Thursday, May 21, 2009

100 Things About Me

I'm totally ripping this from my aunts' blogs. But I just acknowledged it, so it's not plagiarism. It's an homage. :-)

1. I am the biggest bookworm I know.

2. My record is reading three (entire) books in one day. They were short books.

3. I have never dyed my hair.

4. I have, however, used a sort of commercial "lemon rinse" to highlight it a little blonder in the summer.

5. I never wore makeup (except for a little mascara) until I went to Florida. I only started because the foundation I wear has sunscreen in it.

6. I have since become one of those girls who won't leave the house without makeup on. Some days I really hate that, other days not so much.

7. I sunburn really easily and I absolutely cannot tan. Hence, #5.

8. I did tan once in my life, when I went to Hawaii. I burned my neck and shoulders by wearing my hair up on a day we ended up spending most of the day outside. A couple of days later I burned my whole back really badly snorkeling because the sunscreen I wore didn't work. The part that was already burned blistered really badly, and I spent a week lying on my stomach wearing nothing but the biggest oversized t-shirt I had when I got back. After the peeling was finally done I had a nice, dark, swimsuit-shaped tan. You could still see the tan line over a year later, if you knew what you were looking at.

9.I have only ever found two sunscreens that actually work on my skin. Both, sadly, were discovered after #8.

10. I collect keychains. I probably have 50+, mostly from Claire's.

11.I know it's junior high-ish, but I still absolutely adore Claire's.

12.Again, I know it's so thirteen of me, but I'm a junkie for Lip Smackers. And I miss the old, independent flavors. Anymore they're all exotic Starburst and Skittle flavors, which are great, but give me cotton candy and pink lemonade any day.

13. I have successfully written (and by written I mean finished!) a novel, and am currently in the process of revising it in order to make it readable. Of course, by "current" I mean I have worked on it within the last 18 months, and I intend to start working on it again within the next 12.

14. Every year I vow to give up procrastination for Lent. Next year.

15. #14 is half joke, half serious.

16. Being not only the oldest child, but the oldest cousin on both sides of my family, I always felt a lot of pressure from always being the first to do things (baptism, driving, graduating, etc). So it was quite a relief to have both cousins and a sister get married before I did.

17. I am determined to figure out how to make money blogging. Surely I'm as interesting as all these other random "nobodies" who manage it.

18. I like to cook, but I kind of suck at it. I've been experimenting a little the last year or so, and I think I'm getting better.

19. I'm a really good baker.

20. I want to learn how to use spices for more than just seasoning hamburgers and homemade spaghetti sauce.

21. If I could afford to be a professional student, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

22. I want Samantha Brown's (from the Travel Channel) job.

23. I don't mind (and sometimes enjoy) silence if there are other people in the vicinity, but I hate it when I'm alone. It makes me lonely.

24. I wish Logan had a community symphony so I could play in it.

25. When I fist started playing the cello, I also wanted to learn the flute, clarinet, trombone, and harp. The harp is the only one I'm still determined to learn someday.

26. I was also determined to someday be bigger than Yo-yo Ma. How's that for childhood ambition?

27. I was in academically advanced programs at school from second to eighth grade, and I did well in them. When we moved to Utah the next two years of school were almost completely reviews of things I'd already learned, and I could sense that I was losing whatever "advanced-ness" I had. By the time I was a junior in high school, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been let back into the program if we'd moved back to Idaho.

28. #27 still bothers me, and I REALLY don't want my kids to go to school in Utah.

29. I love the movie "Sons of Provo" and the soundtrack cracks me up every time I listen to it. (one of the songs just started on itunes)

30. Math was really easy for me until seventh grade. From then on a C was pretty much equivalent to an A for me.

31. Toward the end of college I considered moving to New York to try to get a job at the UN a a translator. One of the biggest reasons I did was because French is such a common language, so I was also looking into universities that offered a wide array of language programs.

32. If I hadn't gone to Florida I was tentatively planning on either moving to New York or Seattle after graduating.

33. I still want to learn more languages, and am immensely jealous that Shay knows Latin.

34. I am a total Star Wars nut. Have been since I was six.

35. I read (and own) Star Wars novels.

36. I am a lifetime member of the (fictional) "The Book is ALWAYS Better than the Movie" Club.

37. I organize my CDs according to the order in which I got them, my books by subject and height, and my DVDs not at all.

38. I've always loved taking pictures, and lately I've really been getting in to taking "good" pictures. I'm thinking of taking a photography class.

39. I will always giggle at the irony of Wall-E being a Disney movie, and at fat people wearing "Buy'N'Large" t-shirts.

40. I will always love Disney, but I don't think I could ever work there again. Not for a good long time, at least.

41. I love roller coasters.

42. Chocoholic doesn't even begin to describe me.

43. If I'm allergic to anything, it's not something I've ever discovered. That worries me a little on the rare occasions when I actually think about it.

44. The only concert I've ever been to was the Beach Boys at Epcot November of '07. Unless you count symphony concerts. Or concerts I performed in.

45. Except for Disney parades, I have not seen a parade since the last time I marched in one eight years ago.

46. I still shudder when I think of the hideous color guard uniforms we wore my first two years.

47. Color guard is probably what I miss the most about high school.

48. I've been at this for an hour, and I'm only halfway. This is harder than I thought!!

49. When I was little I thought my uncle was my cousin who happened to live at grandma's house since he was so close to my age. I think I was about six or seven before I figured out the reality, and that everybody's name wasn't "Aunt" or "Uncle."

50. My senior year of college my ward taught a family history Sunday School class. I really enjoyed it, and kind of got into family history for a while, until I went to Florida and was so far away from everybody. I want to get back into it.

51. I'm a sucker for chick flicks.

52. I absolutely adore shoes and shoe shopping. I think I got it from my Grandma.

53. I can watch "I Love the 80s" on VH1 for hours.

54. Luke and I did that one Sunday afternoon in Florida. It was really fun talking about what we remembered, and a really good way to learn more about each other.

55. Shortly before I left Florida I discovered the Food Network Cake Challenge. I really wish we got free cable here like I did there.

56. I'm definitely a cat person.

57. On that note, while I love animals, I also like being able to give them back when I'm done.

58. I was bitten by a teddy bear hampster at a pet store in . . . I think seventh grade.

59. I was kicked by a colt when I was fourteen. I had a horsehoe shaped bruise on my thigh for about six weeks.

60. Horses used to be my favorite animal. Now it's a tie between dolphins and koalas. Although after reading this, I'm not sure how I feel about dolphins any more. They're still so cute!!

61. I kept my first cell phone for five years, and I only replaced it because it was literally starting to fall apart.

62. While I admit I like having a camera on my new phone, I fail to see the necessity of having a smart phone. I have a camera, and I have the internet. Why would I want anything even remotely like an iphone?

63. The firt CD I owned was N'Sync's first album. I got it as partial payment for babysitting for my aunt one summer. Part of the reason she got it for me ws because we both had a feeling my mother wouldn't approve. It's scratched a bit, but I still have it.

64. Even though I recognize that the writing isn't stellar, and the plot is kind of corny, I still love Twilight.

65. Again, I know the writing realy isn't very good, but even so the first time I read a Dan Brown novel, I can't put it down.

66. I mean #65 literally. The first time I read The DaVinci Code, my roommate had to take the book away and hand me my backpack to get me to go to the class we had together. After we got back from class I went straight back to the book and didn't move for three hours until I'd finished.

67. I absolutely hate the Harry Potter movies, and haven't even watched one after the third.

68. I love and collect purses. I don't have nearly as many as I have shoes.

69. I absolutely adore necklaces. I probably have 30 or more.

70. I had a thing for pirates before the movies. The movies magnified that liking exponentially.

71. I'm still driving my first car. I'm not sure how much longer she'll last though.

72. I won't use an umbrella unless it's absolutely torrential rain. I think it comes from being born in Washington. Umbrellas are for tourists and wimps.

73. I love hearing people try to pronounce the town I was born in. (Puyallup, for those who don't know)

74. I'll give people a list of Washington place names and giggle as they try to pronounce them.

75. I would love to live in the Pacific Northwest.

76. I'd like to go back to school for a third (or fourth or fifth . . .) bachelor's in another language.

77. The next languages I want to learn are (in order): Arabic, Hebrew, Chinese, Italian, and Tagalog.

78. I think the BYU honor code is just about the most hypocritical thing on the planet.

79. Thanks to Luke, I am really getting in to Japanese anime . . . it's much cooler than I ever imagined!!

80. I am obsessed with waterfalls. I could sit and watch one for hours.

81. I love rearranging furniture. I;ll usually do it about twice a year. It's such an easy way to "remodel!"

82. I was seriously depressed when Les Mis closed on Broadway before I got to see it.

83. I can sing multiple Broadway soundtracks more or less word for word. Not necessarily really well, but I know them. Les Mis was the first, Aida the latest.

84. I considered trying to transfer to the Disney Cruise Line instead of going full time at WDW.

85. Right at this moment I'm considering just stopping this list now because I can't think of anything else . . .

86. I've driven cross-country (well . . . Utah to the east coast . . .) three times. In the last three years.

87. I like the Disneyland versions of rides better than the Disney World versions, for the most part.

88. I love decorating for holidays, but at the same time a part of me argues that it's silly and pointless.

89. I absolutely refuse to listen to Christmas music anytime other than after Thanksgiving to about Dec. 28. It becomes a bit of an inner battle of wills not to do so around the end of October.

90. I don't really like making lists. Usually.

91. In high school, every time I convinced myself I wasn't a particularly competitive person, we would play scripture chase in seminary.

92. I'm a very competitive person.

93. I could waste hours and hours reading Slate.

94. I've had an email address since I was twelve.

95. I can't remember a time when we didn't have a computer and printer. I can, on the other hand, remember not having a VCR.

96. I haven't watched TV in about six weeks, something I would have thought impossible when I was younger.

97. I like collecting paint chips from stores and picking colors that go together, even if I'm not going to be painting anything.

98. I hate sports. I see no point in watching them on TV and paying the players incredible amounts of money. Any sort of sporting event leaves me bored to tears.

99. The one exception to #98 is the Olympics, which I love. I always have to watch the gymnastics and figure skating, and I watch as much of everything else as I can.

100. When I was little, I thought numbers stopped at 100.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Can You Get Any More Cliched?

Okay, I'll admit it. I like "girly" music. Kelly Clarkson? Yep. Carrie Underwood? You betcha! < / Sarah Palin voice > Taylor Swift? I'm a junkie. Wicked? Dude, I was obsessed with Wicked before it was cool . . . at least, before it was cool with all the non-Broadway-junkies. But I am NOTHING compared to the girl who lives above (previously next door to) us and, apparently, has even less of a life than I do.

It started the last week we were upstairs. The semester had just ended, and people were moving out/in for the summer. Woot. So there we are, in our bedroom watching a movie, when we hear music from next door. No big problem, the walls aren't exactly thick, and it's faint, unlike the music the guys on the groundfloor tended to blast from their cars in the parking lot. You know the type - nothing but a beat, and the bass cranked up to higher than the knob even goes. I kid you not, the windows of our THIRD FLOOR apartment rattled from this music three stories below, and on the opposite side of the building. Not cool. But I digress.

So the music we hear from next door is "Defying Gravity" from the aforementioned Wicked. A fellow showtunes fan, sweet! But then . . . she sings along with it. Loud enough that we can hear her singing too. Now, I'll admit, I'm not exactly American Idol material (except maybe for the audition/humiliation episodes, whoch are the only ones I watch), but I can more or less carry a tune, and I know a decent voice when I hear one. And this is not a decent voice. The really annoying thing is, it isn't a bad one either. It's just one of those "always about a quarter step off the note", but at least consistently off instead of "all over the place tone deaf." If she were that bad, I probably would have punctured my ear drums by now. Because she plays her music ALL. THE. TIME. That wouldn't be so bad, heck, even her singing wouldn't be so bad if she had a more expansive playlist. But this is one itunes library in desperate need of some help. Going back to the first night of this minor horror, I'll admit I was a little psyched to get to listen to Wicked, if only as background noise. But . . . no. *sad face* We heard "Defying Gravity" over. And over. And over. And over. And over. I'd guess at least twenty times that night.

Now at the time, I tried to be a little forgiving. I know what it is to be in the mood, so to speak, for a song. Heaven knows I've played more than one song on repeat for an hour or more in my time. But that was two weeks ago, and I haven't heard another song from Wicked yet. Are you freaking kidding me?!?! LAME!!!!! Sure, "Defying Gravity" is a great song . . . but it's a poser song, if you will. It's the one song EVERYBODY knows. It's like those people who see a director's biggest movie and then go around talking like a film snob, "Oh yes, the cinematography in Citizen Kane was just breathtaking." *sip tea with pinking up* "And next week we're going to spend some time at our second home in the Hamptons, aren't we darling?" (on a completely unrelated note, you should hear Luke do a snob-voice. He has it to a "t"!) I'm mean, come on. You want good Wicked music? Try "No One Mourns the Wicked," "Not That Girl," or my personal top three tracks, "As Long As You're Mine," "For Good," and "Dancing Through Life" - now there's a song I can play on repeat all day! You want good Broadway? Why aren't you playing Little Women or Cabaret or Les Mis? Forget the feel-good-girly-power-ballad.

Thankfully, she does have more than one song on her playlist. Sadly, I can name every song I've ever heard coming from upstairs . . . mostly because I've heard them all more times than I care to think about since she's moved in. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present the List of Shame:

Defying Gravity (definitely played the most)
I Told You So
Just a Dream (both by Carrie Underwood)
Since U Been Gone
Because of You
Behind These Hazel Eyes
A Moment Like This (all kelly Clarkson)
Love Story
Our Song
Teardrops on My Guitar
Should've Said No (all Taylor Swift)

There are a couple of others in there, but I can't think of them at the moment. But surely you can see the trend they follow? Seriously. As Luke puts it, could there be any more stereotypical high school/college aged-girl music? I don't think so. Don't get me wrong, I like all of these songs. But where is the variety? She's even missing some of the good songs by these artists, like "Before He Cheats" and "Picture To Burn" . . . what's up with that?! Again - LAME! Not to mention the fact . . . well, I could name tons of artists she's missing. And seeing as our tastes coincide at least a little, I think she'd like them. But . . . no. Just . . . no. not going there. I'm sure these songs were all carefully handpicked because they are completely unobjectionable and church-dance appropriate. "As Long As You're Mine" would probably scandalize the poor thing. But I swear, one of these days, I am going to point my stereo speakers at the ceiling and blast Aerosmith or Bowling for Soup for, like, an hour. After all, college is about expanding your horizons, isn't it? *evil laugh*

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

What I Miss

So I had a dream about Disney World last night, and then Brandy (one of my old Florida roommates) called me today. And since I'd already been making this list in my head (sort of) thought I'd write it out.

What I Miss About Florida:
  1. Earl of Sandwich
  2. getting into the parks for free (naturally)
  3. Club Cool (except for the Beverly)
  4. Fantasmic
  5. SpectroMagic
  6. Mall at Millenia (ritziest mall ever)
  7. spending all day at a park, not going on any rides, and still having a blast
  8. Pirate & Princess / Not-So-Scary / Very Merry
  9. Cici's (this should probably be #1)
  10. mountain tours at MK (translation: riding Space, Splash, and Big Thunder Mountain at Magic Kingdom)
  11. Illuminations
  12. Yakitori House & Mitsukoshi
  13. Tangerine Cafe
  14. the rest of World Showcase
  15. show requesting Ben and Keith at GMR (the Great Movie Ride)
  16. AWESOME thunderstorms
  17. the way it's impossible to get lost on Disney property . . . sooner or later you'll either find a sign pointing to where you're trying to go or you'll end up at MK
  18. topiaries
  19. character pictures
  20. little girls dressed up as princesses . . . curtseying and calling them by them name of the princess who's dress they're wearing . . . and watching either their confusion or delight . . .
  21. the stunt drivers . . . mostly Chad and Ron
  22. pineapple floats . . . almost better than chocolate!!
  23. Pizza Planet . . . it really tastes better than the other pizza on property!!
  24. Pecos Bill's Tall Tale Cafe . . . grilled onions for their burgers . . . best thing ever on a burger!! Plus the cute little Asian girl who took our order gave me a free carrot cake last year on my birthday because I was wearing a birthday pin and a little tiara. :-)
  25. The Adv. Club . . . Hathaway Browne, a little piece of my heart will always belong to you! ;-)
  26. picking up shifts off EHH
  27. carrot cake cookies
  28. PB&J milkshakes
  29. easy overtime in the busy season
  30. resort hopping
I could go on, but I think I'll stop there.

What I Don't Miss:
  1. HUMIDITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  2. TOURONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  3. people who think they know everything about an attraction . . . when they've been there the least amount of time of all the full timers
  4. the way all the roads have the same name - SR 535 / CR 535, Apopka-Vineland / Kissimee-Vineland / Lakeland-Vineland / etc.
  5. hurricanes . . . never saw a bad one, but the two I experienced were just obnoxious . . .
  6. LMA dumps
  7. the lack of mountains
  8. giant Brazilian tour groups
  9. getting "isn't there supposed to be a 3D show?" at Honey
  10. warm shows when it's raining buckets
  11. warm shows with sopping wet suits
  12. mandatory overtime
  13. the Christmas / spring break rushes
  14. two words - CHEER. BRATS.
  15. "why is it raining?"
  16. cost/corner cutting
  17. CDS
  18. the ugly / ill-fitting costumes . . . I never once found one that fit just right . . .
  19. wearing black socks
  20. ugly black shoes with holes in them
  21. the ghettoness of the tank breakroom
  22. Motions (went there twice . . . didn't like it either time)
  23. hugely expensive movie ticket prices
  24. hugely expensive rent (our rent now is cheaper than the shares we wer paying with roommates in Orlando!)
  25. not enough parking at Downtown Disney
  26. church in a hotel . . . fun at first, but it kinda got old after a while . . . miss the ward though . . .
  27. drenching, unending rain with no cool thunder or lightening to go with it
  28. hugely expensive prices for pretty much everything
  29. TOURONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  30. HUMIDITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday, May 9, 2009

A Slight Reversal of Gender Roles

You know what the best thing about being married is, at least in my case?

Well yeah, that too. But I was actually referring to the fact that Luke is an absolute cleaning nut. He loves to clean. Scrubbing, moping, sweeping, wiping, he does it all. Except the dishes. We have an arrangement - he cleans the bathroom, I do the dishes, and we'll split the rest of the chores. But when it comes to heavy duty cleaning, he loves doing it. In fact, right now he's doing a major spring cleaning of our new apartment. You see, when Luke moved from Tremonton to Logan back in January, he bought a spring semester contract that some kid was selling, and got four months of rent for, essentially, $150 a month. Score!! But that contract is up tomorrow, and for us to sign a new one we had to do a month to month lease. The apartment we were in was on the top floor, and townhouse style. And $50 a month more than the first two floors, which are only one level. I didn't quite get the reason for the difference, because all the apartments are 2/1's, and I thought, if anything, the top apartments should be cheaper because not only to you have to haul all your crap (and yourself at the end of a long day) up six flights of stairs to get to your apartment, to get to the bedroom or bathroom you have to go up even more stairs. I remember that as the biggest pain in the butt my freshman year of college, when I was also on the top floor. But that might have had more to do with the fact that I had no car, so I spent all day walking. And the fact that those dorms were really old and CRAPPY. But I digress. Anyway, it turns out that the lower apartments have, essentially, no kitchen. No, seriously. We traded a small, but manageable bathroom and a positively spacious kitchen with even a little more cupboard space than we needed for a bathroom twice as big - and really bigger than we need - and a kitchen that only has room for one person at a time. I kid you not. I think it's about 8 inches wide . . . maybe less. And cupboard space? Forget it! Right now half our stuff is still piled on the counter (which is pretty good sized) and dining table because . . . well, partly because after hauling everything downstairs today I was rather tired and didn't want to do anymore . . . but also because I have no idea where I'm going to put things because our cupboard space has been more than cut in half. Blargh. Happily though, my awesome husband (still not quite used to saying that!) brought me a make-shift pantry home from work. Okay, so it's actually just some shelves that we put in one of two living room closets, but it works. And seriously, TWO closets in the living room? What's up with that? Forget the closets and give me a kitchen I can turn around in without having to sidle out of it! I'll definitely have to post pictures soon.

Anyway, back to the cleaning. As I mentioned, Luke loves cleaning. Honestly, as long as I agreed to do the dishes, I don't think I'd have to do anything else for the rest of my life. And on one level, I could totally roll with that. On the other hand, sometimes I find myself bored and wanting to rearrange and clean rooms. So I imagine I'll be doing my share of cleaning. But if there's one thing I absolutely loathe . . . other than tourons . . . it's deep cleaning. Cleaning things that haven't been cleaned in years . . . if ever. You know the stuff. Behind the fridge. Under the stove. Scary places like that. But for the last three hours or so, that's just what Luke's been doing. And even though I haven't really seen anything, I've been grossed out, and slightly terrified for his life, because I keep hearing these noises coming from the kitchen. Things like "ewww, disgusting" and "oh my . . . ick" and challenges and threats directed at the grease and gunk. Those last are really the most disturbing because, sure, everybody talks to inanimate objects every now and again, but challenging decades old grime to a duel of honor where the weapons are 409 cleaner and a big bucket of soapy water? Either I'm in way over my head, or the toxic cleaning fumes are getting to him. I have the distinct feeling that either way, I should be worried. And on top of just the general nastiness of it all is the fact that the girls who used to live here were (and probably still are) Indian. As in from India, not "the peoples indiginous to North America." So, they of course cooked with curry. I'm not particularly familiar with curry, but apparently it's pretty slimy and sticky. And nasty to clean off the side of ovens. And refrigerators. And counters. Luke, in describing the nasty scene I was content not to see, called them "range boogers," saying it was like the stove wiped its boogers on . . . well, pretty much everything. And then they dried. Eww. So I've kept to the living room, protecting my virgin eyes from the horrors of a college apartment kitchen. Because I know every other place I've lived for the last seven years has been just as nasty. Again, eww. I would almost rather have just left this place the way it was and pretend it was clean just like my first run-down on-campus place. Or the totally ghetto place I just left in Florida.. They were filthy. I'm sure they were. But no one ever pulled out the appliances to clean behind them, so we could all happily pretend it was pretty and spotless underneath them. That's my version of cleaning - if you can't see it, then it must be clean. Of course, when the sludge starts oozing out from underneath the stove, it's probably time to pull it out and wipe down the floor. Or replace it, as the case may be.