July 31st

Today is the last day of July. Do you know what that means?! It means I did it! I blogged every day this month.

No big deal, but it's a huge deal.

However, seeing as an unsightly number of those posts were random and/or boring combined with the fact that I'm bad at blogging I will probably never do that again.

So that's a thing.

In other news, Sarah says hello!

In other other news, happy birthday Harry Potter!

AAAHHHHHH!

Guess Where I Am

I'M HOME I'M HOME I'M HOME I'M HOME I'M HOME I'M HOME I'M HOME I'M HOME I'M HOME I'M HOME I'M HOME I'M HOME I'M HOME I'M HOME I'M HOME I'M HOME I'M HOME I'M HOME I'M HOME

Because I'm a Nerd

Have you seen the movie The Jane Austen Book Club? Well, it's a good one and I watched it the other day and thought to myself, I wish I could be in a Jane Austen Book Club (because I'm a nerd).

Anybody want to make a Jane Austen Book Club with me?

In other news, I GO HOME TODAY!

Skyline

So I don't know if you know this, but I grew up in Ohio. And lately I've been feeling a bit nostalgic about it. Probably because my friends from Ohio got married and then at their reception I saw more friends from Ohio that I haven't seen in a long while.

And then I got on Facebook yesterday and somebody posted a picture of their dinner, which I usually think is a little weird, but this time not so much because it was SKYLINE. For those of you who are not familiar with Skyline Chili, it's a chili place that has the best chili ever... and they put it on top of spaghetti. Yeah.

And I'm not saying that it's the best just because. I'm a very picky eater. I don't actually like chili... like at all... except for Skyline. It's that good.

And now I really want some.

And yes. They really do put that much cheese on top.

Goodbye, Oakridge

Today is the day! I'm moving out of my apartment! Everything is packed up, I just have to load it up and take it to my friends' place because they are kind enough to store it for me. Oh, and then I have to deep clean my apartment... Ugh.

On the plus side, once I've moved my posts should be interesting again.

59, Paper People, and The Sunshine Kid

Holy crap this kid.

The Story

I never really have time to blog anymore, but I'm still trying to blog every day this month, so I apologize if Youtube videos get annoying, but here's another one.

Evil

I. Hate. Packing. 

I hate it! It's a terrible thing. And it is currently my life. At least I'm not packing up a whole house and a whole family. It's a little better that it's just me and my apartment.

But still! Packing is evil.

Little Boxes

:(

I really need to pack... but I'm sick... so that's a thing.

Post Grad and Feminism

First and foremost, SPOILERS! That's right, I hate spoilers, but alas it seems as though sometimes it is unavoidable if you're obnoxious enough not to care and want to say what you want to say badly enough to include some spoilers, as this post does (in my defense, I'm spoiling a relatively obscure movie that's not very popular...). However, you have been duly warned.

Have you ever seen the movie Post Grad? It came out way back in 2009, which I guess isn't all that long ago, and it's about this girl (played by Alexis Bledel, shout out to Rory Gilmore, what what!) who loves to read and loves books and graduates from college with her whole life planned out (get a job at this big shot publishing company and work her way up until she discovers the "next great American novel") and then stuff happens and nothing turns out the way she planned (including her having to live at home again) and so she's figuring out life and there's a boy (plot twist!) who's been her (platonic) friend for forever, but he's madly in love with her until she blows him off for another guy (but it's a bit more dramatic than that) and so he goes to law school in New York and she finally gets the job of her dreams only to realize that she really misses that guy (plus some stuff that happens with her family). And so at the end she quits her job and moves to New York to be with him and continue her search for the "next great American novel," presumably at a new big shot publishing company. The End.

Anyway, I watched this movie and I couldn't decide if I liked the ending or not. The feminist in me was upset that she quit her dream job for a boy, but the hopeless romantic in me liked that she quit her dream job for a boy, you know? And so I was thinking about it and I came up with this grand conclusion:

Love, and particularly finding the one you love, is not the enemy to feminism/women everywhere, even in a movie.

Here's the thing. I think that looking at this movie it's really easy to think that the point is boys come before dreams, or that maybe finding a boy should be one's ultimate dream, which is in fact the first thing that I thought of upon the movie's big climax moment (her packing up and flying to New York and showing up on his doorstep). That's utter crap, and I was of course very upset.

However, I think the moral of the story was more like 1) you can plan everything out and have everything fall apart and yet still be happy and even get your dream in the end (her end goal wasn't working at this publishing place, it was finding the "next American novel" which she could potentially do ANYWHERE as long as they have books for her to read and she wanted to do this in the first place because she had a passion for reading, because she loves books) and 2) you can have more than one dream of equal importance to you (having a career in something you're passionate about doesn't have to be more or less important than finding love, or even sacrificing for that love).

And I think that a lot of people miss the point of movies like this. I have no problem with the plot or the ending of the film. The only concern I have is that the likelihood of Hollywood making a movie with the same exact story except switch the girl and the guy, having the guy leave what he thought was his dream job to follow a girl as she goes to law school in New York is slim to none. That's the message I would like to change. Not that one's dream can be finding love, but that in our society that is a dream for girls. Far from being an enemy to women everywhere, I think this message is a danger to the men in our society.

Rant over.

They're Married

Remember when I said that some very good friends of mine were getting married soon? Well, soon was today!! AH!

Home

I'm going home for about three weeks! I'm so excited!

Here's the story. Once upon a time there was a girl named Sarah Bear who was on an LDS mission in Germany. She loves it there, but alas all good things must come to an end and lo and behold that end is July 30th of this very year. She had a younger sister, lets call her Jess Jess, who was sad that Sarah Bear would have to leave Germany, but was extremely excited for her to be home. Jess Jess wanted to be home when Sarah Bear got off the plane, but she also wanted to hear her give a talk in church, as is customary. The problem was that Sarah Bear wouldn't be giving this talk until two Sundays after she returned home and Jess Jess initially thought that it would be impossible for her to stay home for that long. Much discussion ensued and it was decided upon that that was actually quite possible and what's more, why didn't Jess Jess just stay until she and Sarah Bear would both have to return for the fall semester, for you see, they were to attend the same university and also live together?! The end.

And that is why I'm going home for about three weeks. (:

Tshirt

Okay so I'm actually fairly busy today, so I'm just going to post this video really fast.

Not only is the song and the video just beautiful, there's this line in the song that I love.

"When I saw you, everyone knew I liked the effect that you had on my eyes. But no one else heard the weight of your words or felt the effect that they have on my mind."

Back to the Future (And Other Cool Stuff)

You know what I want to do? I want to be a little kid again, so that I can watch Lizzie McGuire or Boy Meets World, or The Power Puff Girls.

Remember when Lindsay Lohan wasn't crazy? Or when Aaron Carter was in the Christmas episode of Lizzie McGuire? Or when Will Smith didn't have kids, just an attitude and cool dance moves (plus, there was Carlton!)? Or when Raven went under cover to show how racism still exists in America?

I'm telling you, 90's - early 2000's had some prime tv.

Also, did you know that next year we're supposed to dress like this?

I vote we petition to make it so. And don't forget this!

Being an Adult

Today I am being an adult.

I woke up at 9, I made my bed, I washed my dishes, I took out the trash, I cleaned my kitchen, I'm going to go grocery shopping and to the library. If I had a bill to pay today, I would do it.

Most of the time, I'm like

But not today! 

I Would Marry This Man

This guy is a genius. He performed on campus last semester and he did this one and all of a sudden whales became the most romantic animal of them all. I haven't made of list of characteristics that I want the man I marry to have since I was a Beehive, but if I were to make such a list right now, spoken word genius would be on it. 

Guys. Take notes.

Sons

Redneck

You know those quizzes on Facebook? Well, sometimes those are really fun and I just took a "How Redneck Are You?" quiz and I got 4%. I mean no disrespect, but this makes me very happy.

You Don't Have to Read This

So... crap. I said I'm going to write a post every day, but I can't think of anything to talk about...

Okay, how about this? I love the TFIOS soundtrack! It's so good!

Also, I think I need new glasses.

Wow, this is so boring. I'm sorry. You do not have to read this. In fact, stop reading. Just be done. I'll be done, too. Okay, cool.

Everyone Wants Everyone Else to be Exactly Like Them

So I'm on Facebook and I see this. Did you read it? Okay, good. So I like to think of myself as pretty aware of the world and the social issues that exist in our culture, but some of these I had never crossed my mind as something my "Christian status" gets me. So first off I would like to say thanks to the people who wrote this, for bringing it to my attention.

Also, I was looking at the comments and I saw this one:

"I find this list to be inaccurate because as a Christian in my my community of Hindu and Muslim culture in NJ, I am a minority and so is my daughter. She and I are mocked or told that we worship a false God. Her school gives days off for Muslim and Hindu holidays as well as Jewish. I am shocked at how small-minded this article is. Have you actually traveled through the U.S.? There is much you have not seen changing around you in your small rural town."

And to this, I want to respond.

"I am sorry for your situation. The truth of the matter is, though, that it is the exception and not the rule. It's hard to think of it that way when you, and particularly your daughter, live with it every day. The situation sucks. But, as someone who has lived across the expanse of the U.S., I can tell you that it is the exception. When you realize this, I hope you can use this knowledge to help and not hinder. You understand what it's like to be in the minority and to feel put down because of it. Don't let that fuel feelings of bitterness, or worse, hate. Instead this knowledge can facilitate change and connection to those with similar circumstances. Don't attack this article for pointing out the subtle ways our society reminds people who is on the top of the privileged scale. Another person commented saying, "The problem seems to be that everyone wants everyone to be exactly like them." While we are amazingly similar for the simple reason that we are all human beings, we all have a different perspective on the human experience. This is actually a great thing and should be celebrated. Again I am sorry for your situation, but I hope that it can be used not to alienate you from others, but bring you closer to the people in similar scenarios."

Marriage

One of my very good friends is getting married soon and today is her open house/shower/party thing. It's going to be really fun, but also weird because she's the first of my close friends to get married. And I've known her for about eight years.

It's just a little weird...

But also I know her fiancee really well, too. His whole family is really good friends with mine. And he's cool.

But it's still a little weird...

I mean, weren't we twelve like yesterday?

What Do Guys Look for in Girls?

Remember yesterday when I talked about being a nerd and about the Vlogbrothers? Well, I'm going to share another one of their videos because for a while I've been wanting to say something about this, but haven't really known how and then Hank Green happened.

You Are Not Your Luck

So, I'm a nerd. And while some people look at that as something ridiculous or silly or weird or whatever, in actuality being a nerd means that you are allowed (if not expected) to be unashamed about being enthusiastically happy about stuff and also life. Like, I can have a total freak out about Shakespeare and it's okay. I can read The Fault in Our Stars several times and still cry every time and that's okay. I can even geek out over clothes and football, which I love, although it seems contrary to nerdiness, but if I love it then it counts because I am a nerd.

I do have to admit that this whole idea is not really my own. I originally heard it from John and Hank Green, two of the nerdiest nerds to ever nerd. They have several things that they do, but one of them is Vlogbrothers, a vlog where they talk to each other (and nerdfighters) about a wide range of stuff. I love Vlogbrothers, which is my undeniable right as a nerd. So here is a video that makes me happy.

Random Stuff

Sierra is awesome. Her friend brought me M&M's. He did that because he's awesome. Well, he didn't bring them specifically for me, but whatever. They were delicious and of the peanut butter variety.

Sierra really wants me to make her Pastaroni.

What else? Let's make a list!

Things that randomly pop into my mind:

1) "Now I've got nothing to say."
2) "Oooohhhhh..." (I was singing along to a song.)
3) "Human beings walked on the moon, which is in outer space and that's pretty cool."
4) "I'm starting to get hungry..."
5) "And tired..."
6) "Wow, this blog post is boring."

A Public Service Announcement

Upon recent inspection of my blog and coming to the astounding realization that I have written a post every day this month (albeit it's been less than a week), I have decided to make an attempt to write a post every day for the month of July. I'm not sure how successful this endeavor will be, but here goes nothing.

That is all.

I Appreciate Your Being

Shout out to the people who read/look at my blog and also live in Russia and Ukraine. You guys are currently my favorites in the people department. Thanks.

Miracle, With a Capital M

So I just read Paper Towns by John Green and it is a really good book. I mean it's not The Fault in Our Stars, but I really liked it. And I wanted to blog about it and so I was thinking of the combination of books and blogging, which made me think of my blog post about the beginnings of books, so I'm sorry if this is slightly repetitive, but I'm going to talk about the beginning of this book. It's a good one.

"The way I figure it, everyone gets a miracle. Like, I will probably never be struck by lightning, or win a Nobel Prize, or become the dictator of a small nation in the Pacific Islands, or contract terminal ear cancer, or spontaneously combust. [PAUSE. Blogger did not recognize 'combust' as a word and I don't know how to handle that...] But if you consider all the unlikely things together, at least one of them will probably happen to each of us. I could have seen it rain frogs. I could have stepped on Mars. I could have been eaten by a whale. I could have married the queen of England or survived months at sea. But my miracle was different. My miracle was this: out of all the houses in all the subdivisions in all of Florida, I ended up living next door to Margo Roth Spiegelman."

That is a great beginning, but that first sentence, man.

I'm not positive it's true, but I'm inclined to agree and I would certainly like to think so. If it is true, that everyone gets a miracle, like a big one, not just something that feels miraculous, or the little miracles that happen every day, but one that would be recognized as a capital M Miracle that capital C Changes you and your life, I wonder what mine is. And when it will happen. And who it will involve.

Tomorrow, Folks

There are fireworks going off tonight, celebrating the Fourth of July when it is in fact the (lower case) third of July. Why are we celebrating Independence Day on not Independence Day?

I do not understand.

Junie B. Jones

I'm a big fan of the first sentence/paragraph of books. As in a BIG fan. And I have been for quite some time.

Some of my favorites, in no particular order, are:

"My father took one hundred and thirty-two minutes to die." This is followed by the equally great, if not better, second sentence, "I counted." ~Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta (Because come on! That's so intense!)

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." ~Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (Because sassy Jane is sassy. Side note, I didn't really like "classics" because various reasons, but then now I really like them, pretty much due to Jane Austen. She's golden.)

"Who's there?" ~Hamlet by William Shakespeare (Which is technically a first line, but still... And because, not only is this a great play written by a great man, but because I feel like this is a question every human being has asked, albeit I know Shakespeare was cleverly using the changing of the guards as a way to introduce the setting as well as the whole fatherly ghost figure thing and not, specifically in this instance, as a way to comment on the questions that plague humanity, so I'm totally taking this out of context, but whatever.)

"It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened." This is followed by a great second sentence, "No." And then the third sentence, which really drives in my point about this particular example which I will explain in a minute because I like things to be structured similarly, "Wrong word, Jonas thought." ~The Giver by Lois Lowry (Because I love words and the fact that Jonas pauses and takes the time to contemplate exactly which word to use in this instance to describe his feelings is beautiful. Another side note, I incidentally didn't like this book the first time I read it. I have no idea why, I liked it a lot the second time I read it...)

"The morning after noted child prodigy Colin Singleton graduated from high school and got dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine, he took a bath." This is followed by, "Colin had always preferred baths; one of his general policies in life was never to do anything standing up that could just as easily be done lying down." ~An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (Because that's hilarious and speaks to me personally.)

and

"Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over again, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time to thinking about death." ~The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (Because talk about attention grabbing. Also, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that THIS BOOK IS GLORIOUS.)

I was thinking about this (my love of the beginning of books) and I realized why I love them so much.

Story time.

Once upon a time do you remember the Junie B. Jones books? I LOVED THOSE BOOKS. They are probably in my top 5 favorite books of childhood, although that idea just came to me, so I haven't really thought it through and who knows, maybe 5 other books will outrank them. Point is, they're great and they all start the same way:

"My name is Junie B. Jones. The B stands for Beatrice. Except I don't like Beatrice. I just like B and that's all."

And I loved this and the fact that it started every one of those books so much that I would tell people whenever the chance arose (as I wasn't much of a 'center of attention' type of kid, this primarily meant whenever I had one of the books in my hand and someone said something about it or whenever I was asked what books I liked - basically whenever someone else brought it up, unless it was my family, they probably got pretty tired of me doing this.... I'm hard core digressing, aren't I? Where was I? Oh yeah.) that every one of these books started with "My name is Junie B. Jones. The B stands for Beatrice. Except I don't like Beatrice. I just like B and that's all." I had this memorized, which looking back doesn't seem like a big deal, but I suck at memory and so especially back then it was quite the accomplishment.

And that's how I came to love the first sentences/paragraphs of books. Because they remind me of my childhood. The End.

A Song and a Story

I have a confession. Even though I knew this song before, I stole this from my friend Maddi's blog. I don't think she'll mind.

So, a story:

Once upon a time there was a girl named Jess Jess and she had a friend named Carabou (like the animal except for the Cara part and she's human). Carabou and Jess Jess partied all day and long into the night. And by party I mean they ate food and watched movies and talked before retiring at midnight (or earlier).

It was awesome.

The End.