shang-a-lang sound

Holy crap new decade!!!

Can you believe we are going to be looking back on this one like we did with the 50s and 80s and so on? And how are you supposed to refer to it? Leggings and Kanye glasses were popular back in the...two thousands? So what's this decade? The twenty tens? Weird.

To be retrospective, this was a pretty uneventful year. I got back from Florida in early January so I really consider the whole experience to be more 2008. It's honestly been school. Period. However, I did make some good school friends this year, bonded with my younger cousin, did "Halloween" up right for once, payed off my car, went to a wedding, found that my opinion actually matters at work, learned the its/it's rule, became the bearer of our family Thanksgiving noodle recipe, took a class on old campus, had a major crush, purchased two pairs of chuck taylors, and saw the Jonas Brothers in concert. I'd say it was fairly successful.

This year was also successful in the amount of books I read. I love that my job requires me to read kids and young adult books. Here's the stuff I read in 2009:

1. Austenland by Shannon Hale
2. Fablehaven by Brendon Mull
3. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson (Got 3/4 of the way through. Did NOT like.)
4. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
5. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
6. Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
7. Peter and the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
8. Peter and the Secret of Rundoon by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
9. Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List by Rachael Cohn and David Levithan
10. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaimen
11. The Legend of Holly Claus by Brittany Ryan
12. A Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones
13. Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter
14. The Heroines by Eileen Favorite
15. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachael Cohn and David Levithan
16. Ransom My Heart by Meg Cabot
17. Tales from the Hood by Michael Buckley
18. Generation Dead by Daniel Waters
19. Luna by Julie Ann Peters
20. Paper Towns by John Green
21. A Little Bit Wicked by Kristen Chenoweth
22. Cybele's Secret by Juliet Marillier
23. Beastly by Alex Flinn
24. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K Rowling
25. Looking for Alaska by John Green
26. Party Princess by Meg Cabot
27. Sweet Sixteen Princess by Meg Cabot
28. Princess on the Brink by Meg Cabot
29. Princess Mia by Meg Cabot
30. Forever Princess by Meg Cabot (Oh don't look at me that way, they're funny okay!)
31. The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale
32. Don't Judge a Girl by her Cover by Ally Cater
33. Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher
34. Devilish by Maureen Johnson
35. Wings by Aprilynne Pike
36. How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster
37. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
38. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
39. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
40. Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause
41. Last of the Mohicans by James Fenmore Cooper
42. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
43. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
44. Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
45. Soulless by Gail Carriger
46. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
47. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
48. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
49. House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
50. The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance by Elna Baker
51. The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber
52. Scones and Sensibility by Lindsay Eland

Not a bad haul. My initial goal was to read 100 books and obviously that didn't happen. But 50 isn't awful when you are also trying to have somewhat of a life. Of my dreaded unread stack I have only read two titles. But it's also been the holidays and I've been working so I'll let it slide this once.

Happy New Year!!!

some people read because they cannot think for themselves

It is freaking cold out. I haven't constantly had my nose pressed against the window, but I'm fairly sure it has been snowing nonstop for the past two days. I love being inside and watching it from where it's nice and warm but actually venturing out into it is such a nightmare.

Tis' the season for finals. I only have 3 more and my monster term paper, due at the end of this week. I'm significantly less stressed than last semester, which is good.

So to the point of today's blog:

I finally got my floating bookshelves up today! Admittedly, they are making me a tad nervous. They seem sturdy enough, but I just don't like not having good ol' fashioned wood holding them up! The large shelf supposedly is supposed to be able to hold 20lbs. I weighed all seven of the Harry Potter books, plus Beedle the Bard, and Harry's textbooks and all that came to 16.5 pounds. But still. They look precarious. This addition meant that books needed to be shuffled around because of extra space. As I began to move books around I began to make mental notes of which ones I haven't read yet. The mental list began to grow. I thought, hey, wouldn't it be fun to see just how many books I own that I haven't read? Thus did a good two hours of procrastination begin.

Here is a stack of all of the books I intend to read.



No, dear reader, your eyes do not deceive you. That first stack is literally crammed between floor and ceiling. Remember, these are books I intend to read. Not ones that I have already read or ones that I will probably never read that I got out of pity from various discount bins or for free that will most likely be donated very soon.

Holy crap I have a lot of books. When I take them out of their natural environment, the veil is lifted. Where did I get all of these?! I know the 3/4 of the books that have been purchased were from Borders when I had my discount. I bought a couple of books a week, give or take. Oh to be young and unburdened with fiscal responsibility. I remember the week right before I left, Borders had an enormous sale of overstock books from stores throughout the region. Most of them were between one and three dollars. I came home with a box. That's where that box behind more door came from! I still have it and always wonder why I came home with one. Mystery solved.

Anyway, the rest are mostly books I had from before I worked there, free advanced readers copies I have gotten throughout the years from both Borders and An Open Book, and books from the trade show I attended in September.

I began to muse over which of these neglected books will be making the journey with me to Florida. This has been a conundrum that I have brought to Sam's attention in the past. She has been instructed to be a hard ass and only let me take a small bookshelf-full. I am confident that she will fulfill her duty with pleasure.

So here is my goal. To get as many of these 153 books read as possible before I leave for Florida.

The more books I read the less I will be tempted to bring with me, see? I am aware that, even being a stupidly fast reader, there is no way I will be able to read them all by this summer. Especially accounting for the fact that I do still need to pass my last semester to graduate. But maybe this self-challenge will be a kick in the pants for me. I haven't read for fun in over a month and a half. As much as I blame this on required reading I know it isn't true. Most of my time is wasted on the internet doing nothing. Really, nothing. I find myself checking the same sites 2 and 3 times a day. That's ridiculous.

This blog (since it really hasn't been used for anything else) is going to become my progress report. I may move the whole project to totally different blog, but for now, this will be its home.

While taking the tower down from the hallway, the top books began to fall. I quickly threw myself at it to keep the entire thing from toppling over, hollering for my freakishly tall 7 year old brother (oh wait...he's how old? 16?! not possible) to come help me. Caleb came running and tried to help me carefully take down the top of the stack. Kendal, however, proceeded to tickle me and a moment later I found myself on the floor, covered in books, with a sore eye, the beginnings of a bloody Marsha Brady nose, and screaming obscenities at the top of my voice.

I was pissed but found a silver lining. I sat down in the middle of the mess and began to write down the books where they fell closest to me. I am going to try and read them in that order. That way I don't skip the books I'm always skipping and just read new ones.

Hooray, hooray, I'm your silver lining.

So there's that. I hope this won't be one of those projects I undertake and give up after a few months. I'm really going to try and see it through. I'm thinking that I'm going to really start this weekend after I don't have to worry about finals anymore. I'm also hoping that you guys don't get really bored of reading book reviews. :)

The book that fell closest to me is called The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker. I had no idea that I had it or what it's about. Off to a great start.

*Edit* This idea was thought up before I got the email from my senior lit professor about the reading material we'll be needing for next semester. ELEVEN BOOKS...balls.

she wears high heels, i wear sneakers

You never realize how many muscles you have until they are sore beyond belief. Even as I shift to type, my shoulder blades and obliques scream out in protest. Kickboxing kicked my jiggly patootie yesterday. It's such a good hurt though. I took an unnecessary hiatus from the class for a while and just started getting back on the wagon last week. As lame as it sounds I feel more centered and calm and just happy. Endorphins make you happy and happy people just don't kill their husbands.

So fun story: I stopped by Blockbuster on my way home this evening and there was no one in the store except for a few employees standing around watching UP. After perusing the moichendice I grabbed The Ugly Truth (because as meh as I'm anticipating it to be, it's Gerard Butler. Nuff said.) and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. The movies being traded out were Gooby and Monsters vs. Aliens. The girl who checked me out has done so nearly every time I've been in the past couple of months.

Her: So how did you guys like Gooby?
Me: *laughs* Ummm, it was laugh out loud in ways it shouldn't have been. And Gooby was unreasonably scary.
Her: *laughs* Really? So how'd the kiddo like it?
Thinking she jokingly meant Sam (who had picked out the movie)
Me: Uhhhh. She felt about the same?
Her: I love all the movies you pick. You have to be the best mom ever!
Me: ...
Her: My mom would never get us movies growing up! So how many do you have?
Me: ...one?
Her: Awww! Boy or girl?
Me: ...girl?
Her: I've got a daughter too. *printing out receipt* They're great. So what's her recommended pick for recent movies?
Me: *heading for the door* Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure.
Her: Oh us too! It was surprisingly funny for adults too. My husband and I cracked up so many times.
It was then that she proceeded to look down at the naked ring finger on my left hand and gave me a sympathetic smile as she handed me my receipt and movies and wished me a good night.

Awesome. I should have proudly said I rented kids movies for myself but this gave me more to laugh over as I drove back home.

Left in the Semester: 1 "short" paper on Manfred, 2 long research papers, 4 tests. 5 golden riiiings! I figured out today what I'm doing for my Romanticism research paper though. I'm going to compare Twilight to Gothic and sentimentality novels of the mid 1800s. I'm actually kind of excited. I hope there's going to be enough fodder to do research though.

I worked hard on the bathroom collage at work this last weekend. I closed the store doors, turned off everything but the white twinkle lights and worked for two hours off the clock while listening to visionsfantastic radio. I have never been so content in my entire life.

Currently Listening To:
Glee: The Music, Volume 1 (Lea Michele's voice gives me goosebumps. Even though I've never seen the show I want the original cast soundtrack of Spring Awakening just so I can listen to her voice)

Currently Reading:
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

i drew a new face and i laughed

Bored doesn't even begin to cover it. I am completely unmotivated to do anything. It's a good thing nothing is due tomorrow because there is no way it would get done. I'm actually excited to go to kickboxing tonight because it will get me away from pathetically checking the same website a zillion times over the course of a two hour period. The worst thing is that I'm actually having a great hair day and have no one to appreciate it. Sigh.


The best part of my day was figuring out how to send homemade ring tones to my phone. My text message now does the Kim Possible doo doo dee doo sound. It makes me ridiculously excited to get a message.


Here are some other things I'm excited about:
-UP coming out on DVD next week
-Working on my bathroom collage at work on Friday. We got an awesome Where the Wild Things are movie poster in the mail that's going up first thing.
-My boss giving me the new Peter and the Starcatchers book as a present for coming in and putting up new displays. Which is by far my favorite part of the job so I refused but she squished my face until I relented. Best boss ever.
-The Princess and the Frog
-Possible Christmas presents for friends. I've got all these amazing perfect gift ideas roaming around my brain. I hope I can actually do them though.
-Getting references from How I Met Your Mother and a bing search engine commercial because Sam made me watch the Shining which I actually ended up enjoying despite my shrieking and cowering.
-Watching The Half Blood Prince again with lowered expectations
-Mary Poppins coming to Denver in March! I'm totally wearing my hat and taking my official parrot head umbrella.
-Spending the holidays at home this year
-My advising appointment tomorrow. I love signing up for new classes. ONE MORE SEMEMSTER!!!


Really, the only reason I wanted to post a blog today was to share with you the following attrocity. Behold. Edward Cullen panties!




and as if that weren't bad enough, check out the crotch:



Naughty! If these start being sold at Walmart, someone is getting them for Christmas!

Currently Reading:
The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne (as in the author of The Scarlet Letter, my most favorite book of all time) Ugh. I'm so excited to start reading for fun again.

the bird! the wayne!

Today was a Snow Day here in good ol' "Hey it's October, time for 2 feet of snow" Colorado. My lazy self was overjoyed at the prospect of having a seven pillow princess day all to myself. I woke up at 9:15, checked on the status of my class cancellations and tried to go back to sleep with no success. Instead, I rotted my brain with youtube until around 2 and decided to do something productive. So cleaning my room while watching the second season of Everwood has seemed like a good choice.

As I was cleaning under my bed, I found a list written on the back of a Borders Easy Order card dated December of 2005. It reads as follows:

Here are some things that make me happy-
laughing, escorting a moth out of an open door, the word "thither", clear elevators, the smell of a hardcover book, the feeling of a soft scarf around my neck, a long ring-finger fingernail, clean feet, perfectly applied eyeliner, baked mac n cheese, "chicken socks", Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas sung by Judy Garland, smooth pebbles, watching holiday movies during the summer, old jingles, the Pleasant Company catalogues, Build-A-Bear, fedoras, feather quills, bubble letters, the surname of Pickering, cat purring, wrought iron spiral staircases, wing backed chairs, Indiana Jones, spearmint, endless strings of pearls, green grass, putting in the last piece of a puzzle, LEGOs, beating a boy at a video game, noticing the mountains, paint color samples, giant muffins, pirates, fairy tales, too-big sweaters, smell memories, pumpkins, white picket fences, English gardens, candy land, technicolor, mittens, great hair days, cat-eye glasses, the Mulan's "sheepish smile", garlic mashed potatoes, down comforters and pillows, sleeping with the windows open, freckles, white boards, Aslan, mermaids, streamers, green cargo pants, shuttlecocks, Jane Austen movies, wearing socks on the carpet, the prickly scalp feeling after taking down a ponytail, static shock kisses, JELLO jigglers, stretching, overalls, hugging an old doll, tea parties, "whatever tickles your pickle", getting a new nickname, perfectly flipping a pancake, hot tamales candy, dog kisses, playing house, fixing something, organizing, lilies, choreographed dancing, Scottish, English, Irish, Australian accents, finding the perfect gift, grandma's Thanksgiving noodles, new shoelaces, playing crack the egg on the trampoline, claymation, sound effect books, Victorian Egyptology, cursive, family breakfasts, homemade ice cream, lunch boxes, old houses, Clydesdale's, useless facts, beads, slipping into a familiar book, luke-warm hot cocoa, new snow, quotations, tickling the fur between kitty and puppy toes, a brand new box of crayons, Christmas morning, thunderstorms, buttons, wearing hats, fountains, stickers, My Little Ponies, double rainbows, running through the sprinklers, dawn, the big dipper, masquerade masks, feathers, photo booths, snapple, flying a kite, poofy dresses, Celtic knots, ballet slippers, white twinkle lights, Harry Potter book covers, the sound of wind chimes, the Noah's Ark story, brushing my teeth, knitting, gaudy earrings, lilacs, trunks, sunglasses, linking arms.

Wow. Isn't it funny that those things haven't changed? I don't remember writing this list at all. What a fun little treat for doing something productive!

I also found far too many purses that I never use. Yet I can't seem to get rid of any. I have one purse that I wear out until it begs for mercy and then buy a new one. I'm going to try and trade purses more often. Scouts honor!

So wearing a hoodie, sweatpants, no makeup, no watch, no bra, and having no agenda has been heavenly. I highly recommend it.

Happy almost Halloween!

celebrate you!

Today is awesome because I'm actually BLOGGING! *cue Bill and Ted-like woah* Over a month is far too long to not be writing anything. For shame.

Here are some recent happenings/musings:

1. Yesterday was my berfday! I am 23 years old. Even though my family thought I was 24. Everyone kept saying that next year I was going to be a quarter of a century. I got them back by accusing my dad of being half a century except he doesn't turn 50 until December. I win! Birthdays have become non-events but I'm truly okay with that. Honestly, I was just happy I got cake! ...and a baby okapi named Wilson Matua. <3

2. I go to a kickboxing class every Monday and Wednesday. The decision to join was made in haste but I am very glad I did it. It forces me to exercise and it also forces me to look critically at myself. I hate hate hate that the studio's walls are made of mirrors. Every time I look up I see this dinosaur-like thing tromping around. However, this makes me work harder. :) My favorite thing about the class (other than my adorably bubbly and uncoordinated partner) is the various remixes of songs our instructor plays to get us motivated. It's hilariously random. Remixes of Journey, Shania, Britney, and Boyz 2 Men are just a few of the fantastically upbeat selections.

3. I was at a stoplight on campus yesterday in front of a really nice car driven by this gorgeous blond sorority girl (and no I am NOT profiling, she had a huge Greek symbol thingy sticker on her window)when I noticed she was picking her nose. Now, far be it from me to judge someone for picking their nose, even in public, because everyone does it. You've got something gross in there that you want out! Completely understandable. However, I was appalled to see her stick the freshly picked gem in her mouth. I gaped at her through my rear view mirror thinking that maybe it was the wrong finger. No such luck. She did the same thing with the other nostril. I will not lie to you, dear readers, I gagged. Why?! I am fairly certain that I have never purposefully eaten a booger even as a small child. This is the same reason I never ate paste or mud or play-dough or crayons. Because I was taught that only food goes in your mouth. And to be perfectly honest I was fairly satisfied with my Fruit Loops, thank you. Am I overreacting? Do I just have an overdeveloped gag reflex?

4. The past couple of weeks were also devoted to watching the entire series of Firefly. I say weeks, but really I'd say all in all probably a total of three days. I'm obsessed. I was so surprised at how much I loved it. Science fiction and Westerns are my two least favorite genres, and that is truly what the series was, yet it was so much more than that. I am being forced to wait to watch the series' swan song, Serenity, until we go to Florida in a month. Until then, I have satisfied myself with breaking down and watching Everwood after being vehemently convinced to do so by Sam. It has become my official treadmill show which is a huge honor for any series to hold.

5. School has become more tolerable since I made friends in my English classes. I make friends fairly easily but UNC's lecture classes make it difficult. I made the ones I have now from being in an open discussion English class with a few last year. Then add to them girls that my friends already knew and you've got yourself a nice sized back of the classroom posse. The crazy thing is that these are the sort of girls that I envied in High School. The popular ones who haven't gotten there by being catty but because they are smart and pretty and just downright cool to everyone. It's so bizarre being included by them. I'm asked to go out for drinks after class or to the library to get a sandwich if we've been let out early. It's such an arbitrary and childish joy but I don't care. So yay!

6. So apparently those are the only things going on haha. I love being lame. The only other big happening is my huge undertaking of making a Drizella (as in the green ugly stepsister from Cinderella) dress for Mickey's Not So Scary next month. I will keep you updated as to how that's turning out. I have the pattern and the fabric so I guess that all there is to be done is to put it together. Easy peasy! ....yeeeeah.

Recently devoured:
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (want to know how much I loved this book? I woke up this morning excited to read it and didn't even get on the computer until after 2 because I was busy finishing it. That's pretty big)

Currently Reading:
The Funny Thing Is... by Ellen Degeneres

i went to spend a jolly hour on the trolly and lost my heart instead

What is bliss?

I think bliss is different for everyone. I know for me bliss changes daily.

Today's moment of bliss is happening right at this very moment. These have attributed to it:
1. Finishing a paper that I feel so good about that I really don't care about the grade. Not a bit.
2. Sitting and watching the final ten minutes of You've Got Mail. I don't care that it's cheesy. I don't care that it has every romantic comedy cliche in the book. I love Tom Hanks' snark, yet kindness. I love Meg Ryan's signature perkiness. I love that it isn't about sex. It's just charming. I believe that watching You've Got Mail is equivelent to being a cat who gets scratched on the scruff of their neck. They become oatmeal. Well sprinkle me with cinnamon and get a spoon.
3. Lounging in my brand new comfy blue sparkly plaid pajama pants.
4. Wearing socks in bed.
5. Realizing that I should have gotten the next size smaller in the $6 jeans I bought yesterday (which for most people would equal frustration but for me it equals a woohoo!)
6. Knowing that I can read whatever the heck I want to tonight. I choose you Blood and Chocolate!
7. Looking up the recipe for Disneyland non-alcoholic mint juleps.

What's tickling your pickle today, poppets?

now it's time to say goodbye to all our company

I think that Hunchback of Notre Dame has the most underrated soundtrack of all Disney movies. It has that sort of John Williams epic sweeping score that makes you want to cry. The bells and organ music is sure to give you shivers. Hercules is another one that has some great epic music. Go the Distance? C'mon! Even if you loathe Michael Bolton you have to admit that's nearly as wall climbing inspirational as Final Countdown. I think if I ever met Alan Menken I would give him a hug, say thank you, and walk away.

Today is the last day of the Blog Every Day in July Challenge. I'm grateful that Sam put me up to it because it got me to writing again, though I have to say how disappointed I was at how boring and uncreative I am. It's healthy to get thoughts out right before bed. I think this is more for my benefit than anyone elses. I miss xanga in that way. It was more like a diary and I'm sure there are things documented there that I have completely forgotten. Again, I really wish I would have blogged when I was in Florida. There have got to be some amazing, hilarious, and cringe-worthy moments that have escaped my memories forever.

Today is awesome because I found a nice new ambient XM radio station at work. And I also painted my fingernails red.

And on that completely facinating note, I bid July adieu!

the sky was born clear

Today was one of those days where I had to force the Disney smile on myself at work. I absolutely didn't want to be there out of pure laziness. Not that I actually do anything other than checking in books, answering the phone, and helping the occasional customer. I honestly love it when a customer comes in, it's that time in between that makes me want to put my head through the desk. I need a good old fashioned weekend. I haven't had two days in a row to do nothing in at least a month. I just want to lay in bed all day with a stack of Blockbuster movies that I haven't had time to go rent and read about queens having sex throughout history. I look at Bella and get disgustingly jealous at how she gets to laze around all day long.

I have got to move out. It's time. I'm so sick of everyone being so uptight all the time. It never ends. This house feels like one giant knot and I can feel it affecting me. I miss the apartment where there really wasn't any drama between people. It was relaxed. It was so nice that when more than one of us was home it was kind of an unspoken signal that a person hanging out in the living room meant that another person was welcome to join them. If you were in your room then you weren't really bothered. I miss that closeness and understanding. I love my family but i miss living with friends.

Today is awesome because it was cold enough to wear my favorite sweater! It has so many patched up holes that I've had to mend. I think there have been holes torn in the arm pits twice. I got it from Pac Sun on the 50 percent off rack and it's really crappily made but I love it. It was just so lovely and chilly today. It made me so stinking excited to spend fall and the holidays at home.

Currently watching:
Dumb and Dumber (I remember NOTHING from this movie, except for the part when Jeff Daniels has diarrhea...wooo!)

kungaloosh!

Today is awesome because, like every typical 22 year old girl, I have been pining over this Zulu replica pith helmet from an antique store in Fort Collins for a few years. And today...I got it!!! Best present EVER! I have been wearing it non-stop since about 2:00 this afternoon and I freaking love it. All I need are chops and gold teeth and I could pass for Van Pelt! This helmet opens up a whole wealth of opportunities, such as:

1. Changing my persona from Boulder hippie to adventurous turn of the century Englishwoman for triple V nerdy hiking, whenever that may be.

2. Someday being Jane from Tarzan for Halloween (although the hats aren't quite the same I don't think that really matters)

3. Getting funny looks from my neighbors whenever I wear it to go get the mail.

4. Helping me to visualize my dream of Col. Perceivial Snort's library.

5, Starting my own Adventurer's Club where Shenanigans used to be. (OMG, how fraggle rocking awesome would that be?!)

I couldn't get a good picture of myself in it today to post so that will have to come later. But for now just know that I look badass.

why don't you head over to the snack bar and get yourself a big bowl of shut up

Today is awesome because I got a new toothbrush which is one of my small joys in life.

Today is not awesome because I want new face skin. Skin that doesn't break out. I'm so sick of waking up in the morning and the first thing I wonder is how many zits have popped up over night. You know those marks from past zits? Not really scars but they are these weird raised discolorations? I want new skin that doesn't have those either. Or skin that isn't ruddy and makes me look like I've just run a mile after my makeup starts to wear off. Grr. I love girls who can leave the house without makeup on. That is incredible to me. I can't even go outside in the front to water flowers after taking a shower without feeling weird about it. Oh insecurities.

One week and two days until I'm done with my class. Aka 2.5 books and a 10 page paper to complete before then. And then only two weeks of summer after that before my real classes start back up again. Can I just curl up in my bed and sleep until it's over?

Apparently I'm holding down the store Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I had forgotten that Ann is leaving for Dallas which means I'm da boss. I don't like being da boss. I like it when I can dump all problems on da boss and not have to worry about them. I'm not lazy (cough) I just don't like confrontation.

Okay, this is an entirely too negative post. I'm going to go indulge in some puffy cheetos and then brush my teeth with my new toothbrush and become happy. I suggest you do the same.

*Edit* I want to go to Hawaii. I watched Lilo and Stitch the other day on Disney, watched bloopers from Forgetting Sarah Marshall on youtube yesterday, watched Surfs Up today and am now watching 50 First Dates. I'm taking that as God's way of telling me to go.

worse than dragon breath and acne

I'm cranky today and I don't know why. Nothing really prompted me to be pissy I just woke up in a bad mood. I usually find Professor Worley charming and quirky but I just found him annoying today. Like he asked about the dragon in The Hobbit and we as a class replied that it was Smaug (Smog) he said no. We all kind of looked at each other, confused. He replied that the dragon's name was Smaug (Sm-ow-g). WTF. How does he know? And even if Tokien himself had told him it was pronounced in that way (which I wouldn't doubt) it's not like we got it wrong. It wasn't that big of a deal but it irked me so much that I was surly for the rest of the class.

I should probably watch Hook or something. No one can be in a bad mood while watching Rufio prance around in cut up leather pants and an uptight Robin Williams get slingshoted into a vat of rainbow mud.

However, I feel like the day has gotten progressively better. Nina has asked for her days off to come visit which means it's really happening! I'm so excited to show off my glorious state to an out of towner. I'm trying to think of inexpensive things to do. Hopefully something in Denver and definitely some mountain time. I was trying to think of things to show her in Greeley and all I came up with was the Kress and Walmart.

Today is awesome because Caleb came home from a church trip to New Orleans and was so excited to inform me about all the boobies and hookers he saw there.

Currently slogging through:
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke.

whadda you lookin' at butthead?

Today is awesome because of kettle korn, cash back, talking to squirrels, alleyways, bloomers, laying out in the sun to read, lunch at grandma's, the puppies, Michael J. Fox, audience members who clap at movies, and Huey Lewis and the News.

Ain't life grand?

you go' a touch a destiny abou' you

I have so much dust up my nose right now. I get my cleaning hankerings when A. I'm supposed to be doing something else B. I'm really angry at someone or C. It's late at night and I'm bored. This evening was A and C. Instead of reading The Hobbit for my class I took off every single one of my books from their shelves and did some serious dusting. Since they were all on the floor anyway I catagorized them and moved them to different places and stacked them differently to save space. I got way too much nerdy pleasure out of it.

I had the best day at work today. The power went out at around 11:30 and thankfully no one came in or I would have had to figure sales tax and what not without the computer's help. I don't even want to think about trying to figure change quickly. So I got to start on some fun projects while I waited for it to come back on. The glass window/door between us and Shenanigans was bumming Ann out so she asked me to do something with it. I cut tons of pictures and posters out of book catalogues and magazines and made a huge (and awesome if I do say so myself) collage. I used to have a wall that was literally covered in collages so I had a blast reliving the good ol' days of scotch tape and clever angles.

I'm excited about tomorrow. Arts Picnic (aka kettle korn and dehydration) and Back to the Future at the Kress! All I need is a geeky boyfriend to take and share a coke with. Le sigh. For now, I'll be content with sharing a coke with my other lover.

Currently Watching:
Pirates of the Carribbean: Dead Man's Chest (on sleuth network...hmm)

hockity pockity wockity wack

Can it be next year now? I am ready to leave for Florida NOW. Looking at apartments and figuring out where they are just makes the whole thing a reality. I can't wait. Although I truly am terrified for such a big step I think that having Sam, Zach, Nina, and Bella there will make everything a lot less scary. However, to be perfectly honest, I think I'm more afraid about leaving my family (i.e my dad and grandma) for their sake. Of course I'll miss them but I'm more worried about them worrying about me. No one else in my family has ever done this. They stay close to home. Like my mom said, they have never felt the need to stretch their wings and fly away. They have always been content where they are. I feel the need to experience something bigger than living at home until I meet the right guy, get married, and move into a house no more that 5 miles from my parents' house. The end. It would be so easy to do that. So easy to get a Masters degree, get a job as the head of the children's department at Farr, and stay there for 35 years until I retire. I have to force myself to not take the easy route.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Today is awesome because I got to hang out with two of my favorite people on earth. And because I'm fun-sized.

Currently Reading:
The Hobbit or There and Back Again by JRR Tolkien

top down seat back rollin' in my cadillac

Today is awesome because I tried a tanning bed for the first time ever. My grandma had a free spray on tan and offered for me to go with her. I didn't feel like risking looking like an Oompa Loompa so I did the bed for only $6. Initially, I was a bit concerned about 1. crawling into a UV coffin and 2. being naked and not being in the shower. It was actually kind of relaxing. I didn't bring my Zune or anything so I listened to the hum of the machine and just took some time to think. It was nice and warm and not too hot. AND I got to wear those ridiculously spiffy night vision goggles.

Trying new things for the win!

Our midterm was in a different classroom but I didn't get the memo. I wandered around and finally found the right place and ended up being nearly fifteen minutes late for the test. The professor gave me crap and it wasn't exactly the best way to begin an already stressful test. I think I did alright but he asks the kind of questions where none of the multiple choice answers is what you think is the right answer so you pick the one that sounds the least wrong. Urg.h.

I have made the mistake of purchasing a few books in the last couple of weeks and it's been like giving a few sips of whiskey to a recovering alcoholic. Bad idea. I've fallen off the wagon. And the worst thing is that I can't read them. I bought three at Goodwill and one at the Book Rack. Now to buy a new bookcase to put them on. And a house to put the bookcase in to put them on.

Sea...like C...for Catwoman!

My thoughts exactly.

I neglected my blogging duty yesterday after Sam left "late". I should really remember to blog in the middle of the day when I'm actually awake.

Tomorrow morning is the midterm for my class. I'm about 85% prepared. I still have nearly a third of my book to read before then and I've hardly studied. However, I do pay rapt attention in class so I suppose that's an advantage. I have never wanted to read my own books or books from the library more than I have in the past week. Sadly, there are still four more that will have to be read in the next 2 weeks. Oye.

Today Sam and I went to our favorite new hotspot, The Kress theater, and watched the original Batman movie. It was a good (if not somewhat boring by the end) time had by all. Especially the kid with the gum behind us. Kiiiiiill. Back to the Future is on Sunday! F-U-N.

Mel loves:
- Freaks and Geeks Series Boxed Set and watching said episodes with her brudder.
- First edition of I Married Adventure by Osa Johnson
- The smell of wet garden woodchips
- Sugar snap peas
- New license plate stickers (even though those little stickers cost me $145)
- Porpoises. God's most noble and brave creature.

Mel loathes:
- Finding ABC gum stuck to the bottom of her trash can left there by (presumably) Caleb
- When Cheyenne gets up on her bed and eats her freshly poured cup of Nilla Wafers when she leaves the room for ten seconds
- The news
- Emails that are marked postmaster failure to deliver
-Mosquito bites right there, no not there, THERE.

Currently Reading:
The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett

it was Toto that made Dorothy laugh

Bored bored bored.

Caleb is packing up to go to New Orleans tomorrow. Of course, because he is a boy, he waited until now to do it. We are watching Interview with a Vampire but I somehow doubt we will finish it. I'm such an old lady. I have to be in bed by 11, you know.

I watched the new Librarian movie today. Such terrible movies, yet I sit through them. This one, ironically enough, was about vampires. I'll say it before and I'll say it again, watching movies like that or National Treasure make me wish that I would have chosen history for my major instead of my minor. I feel like I don't know anything. Noah Wyle or Nicholas Cage can just pull up these random facts and it's awesome (yes, I know they are just characters, but still). I love my history classes. I'm sad that I only have one left. Nerd alert!

Ponderance for the day: Why does a short sleeved shirt make one that much warmer than sleevless? It's like three or four extra inches! Our house is a balmy 63 degrees and switching from a spaghetti strap to short sleeves provided instant comfort today.

not one more poop out of you, woman!

I want to dress windows for Disney World shops for a living. Dream job.

It's time like these when this blogging every day challenge gets a tad irritating. I honestly have nothing to write. Music Man at the Kress was both fun and awkward. I'm apparently not a huge fan of Jagermeister and pineapple juice and whatever else they put in an Eternal Summer. The third through tenth sips were tolerably good and then it was just gross.

Can you believe I'm already halfway done with my class? We have midterm this Wednesday. Yikes. This year is going to fly by...and then I will have to make grown up decisions. *clutches black and white puppy and drinks chocolate milk while rocking back and forth in the fetal position*

Goodnight my someone.

moses supposes his toeses are roses

This is what greeted me as I came in the door from work this afternoon. Instead of screaming and chucking my keys at him in a hopeless attempt to knock him out I rolled my eyes and asked the figure what he was doing. I assumed it was Kendal standing there but instead I found myself talking to our hat rack dressed up in a sweatshirt, wranglers, and a ski mask. Clever. Interestingly enough, I normally scream at everything that startles me. EVERYTHING. Just ask Sam. I think I didn't this time because I'm pretty used to my brothers or dad jumping out and scaring me when I walk in the door. However, I was informed that this guy was waiting for me in the shower this morning...let's just say it is a damn good thing I took a shower last night. I'm fairly positive I would have died of a heart attack. Oh brothers.

I watched the musical Damn Yankees with my mom tonight. One of the worst movies I have ever seen. We were betting on who would crack first and turn it off. We got through it and laughed for a good five minutes afterwords at how terrible it was. I love my mommy. It's nice when she is distracted from being depressed about her unemployment.

I'm way too excited to sleep in tomorrow. And Music Man sing-along at the Kress! FUN!

Oh yeah! Today is awesome because I found a fingerpuppet of Francis the bulldog from Oliver and Company in my grandma's basement and she let me keep it. He's adorable. Today is also awesome because Hugh Jackman exists.

you gotta risk it to get the biscuit!

Barbie! What have you done?! You used to be such an independent and strong woman who doesn't need a man to complete her. You broke up with Ken for this bum? If Kelly turns into Renesme I am shunning you for ever! ShuuuuN-AH.

This is a quote that I had never heard from Robert Pattinson which, after reading, makes me love him.

"When you read the book, it's like, 'Edward Cullen was so beautiful I creamed myself.' I mean, every line is like that. He's the most ridiculous person who's so amazing at everything. I think a lot of actors tried to play that aspect. I just couldn't do that. And the more I read the script, the more I hated this guy, so that's how I played him, as a manic-depressive who hates himself. Plus, he's a 108-year-old virgin so he's obviously got some issues there."

Creamed. Hahahaa!

Today I:
-Deep conditioned my hair with carrots...mmmm
-Watched the best of the Carol Burnett show DVD that I got from the library
-Watched several episodes of Undeclared online (very very funny and cute show with some great cameos)
-Watched Fired Up! with Sarah and was pleasantly surprised at its wit (it very much reminded me of John Tucker Must Die)
-Was pinned against a wall while Kendal booty danced me (and yes that is as dirty as it sounds)
-AND purchased $80 worth of merchandise from Amazon.com. So many good deals! I couldn't help it! I am getting a large paycheck this month and I don't have a car payment. This is my first really big indulgence since Florida, okay?! Okay. On Tuesday I will be receiving the Freaks and Geeks boxed set, Top Hat, Meet Me in Saint Louis, The Big Bang Theory Season One, and On the Town. *booty dance!*

I submitted my first draft to my professor with thirteen minutes to spare last night! Woot!

Today is awesome because I found a remote to my DVD player. Yay! Ahh, to be lazy.

Currently Reading:
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

five galleons for the puking pastilles

These t-shirts made me laugh far too hard.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Thoughts:

Bad news first. The entire thing just felt rushed yet super sloooooow. Is that possible? It felt like it was just scene after scene after scene with no real flow between. There was no substance and they didn't explain anything! One small example is that they could have taken 45 seconds to explain that Fenrir was a werewolf. Instead, he's just this hulking deatheater that no one really pays any mind to. Is this particularly crucial to the story line? No. But I felt like it would be one small thing that could have enhanced the understanding of the story line *shrug*. I guess it shouldn't matter to me because I've read the books.

Other small things: Ginny and Harry's kiss. *excuse me while I go vomit up awkwardness*, the stupid birds that Hermione sent at Ron (one of those cases where it would have been better had they have left it out), and then the ending. The stupid stupid ending. Why was Ron sitting by himself not saying anything?! And what was with the last line? “I didn't realize how pretty Hogwarts is” or something? Why not do the funeral scene instead? At least it had closure! Bah! Humbug.

On a more positive note I really really appreciated the humor. I think I laughed more at this one than I have at any of the others. I adored it when Harry drank the liquid luck. I felt like it was Daniel Radcliffe's “real person” humor rather than processed script writer's humor.

Other good things: I loved the scene at the Weasley's shop, Cormac and Blaise Zabini=HELLO! and then there was Draco. I was so genuinely impressed. He went from this quiet resolve and strength on the train to gradually getting more nervous to delving into positive despair when facing Dumbledore. Great stuff

All in all I liked it alright but it just wasn't on par with the other films for me. However, it will probably be one of those movies that I will need to see again to appreciate. I think I felt the same way about Order of the Phoenix and I liked it much better after multiple viewings and lowered expectations.

Today is awesome because we have cheesy Sunchips and I'm nearly done with my first draft!

I wasn't dropping no eaves!

So today I found out that the first draft of my 15 page Lord of the Rings paper is due tomorrow by midnight. If a girl hadn't brought it up in class I would have had no idea. Fortunately, it pretty much just has to be an outline of what I'm writing about and sources to back up my ideas, and an introduction to my critical method, not an actual paper. In order to write it I am currently watching Fellowship on tape (I was a big girl today and hooked up our old VHS player to my TV) and am frantically writing notes. This movie is so familiar.

Looking for sources, I was amused to find that the majority of scholarly articles are about the homoerotic undertones of the movies. When I have time I am totally reading those, haha.

I have decided that I was born part hobbit. The height. The curly mop o' hair. The blissful and naive happiness. The understanding of breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner, and supper. Of course, judging by the size and lack of hair on my feet I'm obviously not a full blood.

Harry Potter tomorrow!

Today is awesome because I went to a tiny little Victorian shop in Lafayette with my grandma and the owner was the living embodiment of Linda Richmond. It was hilarious. She was so chatty and honest to God said "no big whoop" about a thousand times. I should have started talking about Barbara and watched her reaction. She's like buttah, you know.

hip to be square

I want to be Ai Takahashi when I grow up.

Check out this library porn:
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/16-10/ff_walker?currentPage=all
I think I'd be willing to go all Anna Nicole Smith for this guy. I'll have to research whether he's single. Or maybe he and his wife will be willing to adopt me! One can dream.

I worked and met a really awesome young adult reader today. We sat and talked about books we liked for a good half hour while her mom shopped. She's read Twilight and didn't particularly like them for the exact same reasons that I don't. Just a really cool kid. She left the store with four books and promised to come back and talk with me about them. That's why I love my job.

Today was awesome because I now own my car. I made my last payment today after being stuck with it for the past three years. It's going to be so weird not having to allow for $250 to be taken out of my account on the 14th of every month. Except that I've decided that I'm going to start paying for my own insurance now. But at least the check will be written to my parents and they aren't going to fine me if I can't come up with it right away. The bank clerk even did a little jig on my behalf when I payed it. And then gave me a dum-dum sucker.

*Edit* Today is even more awesome because at 10:00 at night I decided to move around my books and ended up clearing an entire bookshelf to begin getting my stacks of books up off the floor. Nearly every book has a little home now! Yay! It also let me see books I haven't seen since I bought them on my last day at Borders during this huge dollar clearance sale. Who knew I had Angela's Ashes and Eats Shoots and Leaves? Because I sure didn't.

who can it be now?

Today was awesome because it was super fun and full of joy and joyness! And I got a kickbutt Ravenclaw school folder from my kickbutt Granny.

THE END.

it's like a vine that can't untangle

“I would rather have my child be illiterate than read Harry Potter”

I have no words. Honestly. It doesn’t even matter that it’s Harry Potter. Insert “Tom Sawyer” or “Nancy Drew” or “The Dear America Series” in there and I would still feel the same disgust. Would she rather her child be deaf than listen to that Satanic rock and roll music? Or have her child be rendered blind than watch Pinocchio? I just want to punch this woman in the head. Yes, I immediately jump to violence. If she is this ignorant I somehow doubt that a quiet sit down talk over tea and scones would sway her at all.

I have a real problem with the censoring of books. Heard about the women who are taking on Florida to get Gossip Girls and The Bermudez Triangle (oh no! not the questioning of sexuality!) yanked from YA shelves in PUBLIC LIBRARIES? I watched them on a clip of the Today show at work the other day and was yelling at the screen. Quote: "I'm optimistic because it's such common sense," she said. "It's not a gray area. It is black and white. It's so distasteful for youths. It's so farfetched that we would allow this to happen in the first place." I can’t believe the balls of some people.

There has been a big push recently for “ratings” to be put on books. “V” for violence, “S” for sexual content, “L” for language etc. Bull. Shit. As http://bookshelvesofdoom.blogs.com/bookshelves_of_doom pointed out, what would they do about the classics? And how does one rate a book? How many curse words warrants an L? Would Romeo and Juliet get a V for Violence (or Vendetta)? Would Scarlet Letter or Wuthering Heights get an A for Adultery (or Awful)? I don’t know about you, but I consider the fact that bookstores and libraries already have books split into Adult, Young Adult, Grade School, and Children’s Books is enough of a “rating system”. If you think about it, having a book in the YA section is basically saying that they are PG-13 or above. And somehow I think that it’s “worse” to watch some of the movies that are rated PG-13 than reading The Book Thief. What 4th grader is going to be interested in reading An Abundance of Katherines? I’m going to go out on a limb here and say none. Kids are going to read what they feel comfortable with. I guarantee you that if I were to have picked up Looking for Alaska when I was in 6th grade (which I probably wouldn’t have since I was just fine with my Horrible Histories series-which incidently have also been banned-thank you very much) I would have more than likely read a few chapters, gotten embarrassed or bored, and switched it for another book. However, I wouldn’t have wanted the option of reading it revoked from me. Not sure why I’m picking of John Green today haha. As for Gossip Girls, the sex and language is what would be in a PG-13 movie. Period. It does not warrant an R rating for heaven’s sake.

I’m not the type to get hyped up about much. I don’t care about politics. I have opinions on abortion and Iraq and the environment and gay marriage and the like but I keep them to myself. Even when the rest of my family decides to have a rare political (and staunchly conservative) rant at the dinner table I either keep my mouth shut or excuse myself. However, this is one issue that genuinely pisses me off.

It’s amazing that one little sentence in the comment section of a Harry Potter cakewrecks could evoke this response. So, thanks for the rant! :) September 26th starts Banned Book Week! Mark your calendars and don’t forget to read something naughty!

Jaws at the Kress tonight! I’m both excited and a bit terrified. But I suggested it so I’m going to do it!

Today is awesome because I’m going to clean my room and finally pop in Roger Rabbit. Hooray!
*Edit* Today is not awesome because my brothers took my DVD player. Grr.

Currently Reading:
Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe (who was actually a spy for Queen Elizabeth and then assasinated by some think Elizabeth herself...the more you know!)

a dirty book is rarely dusty

Cuz' we're the girls of Rock N' Roll!

http://cyborg.namedecoder.com/ My Cyborg name is M.E.L.I.S.S.A or Mechanical Electric Lifeform Intended for Sabotage and Scientific Assasination...I am one badass cyborg!

Work was actually pretty fun today. We had a bridal shower and I got yummy food so that was good. I've had one of those twinges of a headache all day. It's like a little thunderstorm above my eye but you know it could blow up into a full hurricane at any second. I'm probably just dehydrated. I should go check my pee.

I had so much fun doing this quiz! So enjoy!

You have received this note because someone thinks you are a literary geek. Copy the questions into your own note, answer the questions, and tag any friends who would appreciate the quiz, including the person who sent you this. Don't bother trying to italicize your book titles. We know you want to.


1) What author do you own the most books by? Looking at my bookshelves it looks like it's Lemony Snicket. I have all 13 of The Series of Unfortunate Events.


2) What book do you own the most copies of? Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. 2 paperback and one hardcover. Why? What if two get lost?!


3) Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions? I'm not THAT kind of English major thank you very much. I'm no grammar Nazi. I'm in it for the lit.


4) What fictional character are you secretly in love with? Well they aren't exactly secrets. Multiple boys from the HP universe, Touchstone from Sabriel, Geric from Goose Girl, The Beast, Michael Moscovitz. My taste in fictional boys is quite refined, you know.


5) What book have you read the most times in your life (excluding picture books read to children; i.e., Goodnight Moon does not count)? Into the Land of the Unicorns by Bruce Coville. My copy is falling apart.


6) What was your favorite book when you were ten years old? The BFG by Roald Dahl


7) What is the worst book you've read in the past year? The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. Ugh. I tried. I really really did.


8) What is the best book you've read in the past year? In 2009 it would be The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. Pleasant surprise.


9) If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be? Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn


10) Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for Literature? Jane Austen if she were still alive


11) What book would you most like to see made into a movie? The Grimm Sisters by Michael Buckley or The Graveyard Book or Neverwhere by Neil Gaimen.


12) What book would you least like to see made into a movie? The Host by Stephenie Meyer. Double ugh.


13) Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character. I dream about nearly every book I read. The one that pops into my head had something to do with Cheyenne really being Aslan lol.


14) What is the most lowbrow book you've read as an adult? Ahaha. Oh where to begin? Probably Ransom My Heart by Meg Cabot. The first and only true “romance novel” I've ever read. LOTS of sex.


15) What is the most difficult book you've ever read? Middlemarch by George Eliot.


16) What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you've seen? A Comedy of Errors


17) Do you prefer the French or the Russians? They are both pretty depressing. Probably French though. I think Dostoevsky would beat out Hugo in a battle to the Prozac.


18) Roth or Updike? The only things I've read of theirs are parts of Updike's “Separating” and Roth's “Defender of the Faith” and I didn't really like either of them.


19) David Sedaris or Dave Eggers? I've only read part of When You are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris but I've read all of Dave Egger's children's book Giraffes? Giraffes! Sooooo I'm going to go with Mr. Eggers. Yay!


20) Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer? Shakespeare


21) Austen or Eliot? Austen. Eliot has zero humor.


22) What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading? Contemporary classic writers like Vonnegut or Kerouac.


23) What is your favorite novel? Too many to choose from. But if forced it would be Little Women by Louisa May Alcott or Beauty by Robin McKinley


24) Play? A Midsummer Night's Dream. Even though I've seen it a thousand times and have had to read it in class a hundred more times more than that I still love it. I appreciate it more now than I did a few years ago though.


25) Poem? Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost or The Crocodile's Toothache by Shel Silverstein


26) Essay? “A Room of One's Own” by Virginia Woolf


27) Short story? Trifles by Susan Glaspell or “Fleur” by Louise Erdrich. Apparently I like stories where jackass men get their comeuppance from a woman.


28) Work of nonfiction? History of Salt. Just Kidding. I like biographies. Especially of historical characters.


29) Who is your favorite writer? J.K. Rowling


30) Who is the most overrated writer alive today? Either Nora Roberts or Stephenie Meyer


31) What is your desert island book? I'm going to say Moby Dick because it's something I've never gotten around to reading and I would have lots of time to do so, it's thick so it would take me a while, and I've been told that you can really learn how to sail and survive by reading it so there ya go!


32) And... what are you reading right now? Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark

Today was awesome because I tried kiwi for the first time since I was like 6 and liked it!

in a world of my own

The Dapper Dans! This picture was taken during one of my most favorite days of park hopping ever. It was the first day that Sam and I went character hunting. Such a blast! Among other adventures we played Go Fish with Peter Pan, took Tom Sawer Island by storm, got the bajeezus scared out of us by a super hot butler, and got captured by Captain Hook.

To continue with the Disney mania, I provide you with this 'little' gem provided by Samantha. It kept me very much entertained today at work.

I apologize for the super wide spacing. I've tried to edit this three times and it won't let there be a single space in between. I give up.

DISNEYLAND

Name: Mel

Age: 22

First Disneyland Trip: 1989

How old were you?: 3


Where did you stay?: My uncle Bruce’s house. Sadly, that’s the biggest part of the trip I remember. I remember being super sick on the way down and having to take yucky medicine (my parents told me that they almost had to turn around). I also remember eating fruity pebbles for the first time and hating them (I haven’t had them since. Maybe I should try them), a small earthquake, and completely freaking out (and freaking out my parents) because I got out of the bed (with crayon posts like on Full House) and wasn’t able to walk. I guess it lasted for a good hour and they still have no idea what was wrong with me. Eventful trip huh?

First ride (that you can remember): Peter Pan’s Flight or the Submarine Ride

First character you met: Snow White

Favorite "land": Toss up between Adventureland and New Orleans Square

Favorite part of Main Street: The theater with the creepy mannequin taking tickets

Favorite Adventureland Attraction: Indiana Jones!

Favorite New Orleans Square Attraction: Pirates!

Favorite Frontierland Attraction: Big Thunder!

Favorite Critter Country Attraction: My choices are Pooh or Splash Mountain? Oh how shall I ever choose?!

Favorite Fantasyland Attraction: Alice in Wonderland

Favorite Toontown Attraction: I like all the fake shops and stuff you can play with. Does that count? If not, probably the Chip and Dale tree house.

Favorite Tomorrowland Attraction: If Matterhorn is considered Tomorrowland then I choose that. If not, Space Mountain.

Least Favorite Attraction: Star Tours. Love the queue and theme, hate the ride.

Ride that you like that others seem to dislike: Storybookland!

Ride that you dislike that others seem to like: Star Tours

Favorite Show: Queenie!

Favorite defunct Show: I’d love to say Captain Eo but I never saw it.

Favorite defunct Attraction: Submarine Ride (yes, yes, I know it’s back but if it doesn’t have mermaids I’m not interested)

Favorite defunct Fireworks show: Remember Dreams Come True

Favorite defunct Parade: The Electrical Parade is back so I have no complaints

Favorite Song from a Show or Attraction: Grim Grinning Ghosts

Favorite mode of Disneyland transportation: The good ol’ train. Or the Jolly Trolley.

Favorite face character: Not at Dland but Peter Pan or the Mad Hatter or the Tremaines

Favorite costumed character: Oh wow. I know it didn’t happen in Dland but probably Captain Hook and Mister Smee just because of our experience with them. Mister Smee and I have a secret and torrid love affair. Shhhhh.

Favorite audio-animatronic: Dirty Foot Dan!

Favorite full-service/buffet restaurant: Blue Bayou

Favorite quick-service restaurant: Pizza Port

Favorite snack: Turkey leg…just kidding. Dole whips of course!

Favorite store: Le Bat en Rouge.

Favorite part of the 50th Anniversary: Probably the color of the castle or the fireworks

Favorite 50th Anniversary Hidden Mickey: There was one in Tarzan’s tree house that I remember being really cool.

Favorite Happiest Faces on Earth photo collage: I honestly loved all of those. What a neat idea! The one I think of off the bat is the magnifying glass with Alice in it

Most Recent Trip: uhhhh…June of ’07?

Most Recent character I met: We really didn’t meet many characters at Disneyland. So we’ll go with Disneyworld. That would probably be Brer Rabbit outside of AK.

Year of a Million Dreams "Dreams" I won: wahh waaaaah. I gave away dreams though, so that’s way better.

The weirdest thing you've ever seen/experienced at Disneyland: Probably Timothy falling into the Rivers of America. Or maybe getting a celery string stuck down my throat on Indiana Jones. Or the lady that kept running down the middle of the road before the parade with the stroller and wasn’t wearing a bra. I’m sure I’ve had weirder experiences than that but I can’t think of any at the moment.

Future trip: Hopefully within the next year so I can get in for freeeeee!

What are you most looking forward to?: Riding the REAL Pirates.

DISNEY'S CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE

Favorite "land": It used to be Hollywood but after spending time in an entire park devoted to that theme, I’m going to have to say the Grizzly Peak area.

Favorite Paradise Pier Attraction: California Screamin’

Favorite Golden State Attraction: Tortilla factory. Or Soarin’.

Favorite a bug's land Attraction: Again, I’m not a huge fan of any of the rides but I love love love the theme-ing.

Favorite Hollywood Pictures Backlot Attraction: Disney Animation.

Favorite Show: Aladdin

Favorite Parade: Electrical Parade

Favorite Song from a Show or Attraction: The Airplane Song!

Favorite place to eat: That place on the wharf with the clam chowder bread bowls.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------YOUR DISNEY FAVORITES:

1). WDW park? Oh man. Uhhhh. Probably Magic Kindom but I love all my parks!

2). WDW resort? Grand Floridian

3). Thrill ride? Rockin’ Rollercoaster

4). Restaurant? 50’s Prime Time Café. Place we ate at the most? Pecos Bills. Place that would be the best for fighting off zombies/had the best tuna sandwiches EVER? Columbia Harbor House.

5). Attraction? Haunted Mansion

6). Show? Villains Mix and Mingle. LMAO.

7). Parade? Boo To You Halloween Parade

8). Nighttime show? Wishes and Illuminations are probably tied.

9). Characters? Same as above. Pan, Hatter, Tremaines, Hook, and Smee. Although I also loved Rosetta.

10). Store? Tinkerbell’s Treasures or any of the Art shops.

HAVE YOU EVER:
1) cried during "Wishes"? Yes.

2). Cried on the trip home? Yes.

3). Celebrated a bday in WDW? Yes. Working, but yes.

4). Rode in the front of the monorail? Yes…that’s kind of sad now.

5). Counted down the hours till the next trip? Yes.

6). Drove everyone else crazy with Disney talk? Frequently.

7). Took a trip without the kids? Are you joking? I never take the kids! They don’t belong at Disney World!

8). Been too shy to get an autograph? Yes. Every single time. The glaring one was Pocahontas.

9). Worn your ears to the airport? Aww. Unfortunately no. But I did carry my shopping bag and newly bought stuffed animal around proudly.

10). Received a wake up call from Mickey? If you consider a wake-up call from one of my managers to come in and work for the mouse then yes. If not, then no. I’ve never stayed at a Disney hotel.

MOUSECELLANEOUS:
1) How many trips to Disney have you made? Total? Oh geez. 8 or 9 I think.

2). When is your next Disney trip? Soooooon! I’m crossing my fingers for fall.

3). DVC member? home resort? Hah! I wish!

4). Fan of DDP? Disney Dr. Pepper? Why yes. Yes I am.

5). Annual pass holder? Not exactly.

6). 30 min. waiting in line or FP? I laugh at 30 minutes.

7). chicken tenders or turkey leg? Chicken tenders.

8). EMH or time for bed? EMH baby!

9). Favorite season to go? Christmas!

10) Favorite Prince and Princess? Princess is Belle, Prince is Aladdin.

11). Most magical memory ever? There are far too many to choose from. Probably walking into Magic Kingdom for the first time during my tour and seeing the castle and trying really hard not to cry in front of all the other CPs.

CP SURVEY
1) Where are you from? Land of the Cows, Colorado.

2) How old are you? 22.

3) When did you do the program? Fall of ’08

4) Where did you work at? It’s a Small World and Peter Pan’s Flight

5) Where did you live at? Vista Way. Oh Vista Way.

---Work Related Questions----
6) Did you do take 5's and magical moments? Magical moments, yes.

7) If so how often? Lots. I was very lucky to be liked by coordinators and managers so I got picked to do everything.

8) Would you say you had more good guests or asshole guests? On Pan we had more assholes but on Small World we definitely had more good guests.

9) Did you like your managers? We had like ten managers so for the most part, yes.

10) How many reprimands did you get? None! Although I did get a talking to for not putting the Small World keys in the clipboard after close (which I didn’t know you were supposed to do)

11) Were you terminated? Not to my knowledge.

12) Were you working at one location and deployed to another one? I switched back and forth from Pan to Small World and often did Wishes shifts. They wanted me to cross-train to Philhar and Pooh Complexes but I didn’t want to.

13) Did you call in sick, when you were sick? Once.

14) Did you call in sick, when you were not sick? Once.

15) Did you get along with your co-workers? Always. But that didn’t mean I had to like all of em.

16) Did you have sunday night bowling with workers, or something like that? We went to IHOP a lot.

17) Did you get guest service cards, or things like that? You bet I did! I’m a model cast member. Duh.

---Housing Questions----

18) Did you like your apartment? Loaded question but yes for the most part.

19) Did you like your roommates? Yes. I was extremely lucky.

20) Did you get along with them? Yep.

21) Was there any fights/heated debates? I think the big ones were all about cleaning.

22) Was it clean or trashed out? Pretty clean. The fridge frequently got disgusting but other than that it wasn’t awful.

23) Were you there at the apartment for the most part? Probably more than anyone else. It comes from being the only single roommate. Sigh.

24) Did you and your roommates take trips? Yep. Mostly to Walmart haha.

25) Did you fail inspections? Nevah!

26) Did you use the facilities there (ie pool, tennis courts, basketball courts, hot tubs, weight rooms)? Hell to the no. I tanned next to the pool once. I guess I used the library quite a bit though.

27) Did you cook by yourself, or did everyone help out, or did you do your own thing? Everyone pretty much did their own thing. I think there were a couple of times a few of us would make something together.

---Miscellaneous Questions----
28) Did your car break down? Nope. Which is surprising since I didn’t get the oil changed until a month before I left. Good car! *pat pat*

29) Was PI your home on Monday and Thursday Nights? Oh yeah. I’m quite the party animal.

30) Did you do drugs? Lots of pixie dust.

31) People underage, or underage at the time, how many times were you drunk? Of age and never drunk. What a LOSER! Geez.

32) Did you have sex? Hahahahaha. Not quite.

33) If so, did you catch a vd or got pregnant? Girls have a button and boys have a pole and evil touching takes it’s toll!

34) How many times did you go to Clearwater? None.

35) How many times did you go to Cocoa? Once!

36) How many times did you go to Daytona? Zero.

37) How many times did you go to Miami and the Keys? Nadda.

38) Did you go to any other beach that is not listed? I didn’t even go to Blizzard Beach.

39) Which one did you prefer? Definitely cocoa.

40) How many times did you go to City Walk? I’m very sad to say none.

41) How many times did you go to Universal Studio's and Isle's of Adventure? Again, sad to say none. Next time I’ll have money!

42) Did you go to Sea World? I drove past it a lot!

43) How many times did you go to Busch Gardens? Zip.

44) Did you go to any other theme park (not including Disney)? I wouldn’t cheat on my mouse.

45) How many times did you go through the tunnel and backways to get into the parks when you wanted to go? Too many times to count.

46) Did you go to pin parties? No?

47) Did you go to any holiday event in the parks if you had the day off? I wanted to but I didn’t have the money for it.

48) Did you go to the water parks? Nope.

49) Did you go to the Florida Mall? Yep!

50) Did you go to the Mall at Millennia? Nope.

51) Did you go to any other mall? Nope.

52) How many times would you go to IHOP, Steak N' Shake, Perkins, and Denny's in a week? Probably once every three weeks.

53) How many times did you go to Jungle Jims? None.

54) Did you always go to Wal-Mart, Walgreens, and fast food at night? Oh yeah.

55) Did you go home on your program? Nope.

57) Were you caught in a hurricane? Yep. The first day I got there.

58) Did you drink a hurricane or two or more? Ummm. No?

59) Did you go to the clubs in downtown Orlando? Hell no.

60) Did you go to any concert? LOL. Yes I did.

61) Did you watch a play or something like that? I was in Reefer Madness.

62) Did you go to a dinner show? Like I said. Reefer Madness.

63) Did you go to any sporting event (baseball, football, basketball, nascar, etc)? I drove past the Richard Petty driving experience.

64) Did you go to property control a lot? Too much.

65) Did you take a class? Just one on how to be a campus rep.

66) Was it a hard transition to go back home or easy? A little of both but mostly hard.

67) Would you do it all over again? In a heartbeat. Especially if I knew then what I know now.

Phew! All done. I hope your brain isn't too covered with moss. Tomorrow will be the literary quiz! Wooooo! I know you are about ready to poop your pants with excitement!

Today was awesome because I got to chat with one of my favorite customers of all time, Ruben, who gave me a four cent tip because he hate "damn pennies". He's this scrappy 96 year old man who takes a walk to our store every week to harass whoever's working. His wife's name is Ruby. Ruby and Ruben! How adorable is that?! He doesn't look his age AT ALL. He seems like he's maybe in his late 70s. It's crazy. He isn't hunched and is completely sharp and lucid. The only telling of his age is that he is impossibly wrinkled and he shakes a bit. One time I asked him how he stays so young and his answer was that he doesn't buy into all that "health crap". "Booze, smokin', and womanizing. That's how I've stayed alive for this long!" LMAO. Damn straight.

what kind of name is hermione?

This is one of my favorite pictures of all time of three of my most favorite people in the whole wide world. Two of whom never ever take silly pictures. I love how my dad has cleverly combined speak and smell no evil. We went on Everest before this picture was taken and Kendal giggled like a lunatic girl the entire ride. Ahh. Good times. And then we got stuck on Finding Nemo. And then we rented my dad a wheelchair. And then we had to wait a lot longer in the Rockin' Rollercoaster line then expected. And then we were super hungry and ate at Pecos Bills. And then I bawled during the fireworks. That's about all I remember from that day. Isn't that sad?

I love taking showers at night as long as my hair has time enough to dry. There's just something nice about crawling into bed and feeling clean. *Insert joke here about being dirty in bed*


Guess what I purchased today? Who Framed Roger Rabbit on DVD! Hooray! I've been pining over it for far too long and finally decided to purchase it today at Best Buy. I nearly got the Rocky Horror Picture Show also but didn't. I really really want the Muppet Show seasons. I figure they may be on sale on black Friday either at a store or Amazon so maybe I'll wait until then. Birthday and Christmas area long ways away but I'm pretty sure my "list" will be consist of about a billion DVDs.


Yep. Halloween should definitely include Sam as Roger and me as Eddie. I'm just being Eddie because Jessica is way overdone. Or at least that's what I'll keep telling myself haha. This is not a self-deprication blog, Mel! Knock it off! Besides, Eddie's costume would be way more fun to wear anyway. Suspenders and a fedora FTW!

If anyone is bored tomorrow and wants to get out of their house they should come keep me entertained at the bookstore because I have to work for 9.5 hours. This last statement only applys to Sam. If you are a creeper please don't. Unless you are a hot creeper. Then it's okay.

It's only 9 days in and already I'm depressed at how boring I am. I really wish I would have blogged while I was in Florida. I'm sure there was a whole bunch of awesome or awful stuff I've forgotten because I didn't write them down.