the Priesthood session was, though I kind of wanted to. Still, it was pretty awesome seeing the flood of priesthood holders wash in.

Wednesday was a rather splendid day. After dollar-lunch at the Institute (ginormous burritos and a variety of ice creams, including a delicious rainbow sherbet), I stayed on campus later than usual to talk to a teacher and then to go to an information meeting for people who want to study abroad. The meeting was pretty sweet, and I got a bit of a nap in beforehand in a chair outside the study abroad office. I'm pretty sure some people in the office across the way were staring at me, and it wasn't the most comfortable seat, but hey. Sleep is sleep. For the first part of the meeting, I was the only one there, which was nice. I had the two peer advisors all to myself. Another guy eventually showed up, but we're both interested in going to Spain, so the conversation didn't fly off in any new directions. After the meeting, it was late enough that I didn't feel like fighting the beginnings of rush hour traffic to merge onto the freeway, so I took the arterial streets home. It was nice and relaxing. The weather was amazing! I had my wipers on full blast to see through the rain, but the skies were still blue. Eventually I got out from under the rain and  rolled the window down. I drove down the pretty, downtown-ish part of Main St., which includes the temple, all the while enjoying a Mexican radio station I found that plays a bunch of dance music. Shakira, Shakira! The next part of Main was semi-flooded, which I found awesome and hilarious. I love seeing water split around the front of an SUV as if it were the prow of a ship. Sadly, I was in the entirely wrong lane going the wrong way to splash through too many small ponds myself. After the amphibious blocks, there was some construction. What a day to drive down that road, huh? I was enjoying the experience so much, and was so much stunned by the revelation that there was an Arby's on Main St., that I didn't even realize I had passed my turn until the style of the street signs changed and I was suddenly in a 50 MPH zone. Most ironically, the Arby's is on the corner where I needed to turn and is a place I've actually eaten before. Go figure. When I finally got home and stepped out of my truck, I decided that the day was just too fine and the concrete just too perfect after the rain. I decided to kick my shoes off so my feet could enjoy the gorgeous circumstances. I was attempting to just kick them as close as I could get to the door, but the first one went a mite higher than I expected and landed on the roof. Which I found just too funny. I can't remember, but I may have even gone down the street to check the mail before I tried to retrieve it. I was a little worried about the rescue mission at first, but once I realized we don't have rain gutters, it all fell into place quite neatly. After several attempts at throwing the hose, I managed to hook it behind the flipflop and just drag it off. It's not right how proud that made me feel of myself.

I had a paper due Friday in Brit lit, so Thursday was a little busy for me. I honestly meant to start it on Wednesday, but I just kind of crashed that afternoon after all the excitement of the day. Thursday's was an evening of procrastination. After straightening my clutter and reorganizing my bookshelves, I finally sat down to my paper. In a strange turn of events, I finished it. True, it was around 1 AM, but I'm just too thrilled that it was the proper length and everything to mind about that. That's actually earlier than I decided I could stay up in the event of a worst case scenario. I'm a little worried that I might've gotten too plot summary-ish there at the end, but it's too late to worry about it now. It's out of my hands.

My Latin and English tests yesterday went well. The woman overseeing the English test didn't even care whether we used our notes. Really. She would bring it up from time to time. I was a little worried about Latin, since I didn't make my note cards until earlier that morning, but there were only a few words I was unsure of, and checking later, I only got one of them wrong. Apparently "vix" means "scarecly" and not "since." But I'm sure the bonus more than made up for that. I wasn't really worried about the English test. Basically, if you spoke English natively, you should've been able to wing most of it. The other parts I wasn't too worried about because they were concepts that either were common sense or were covered in my intro to linguistics last semester.

Yesterday, I watched nine straight hours of Wizards of Waverly Place. It was awesome. Okay, so I'm twelve, but it wasn't a completely wasted day. I did a load of laundry, and most shockingly, I cleaned my bathtub. That deserves more than just boldface. It should have some sort of fanfare, a parade maybe, a blimp flashing the message, perhaps an international ad campaign. I've spared you to avoid being ostentatious. It's like a whole new tub. I was going to feel a little bad about not doing any homework, but this just makes it all better. I feel so accomplished.

Listening to: "A Year Without Rain" by Selena Gomez
Reading: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad