let loose from the noose

I missed April! Sad day.

The end of April and this month have kind of been glomped together anyway. Everything has happened at once. I got the internship, leased my first apartment, and finally graduated. I must say that I'm excited about all three, but the first two have been on my mind a bit more than the others. Nothing has really sunk in yet, however. I guess it probably won't until I actually step in to my own apartment and start my first day of being an event planning coordinator intern...or something, haha.

For now, my priorities have been set on packing up all of my STUFF. I literally have been sitting on my bed or laying in it when I wake up in the morning every day and looking around my room and getting horribly overwhelmed at the amount of stuff I have accumulated in my lifetime. I hesitate to call it shit because it isn't to me. I surround myself with things that make me happy. I like living in a TGI Friday's but I think it's time for a change. I am really limiting myself with what I'm allowed to bring with me. Most pretties are staying. Same with books. This accounts for about 75% of my possessions. It is my goal to leave my room fairly spotless. I was most definitely inspired by Sam's meticulous cleaning of her bathroom.

I keep being worried that my room is going to be tiny and that the pictures and whatnot aren't all going to fit. Then I get really excited when I remember that a third of the apartment is mine to do what I wish with. :D

Ann threw a going-away party for me at the store this evening and I actually had a really good time. It was mostly family and customers who have become friends. Do you ever stop and feel grown up? I felt that way today. I played Suzie Hostess and introduced people to other people who I thought they could talk to. I carried on conversations with no awkward pauses with real grown ups! I would have never done that so effortlessly five years ago. I felt poised and gracious. It was rah-ther nice!

My favorite part of the evening (except for the cake which is unfortunately making me sick sick sick) was getting a little grape soda pop lid pin from my aunt and cousin ala UP. It came with a cute little note that was just so "us". Trinity started getting teary and then I started getting bleary eyed and then my aunt started sniffling which made for a triple blonde cry fest right there in the middle of the store. Sigh. I'm such a goober but it was just such a sweet little handmade and thoughtful gift.

3 more weeks until I head out. Adventure is out there!!!

Anticipaaaaation

By the numbers:

53: The number of days since I applied for Professional and Management Internships

1: Letter of rejection I have received for the Operations Management position

3: The amount of internships I am still in the running for

0: The number of emails (rejection or otherwise) I have received about above positions

3-5: The number of times I check my email and the professional internship facebook site a day

3: The number of times I have revised my online resume

7: The days a week that I have either a headache or upset stomach due to stress

2: The number of days from being April

33: The number of days until the final notice date of May 1st

Sigh. This sucks.

little town full of little people

Just a quickie update before I pass out.

Today I had an interview for four professional internships to Disney World. Afterwords I felt really really good about it but, as always, I found the things in the situation to be stressed about and proceeded to do just that. So I've talked today to about anyone who'll listen. Talking it out is always best for me. I can come to my own solution with someone saying an occasional "uh-huh" and nodding their head. Sam is excellent at this. She knows exactly when I need advice and when to let me keep rambling until I inevitably answer my own question.

I also talked to Ann, and for some reason her advice just stuck. There is nothing more I can do. Nothing. I have done everything I possibly can and have done it right. I've worked for Disney in two capacities. I excelled in both of those. I've reached out and used my connections to help get my name out there. I've developed a killer resume. I applied promptly. I was prepared and did the best interview that I could possibly do. None of the rest of it is in my hands. If I fail, it is not because of me. It's completely their decision. She told me to let it go. And I think I have. This tight feeling I've had in my chest since before they posted the interships is pretty much gone. Of course, I'm still nervous. Immediate life after graduation will be altered by whether I get it or not. But I'm not constantly wondering "what if I had put this in my resume" or "why did I say that in the interview?" Instead, I'm digging the whole fate thing. Whatever will be will be.

I feel good. How about you poppet pies?

Currently Reading:
Dark Whispers by Bruce Coville (happy memories!)

touch my monkey!

I wore leggings under a skirt for the first time since probably 4th grade yesterday. It made me feel like doing this:

Or this!

I'm not quite sure why leggings equal full on leotard bodysuits for me but they just do.

They were actually very comfortable and I felt much better wearing an at the knee skirt without so much breeze. We all know how delicately ladylike I am. Ahem. I also paired them with my rad new acid green Doc Martinish rainboots. I felt oh so 1991.

In other news I feel like this semester will be pretty good. My big bad senior class is really going to be challenging but the other two are freshman courses with loads of busy work which I don't mind. What I do mind is actually having to be in the classes with freshmen. It's like high school all over again. I feel so old! One girl was talking about celebrating her 18th birthday in Hawaii last summer.

I also have a lot of down time this semester which is good. Especially for the amount of reading it calls for. I'm going to try extra hard to run on the treadmill EVERY weekday, no exceptions. Especially between now and vacation which gives me a very small goal that I can deal with.

Graduation (FINALLY) is in 3 months and 3 weeks. Moving to Florida will be in approximately 3 months and 3 weeks. It's both terrifying and ridiculously exciting once you break it down.

Even closer is going to Florida on vacation in 2 weeks from tomorrow!!!

Currently Attempting to Read:
Cosmopolitanism by Kwame Anthony Appiah

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