Girassol

I have been looking forward to this moment for five years.

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Being able to finally say that I have officially turned a complete draft of my Master's thesis in to my committee chair for editing:  PRICELESS.

Three Things

Three Things That Scare Me:

1. bats
2. the future
3. not being good enough

Three People Who Make Me Laugh:

1. Conan O'Brien
2. Bill Bryson
3. my family

Three Things I Love:

1. old school PacMan and Tetris
2. sunflowers
3. traveling

Three Things I Hate/Severely Dislike:

1. when people spell things wrong on purpose to be cute, or when people who can't spell don't use spell check, or when people think that spell check will catch problems like their/there/they're -- basically, crappy spelling really bugs me!
2. feeling misunderstood
3. cinnamon buns (actually, anything with that sickeningly strong cinnamon smell)

Three Things I Don’t Understand:

1. time management
2. bigotry
3. males' obsession with physical attractiveness, and how otherwise intelligent, spiritual, together men can turn into rude, immature, base horndogs at the sight of a huge rack -- and how they don't seem to realize (or care) when it's fake, and that most women do not naturally look like Pamela Anderson, AND that so many of these same males are not particularly attractive themselves, yet they all think they deserve a woman that gravity-defyingly hot and see no problem with holding women to a much higher standard than the one to which they hold themselves.  This all makes zero sense to me.  (Whew... That's been waiting to spew out for a while now.)

Three Things On My Desk:

1. my Nalgene bottle, full of water
2. lots of piles of paper, books, and files
3. an hourglass that a glassblower friend in Brazil made me

Three Things I’m Doing Right Now:

1. blogging
2. enjoying the sunlight and the breeze coming through my window
3. taking a break from writing my thesis

Three Things I Want To Do Before I Die:

1. get married and have kids
2. drive the Panamerican highway
3. ride the rails in a boxcar

Three Things I Can Do:

1. speak three languages fluently
2. play the piano
3. cut hair

Three Things I Struggle to Do:

1. math
2. lose weight
3. keep deadlines, whether I set them myself or they're imposed on me

Three Things I Think You Should Listen To:

1. music that speaks to you, regardless of the genre, its age, or its degree of popularity
2. people who have your best interests at heart
3. your conscience

Three Things You Should Never Listen To:

1. people who have a selfish agenda
2. people who tell you it's not possible
3. your own fears (easier said than done, I know!)
   

Three Things I’d Like To Learn:

1. Japanese
2. drums
3. how to drive a motorcycle

Three Favorite Foods:

1. ice cream
2. potatoes, any style
3. rice and beans

Three Shows I Watched As A Kid:

1. Sesame Street
2. Little House on the Prairie
3. The Cosby Show

Three Shows I Watched As A Teenager:

1. My So-Called Life
2. Beverly Hills, 90210
3. Saturday Night Live

Three Shows I Watch Now:

1. American Idol
   
2. Lost
3. What Not To Wear (and everything else on TLC)

Three Things I Regret:

1. lost friendships
2. not finishing my thesis sooner
3. all the times I've done or said something hurtful to someone else and not realized it

1. bats
2. the future
3. not being good enough

Three People Who Make Me Laugh:

1. Conan O'Brien
2. Bill Bryson
3. my family

Three Things I Love:

1. old school PacMan and Tetris
2. sunflowers
3. traveling

Three Things I Hate/Severely Dislike:

1. when people spell things wrong on purpose to be cute, or when people who can't spell don't use spell check, or when people think that spell check will catch problems like their/there/they're -- basically, crappy spelling really bugs me!
2. feeling misunderstood
3. cinnamon buns (actually, anything with that sickeningly strong cinnamon smell)

Three Things I Don’t Understand:

1. time management
2. bigotry
3. males' obsession with physical attractiveness, and how otherwise intelligent, spiritual, together men can turn into rude, immature, base horndogs at the sight of a huge rack -- and how they don't seem to realize (or care) when it's fake, and that most women do not naturally look like Pamela Anderson, AND that so many of these same males are not particularly attractive themselves, yet they all think they deserve a woman that gravity-defyingly hot and see no problem with holding women to a much higher standard than the one to which they hold themselves.  This all makes zero sense to me.  (Whew... That's been waiting to spew out for a while now.)

Three Things On My Desk:

1. my Nalgene bottle, full of water
2. lots of piles of paper, books, and files
3. an hourglass that a glassblower friend in Brazil made me

Three Things I’m Doing Right Now:

1. blogging
2. enjoying the sunlight and the breeze coming through my window
3. taking a break from writing my thesis

Three Things I Want To Do Before I Die:

1. get married and have kids
2. drive the Panamerican highway
3. ride the rails in a boxcar

Three Things I Can Do:

1. speak three languages fluently
2. play the piano
3. cut hair

Three Things I Struggle to Do:

1. math
2. lose weight
3. keep deadlines, whether I set them myself or they're imposed on me

Three Things I Think You Should Listen To:

1. music that speaks to you, regardless of the genre, its age, or its degree of popularity
2. people who have your best interests at heart
3. your conscience

Three Things You Should Never Listen To:

1. people who have a selfish agenda
2. people who tell you it's not possible
3. your own fears (easier said than done, I know!)
   

Three Things I’d Like To Learn:

1. Japanese
2. drums
3. how to drive a motorcycle

Three Favorite Foods:

1. ice cream
2. potatoes, any style
3. rice and beans

Three Shows I Watched As A Kid:

1. Sesame Street
2. Little House on the Prairie
3. The Cosby Show

Three Shows I Watched As A Teenager:

1. My So-Called Life
2. Beverly Hills, 90210
3. Saturday Night Live

Three Shows I Watch Now:

1. American Idol
   
2. Lost
3. What Not To Wear (and everything else on TLC)

Three Things I Regret:

1. lost friendships
2. not finishing my thesis sooner
3. all the times I've done or said something hurtful to someone else and not realized it

Princess Grace

Someone on a website I frequent mentioned today that her children had just watched the Alfred Hitchcock classic, "Rear Window," and thought it was retarded.  I weep for these children.

The comment made me think about just how much I enjoy movies with Jimmy Stewart in them.  Find me a sweeter, more likeable everyman anywhere.  It can't be done.  If you can believably win over Grace Kelly and get her to burglarize your neighbor's apartment, and wear capri pants and read  Beyond the High Himalayas, then you have my undying affection.

So enchanted was I with "Rear Window" as a kid that I modeled my junior prom dress after the dress Grace Kelly wears in the movie when she brings Jimmy Stewart dinner from 21, except that my velvet and feathers were deep green, and I wore green velvet ballet slippers.  Also, I was probably at least twice as classy.  Those eyebrows, that tongue, those finger guns... Beat THAT with the sophistication stick!

Grace Kelly, 1954       Me, 1994

The Paris Hilton of the motorcycle world

Every summer, my town hosts a Bike Week, which is when something like 15,000 Harley-Davidsons meet here, cruise around on their choppers and participate in tattoo contests.  When I first moved in, I was nervous that it would be rough and scary, but it's actually a very community-friendly event, and the bikers are some of the nicest, friendliest people I've seen come through here.  Yet, they've still got that tough exterior thing going on.

So last night I'm driving downtown, and as I stop at a stoplight, I hear a dog yipping at me. I turn my head left to see what's going on, and there's a dude on a Harley (totally tricked out, with a trailer and custom everything), with his sleeves rolled up and his boots and his American flag doo-rag and stubble and everything.  And he's holding a tiny, fluffy bichon frise ON HIS LAP. And the dog is wearing a doo-rag and motorcycle goggles.

Awesome!

I am destined not to be healthy

You know how they're always saying you should eat heart-healthy snacks, and how almonds are great for your heart and they're a great source of the good fats, and all that stuff?

So just now I'm in the kitchen looking for something to eat while I take a quick break from working because there's no real food in the house and I'm still not dressed, so I can't go out and get something real to eat until I get a shower and put clothes on.  So I'm trying -- actually TRYING -- to do a healthy snack.  Did I avoid the ice cream in the freezer?  Why yes, I did.  Which is nothing short of miraculous. 

Instead of the ice cream, I get out a can of Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almonds.  "Almonds are good for my heart," I think as I pull off the lid.  And then a shiny thing catches my attention and the can of almonds flies out of my hand and lands in the bowl full of water that is sitting in the sink.   A  $3.00 can of almonds, almost literally down the drain.  Ugh.

Reasons why I love Sheetz

1.  The ham Schmiscuit, with double egg, mayo, mustard, ketchup, sliced tomato, salt, pepper, and Swiss cheese.

2.  It's a Mecca of linguistic hilariousness.

        2a.  It provides a way to tell locals from out-of-towners.  We southern Pennsylvanians have the habit of calling it "Sheetzes" -- as in "Welcome to Sheetzes, pump two's on."  You don't call it Sheetzes?  You are definitely not from around here.

        2b.  This morning they had these stars hanging on the counter that represented donations to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. One donor had wished to remain anonymous, only on the star it was spelled, "Annoumys."  If I spelled that poorly, I would remain annoumys too.

3.  The blue-collar dudes who stop in there periodically throughout the day to pick up two things:
    
        3a.  A pack of Marlboros.

        3b.  Me. 

This morning when I arrived at Sheetz a guy opened the door for me, while holding his pack of Marlboros in the other hand.  He was wearing cutoff jean shorts and a t-shirt with the sleeves ripped out, and had a tattoo of a skull on his shin.  When I thanked him, he answered, "No problem, sweetheart."  Then his eyes followed my ample booty the entire way back to the juice refrigerators. 

Yesssss!  Someone thinks I'm hot!  Or, perhaps, someone is very lonely!    

ppl r so funny lol :-)

So this morning I got a message from my phone saying memory was running low and I should delete some messages.  While reading through everything stored in my phone, I found some texts that made me laugh.  If they don't make you laugh, go read these because her friends are funnier than mine.

I'm in class and i just peed off the top of a mountain.

I have a retarded boss.

Fyi i was singing about throngs today & thought u would b interested :P

I'm on my way to the snow palace!

Don't be such a curmudgeon.

She leaves Tues. and we're gonna hang out a couple more times.  Get a little more action!

Omg!  You r the math grandmaster!

Hey, M doesn't have your bikini trimmers.

I miss you and my wardrobe does too.

D and H broke up.  We should do something for him like get him a voodoo doll and ice cream.

I'm single again.  But everything's ok and I won't throw rocks at her!

Rolling stones tonite.  seats close enuf to squeez mcjaggers bum.  also free.

I have coloring books for the boys but I will be in canada on sat.

I am getting seriously hit on by a waiter at montezuma.  Help!

Down with the pig tie!

I'm gonna be a half blind freak, yahoo!

So is it motorific?  Have you seen any hot mullets?

Black suit.

she doesnt know.  Shes sleeping

Can't talk.  I'm at a marching band competition.

You wanted to get a shave with a straight edge razor.

What constitutes a mountain?  Call me.

I just found a piece of paper where you wrote ride a double decker bus so put that on your list ok?

Today i passed a restaurant called the red horse steak house and anvil bar, whatever that is... Naturally i thought of you!

Random Things I'm Grateful For: Saturday

Saturday's entry in the list of Random Things I'm Grateful For is...  "A color."  Only twice in my life before now have I ever stopped to consider gratitude for colors in general.

The first time was when I was in elementary school, and our first color TV went berserk and went to black and white.  We left it like that for a couple of days before Mom and Dad went out and bought a new color TV.  I remember this being a Very Big Deal that involved a trip to an appliance store (!), several behind-closed-doors conversations that we knew were about money because when they closed the doors it was ALWAYS about money, and a Very Serious Lecture instructing us on how to use the new TV and the even cooler feature, the wireless remote control!  With a mute button! 

The second time was when I moved into the little place where I now live, which is the first place I have lived as an adult that I was allowed to put color on the walls.  Prior to this, I've lived in cinder-block dorms and a series of rented apartments and houses which were always painted in a neutral, goes-with-everything white or beige.  (With the exception of the 70's house in Provo that had the red shag carpet and the mirrored wallpaper.  Zoinks!) 

I was thrilled when my landlords said I was welcome to paint the walls whatever color I liked, and THEY WOULD EVEN PAY FOR THE PAINT.  Awesome, awesome people.  So I went wild.  I have no roommates to complain about the colors I choose.  I could get married to some guy who likes beige a lot, and we'll have to compromise the color right out of the house.   Who knows how long I'll live here or where I'll be next, so why not enjoy it while I can?   Therefore, I have a sunflower yellow kitchen, a peapod green dining room, a royal plum living room, and a ladybug red bedroom.  And I am so happy!  It energizes me to wake up and see bright things around me. 

Since purple is the specific color I'm grateful for today, let me share with you why.  The living room in my house is purple, and it's my most favorite room.  The purple color is so unexpected for a living room.  It's a fun, playful color.  It's bright, cheery, and whimsical.  It makes me smile when I walk in the room, and I think that's what your home SHOULD feel like. 

Random Things I'm Grateful For: Friday

Friday's entry in the list of Random Things I'm Grateful For is...  "An animal."

There is one animal I am particularly enchanted by, and that is the llama.  Majoring in Spanish in college and now teaching it to high school kids, llamas come up in conversation surprisingly often, so they're one of the few animals I know anything remotely interesting about. 

Llamas are pretty friendly animals, although they can spit when they get ticked off, like camels do.  They are built well to serve as pack animals, and their feet are particularly suited for traveling in rough terrain without damaging the soil.  Their wool is very soft and has no lanolin, which makes it a great fiber for spinning and making into textiles.  Plus, they're actually really cute! 

Fun llama facts:

• A llama was featured in the movie, Napoleon Dynamite.  ("Tina, you fat lard, come get some dinner!")  This delighted me to no end, as I would love someday to have some land and own some llamas.  Although I would probably feed them something better than leftover casserole.

• There is an annual Llama Fest in Spanish Fork, Utah, which is held at the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple.  When I lived out there, I went every year, partly because of the llamas and partly because it was a chance to experience something culturally and religiously diverse in Utah.  (Did you know there was an active Krishna community in the middle of Utah?  Neither did anyone else, until they started hosting Llama Fest.)  The festival features a llama obstacle course and races, Andean textiles and music, and Indian food, and was one of my favorite things to look forward to each summer.  This photo was taken at Llama Fest 2001, and I love how both the llama and I are smiling!  That year there was a freak dust storm out of absolutely nowhere, which explains all the weird spots on the photo.  While everyone was trying to figure out what to do, it started pouring down rain, so we all got completely soaked and went inside the Krishna temple, where it was dry and warm and smelled like incense.  A really kind guy told us all about what they did there on their land and at the temple, and found us a nice plate of curry to eat while we waited out the storm.  Honestly one of the most contented days of my life.

• Llamas can be vital to survival for people, particularly in the Andean regions.  In fact, through Heifer International, you can "adopt" a llama or a share of a llama to be donated to a family or community to whom it will make a big difference.  Heifer "works with communities to end hunger and poverty and to care for the earth" by donating livestock.  As the animals breed, they become a perpetuating source of food and often wool or milk to the community, which keeps people fed and gives them a product to sell.

Dogs and cats are fine and all, but how cool is it that llamas can provide so much to a community in addition to being cute and fluffy?
 

Random Things I'm Grateful For: Thursday

Thursday's entry in the list of Random Things I'm Grateful For is...  "A food."

If there's one thing I find it easy to be grateful for, it is definitely food.  And there's no question what my favorite food is.  It is the food for which I am by far the most thankful.  ICE CREAM!  The only food deserving of the boldface, caps-lock, exclamation point treatment.

Ice cream has been a constant presence throughout my life.  It played a part in many of my fondest childhood memories -- homemade ice cream at family picnics, trips to High's or the Velvet Cafe for a cone to celebrate a good report card, and chanting, "Blink, blink" from the back seat of the car to mimic the sound of a turn signal in the hopes that Mom and Dad would pull into the Dairy Queen.  It has been a staple food on every one of my birthdays.  (In fact, I usually ask for a Baked Alaska or a straight-up ice cream cake -- who cares about the actual cake cake?)  It has consoled me after many a bad date.  It has gotten me through late-night study sessions.  It has cooled me down on hot summer days when the thought of cooking and eating real food was just too much.  Ice cream was even part of one of my favorite college traditions -- at BYU, a first kiss is celebrated by buying ice cream for one's roommates and then sitting around telling the story. 

It is the ultimate comfort food, and one of the few vices I allow myself.  The image you see here is a scan of the inside cover of one of my journals from college, where I kept a sort of collage of thoughts and images that illustrated my life at the time.  Inside that particular journal I glued a little poem I cut out of a magazine.  It reads, "I do not smoke, drink, or swear; Self-discipline is the ticket; But when it comes to my ice-cream habit; I just can't seem to lick it." 

Hee!  Lick it!  Isn't that great?

Even if I could "lick the habit," I honestly wouldn't want to.  Like a faithful pet, ice cream has always been there for me when I needed it, and I pay it back by keeping our connection a quality one.  No generic store brands that come in a bucket and are full of gummy ingredients I can't pronounce.  I'm a total ice cream snob.  Homemade is great because you can make it whatever you want it to be.  But time and resources being as sparse as they usually are, my store-bought choices are the following:

• Häagen-Dazs, which is freaking divine. If you have not tried Mayan Chocolate, Cinnamon Dulce de Leche, or Crème Brulée, you have seriously missed out on three of the finest pleasures in life -- even their sorbet is basically amazing. 
• Ben & Jerry's, because in addition to being delicious, they give back to local communities and work to keep a low impact on the environment.  I particularly recommend Phish Food, Cherry Garcia, Mint Chocolate Cookie, Strawberry Cheesecake, Chubby Hubby, and Oatmeal Cookie Chunk.  I mourn the loss of Rainforest Crunch, Wavy Gravy, and Festivus/Gingerbread Cookie to their flavor graveyard. 
• Breyers, because they stick to the all-natural recipe.  Theirs is the only vanilla ice cream I will consider.  Their coffee ice cream is to die for.  They keep it simple, and that keeps the ice cream delectable.

If I were stuck on a desert island and could only take one food with me, clearly ice cream is the only choice.  There just better be a massive freezer on this island.