Shining Brightly

Top Fives

2011-12-16T12:06:00.000-08:00

I found this quiz on Tumblr, thought I'd do it on my neglected blog. These answers aren't the be all end all, nor are they in order, but they're what I thought of at this moment :) Enjoy, I did!
Animals
1. Dog
2. Fox
3. Wolves
4. Horse
5. Cat
TV Shows
1. Doctor Who
2. 2 Broke Girls
3. Community
4. Royal Pains
5. Andromeda
Foods
1. Spinach Ravioli
2. Shepherd's Pie
3. Chicken Tikka Masala
4. Tortellini
5. Cherries
Films
1. Amelie
2. Fifth Element
3. Under the Tuscan Sun
4. The Women
5. Lord of the Rings Series
Animated Series
1. Avatar The Last Airbender
2. Futurama
3. Simpsons
4. Doug
5. My Little Pony
Things A Room Needs
1. Great Wall Color
2. Kitschy Knick Knacks
3. Flowers
4. Curtains
5. Books
OTPs
1. Amy/Rory
2. Castle/Beckett
3. Hodgela
4. Ron/Hermione
5. Klaine
Video Games
1. Zelda
2. Professor Layton
3. Mario Kart
4. Echo Jr.
5. Lion King
Places I Want To Visit
1. Santorini
2. San Francisco
3. Switzerland
4. Florence
5. Macchu Picchu
Things I Couldn't Live Without
1. Family
2. Friends
3. Computer
4. A Pet, even if its someone else's
5. Books
Religious and Meaningful Objects
1. Cross
2. Serendipity Bible
3. Class Ring
4. LOTR bracelet
5. Signet Ring
Childhood Cartoons
1. Animaniacs
2. Pinky and the Brain
3. Doug
4. Pepper Ann
5. Looney Toons
Disney Films
1. The Little Mermaid
2. Aladdin
3. Beauty and the Beast
4. The Lady and the Tramp
5. Tangled
Wishes
1. A Boyfriend
2. 10,000 Dollars
3. My Own Apartment
4. A Pet
5. A Nice Bottle of Perfume
Goals
1. Decorate My Own Apartment
2. Travel the World
3. Rescue a Dog
4. Become a Book Publicist
5. Write a Book
Things I'd Like To Be
1. An Author
2. A Wife
3. A Book Publicist
4. A Maid of Honor
5. A Lover
Visited Websites
1. Facebook
2. Twitter
3. Tumblr
4. The Carbon Magazine
5. Sporcle
Fears
1. Cratures in the Ocean
2. Large Birds
3. Bees
4. Being Alone
5. Failing
Things About Nature
1. Willow Trees
2. Bubbling Brooks
3. Japanese Maples
4. Sunshine
5. Wildflowers
Books
1. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
2. The Help
3. The Phantom Tollbooth
4. Ella Enchanted
5. HP Series
Talents I'd Like To Have
1. Splits
2. To Draw
3. To Walk on My Hands
4. To Paint
5. To Dance Ballet

Harry Potter Character Questions

2011-10-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter- Tell about a scar on your body: I have a line on my forehead from a magic trick gone horribly, horribly wrong
Ron Weasley- Something you’re afraid of: Sharks. It's a crippling, irrational fear.
Hermione Granger- A subject you know a lot about: Art History
Draco Malfoy- Closest green item to you: Pen Holder
Severus Snape- Your favourite alcoholic beverage: Vodka with a mixer
Rubeus Hagrid- Your favourite animal: Dog, Fox, Crocodile
Luna Lovegood- Something about you other people find weird: I purposely pronounce some words wrong
Neville Longbottom- Your favourite flower: Wildflowers of all varieties
Nymphadora Tonks- Something you would change about your appearance: My weight
Fred and George Weasley- The last prank you pulled on someone, or someone pulled on you: My friend tried to convince me she had a quickie wedding cause she was preggers
Voldemort- If you were to make a Horcrux, it would be: my stuffed sloth
Moaning Myrtle- The last thing to make you cry: My breakup
Sirius Black- Have you ever taken the blame for something you didn’t do? Yes, often
Dobby- What is your most loved article of clothing? My oxford shirt
Peeves the Poltergeist- What is the best/funniest insult you’ve used/heard? Anything Shakespeare wrote
Sybill Trelawney- When was the last time you experienced Deja Vu? About 2 weeks ago, don't recall why...
Filius Flitwick- What is your favorite spell from the Harry Potter series? Accio or Reparo
Lily Potter- Is there anyone you love so much you would die for? My parents
Arthur Weasley- What piece of “Muggle” technology fascinates you most? Computers
Mundungus Fletcher- Have you ever stolen anything? Nope
Viktor Krum- If you were a Quidditch player, what position would you play? Chaser or Seeker
Fleur Delacour- What physical attribute do you like most about yourself? My lips
Hedwig- What was your all-time favorite pet, or, if you’ve never had one, your all-time favorite birthday gift. I loved both my doggies the same and I miss them
Albus Dumbledore- What is your proudest accomplishment? (Dumbledore’s is, of course, being featured on a Famous Wizards Chocolate Frog Card) Graduating with Honors
Minerva McGonagall- What spell have you always wanted to use? Probably Avis

(B)risk (A wednesday poem on thursday)

2011-09-29T14:12:00.000-07:00

Autumn falls, cool and crisp change
Leaves turning green to brown, to red
Morning air breaks upon your face
Like water flowing over rocks

The sky swirls around you
Patterns in the air, unseen
Except by the leaves who travel
Dancing through the change

New times, and yet ancient and aging
Each brisk day new, yet timeless
Urging you forward in life, to new days
And new times, and old loves

Poem Wednesday Fail (cause...it's sunday...)

2011-09-25T18:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry I didn't post this earlier! Also, I tried to make this poem a bit more sexy than normal, to counter act the mostly sad poems that have been on here before.

Hands on your skin
Soft sighs whispering of untold futures
Lightest of touches, subtle wanting
Fingertips brushing fingertips, then entwining

Lips lingering, kisses and kisses
Growing heady with want, with need
Breath mingling together, warm and sweet
Closing the distance between hearts and bodies

Intoxicating touches, loving and lusting
Heartfelt, and honest, and together
Desire, escaping through every pore
Need bringing souls and skins as one

The Language of Love

2011-09-21T16:21:00.000-07:00

Recently, a friend introduced me to Gary Chapman's book "The 5 Love Languages", or rather, she introduced me to his 5 love languages concept. He says there are five ways that everybody expresses their love or likes to have love expresses. First, there is 'words of affirmation', which is the need to hear how much you're wanted, valued, and loved, everyday. The second is 'quality time', time with the object of your affection or friendship, just one on one with no outside distractions. Thirdly is 'receiving gifts' which doesn't mean a love of things, but rather a love of the thoughtfulness the tings represent. The fourth language is 'acts of service',. which involves having little things done for you by your partner to help ease your burden. The final language is 'physical touch', which is not necessarily a sexual or romantic thing. Hugs, touching arms, holding hands, pats on the back, all are expressions of physical touch. My friend and I were talking about this concept and how it might affect relationships, romantic or not. It's good to figure out which language you and your object of affection are most fluent in. For example, if you're a 'quality time' person, then a postponed date will both you more than most. If he or she is a 'receiving gits person, than neglecting everyday gestures or gifts could be disastrous! I never realized how important these little things can be until i heard about them and then thought about my past relationships. My top two languages are 'physical touch' and 'quality time' and that makes SO much sense to me! Take the quiz (here!) and tell me what yours are in the comments!

Emma's Interview

2011-09-21T15:00:00.000-07:00

These are my answers to an interview that Emma Watson completed:

Residence: Phoenix

Favorite fashion designers: Valentino, Chanel, Chloé, Vera Wang, Calvin Klein Collection, Elizabeth and Jane by Olsen Twins, Burberry, and People Tree.

Item of clothing you would never throw out: my oxford tee shirt, it reminds me of England

How would you define your personal style? Jean Cocteau said, “Style is a very simple way of saying complicated things.” I agree

What’s your own fashion trademark? I like to imagine that, when I get it right, I'm whimsical

Favorite accessory: My silver bracelet, I've had it since middle school

Favorite color: Orange or green, understated.

Favorite scent: Blue by, oh I can't remember the brand. It smells nice though!

Let’s talk about your beauty routine. What’s your face wash? CVS brand grapefruit

Makeup? bare minerals, covergirl mascara, chapstick, generic everything else

Where do you get your hair done? My hairstylist's name is Jen

Favorite architect: Antoni Gaudí, Frank Lloyd Wright

Favorite destination: Scotland, but I want to travel everywhere

Favorite discovery: Cornish Pasties in liverpool street station

Favorite hotel: I'm honestly not sure!

Favorite luggage: My little yellow 50's suitcase

Most memorable party: My 21st birthday in Flagstaff

When you can’t think of something to give a friend, what do you give? You can’t beat a great-smelling candle or a gift card to somewhere they love

Every lady has a vice. What’s yours? Ginger cookies and milk

Necessary extravagance: I buy a ridiculous amount of magazines

Favorite movies: the 5th Element, Lord of the Rings, Amelie, Dogma, and each for completely different reasons.

Favorite artist: Rembrandt, Manet, Michelangelo

Favorite cocktail: vodka and apple juice

Handwritten thank-you note or immediate e-mail? Handwritten note.

If you have personalized stationery, where do you get it from? I used to get mine at Borders, but that closed so now I just shop at Target for cute thank you notes.

The true hallmark of modern elegance is: Being confident and understated in you attitude and appearance, I think, while still having a little goofy whimsy in you!

Poem Wednesday

2011-09-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

New seasons start bringing new hope and light
Challenges and newness can be frightening
Never knowing what to expect, what's lurking
Around the corner, who knows what's awaiting?
Something beautiful could be there
Something fun, something startling

Taking the leap into the unknown is scary
Your heart is on the line, glowing in the dark
A beacon, but for what?
Nervous glances, wondering in the dark
The dark of uncertainty and newness
But everything, even the dark, can be beautiful

So in the new season, stars pinprick in the sky
Hearts, ready for love, and hope, and joy
Wind rushes through your hair
Bringing a breeze of new life to you
Ready to jump?

What I Want

2011-09-13T12:17:00.000-07:00

I know there's been a lot of subtle love posts on here (and on my tumblr, linameka.tumblr.com) lately, but that's just how I've been feeling and what I've been focusing on, much to my dismay. So, to keep with the theme of the month, here's another one!

What I want in a man:
He needs to be:
super open
nerdy/geeky
romantic, at least sometimes
able to sing
funny/witty
liberal
christian or at least spiritual
healthy
spontaneous
mature
close with his family
independent
kind-hearted
intelligent
a gentleman

He needs to:
ask me to be his girlfriend
introduce me to his friends
love animals
want to talk to me often
take goofy pictures with me
send me texts in the morning and night, just bc he can
surprise me with little thoughtful somethings
have real, deep, important conversations with me
have goofy, nonsensical conversations with me
dance with me for no reason
love me, eventually
trust me and confide in me
keep me in the loop

So there you go! That's what I want in a man, what do you want in a man or woman? Write your own blog and then reply to this with the link :)

Stealing "Poetry Wednesday"

2011-09-07T23:16:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling rather sad today. Sometimes its hard to move on or not feel sad. So I'm stealing Allison's idea and making Wednesdays "Poem Wednesday"s.

It takes strength and stamina to break down a wall
The breaks in the walls let beings in.
They let in clouds of laughter.
Rays of trust and seeds of happiness sneak quietly in
Love flourishes in the cracks in the wall.

But they can be dangerous, suddenly violent.
Mistrust slips in, unnoticed, yet provoked.
Sensitivity creeps like ivy vines, in every crevice.
Hurt comes barreling in, flying through the wall.
It crumbles into dust.

The wall can be beautiful,
full of barriers, yet also loose stones
But if it's torn down, what is left?
Only tears, loneliness, and pain mixed with the rubble.

Shining Eyes

2011-08-22T19:59:00.000-07:00

Emotions are tricky things
Years of building up resistance
Because, to survive, it was needed,
Broken, because now trust is needed
Or so you've been told

One shift, one hand inched away
And the wall cracks
Fissures spiderweb, unable to be controlled
The rogue tear escapes
With an argument you can't comprehend

Then fingers find yours, searching for an anchor
Your eyes and body avert, trying to avoid
The question and confusion on its way

Blue eyes shine, brows furrowed
The concern is touching, deep down where it hurts,
Heart-breaking and soul-saving, and here

Your eyes shine too, with stars and rain
Sighs and comfort, you lean in again
Emotions are fickle things.

Pottermore Survey

2011-08-09T18:38:00.000-07:00

Even though I'm not on Pottermore yet (I slept in too late each day so the registration closed before I could be there) but I wanted to do this survey from Hayleylujah Chorus (hi Hayley!)anyway. Enjoy!

What's your Pottermore username? Don't have one yet :( It'd probably be
something like LinaMeka or CharmingMagic10

What House do you think it sounds like? Probably Hufflepuff, right? Because
they like Charms?

What House do you want to be in? My noble side wants to be in Gryffindor, but I
think I'd really end up in Hufflepuff, and I'm cool with that :)

Does your username relate to you at all? Yes, Charms is my favorite subject,
followed by D.A.D.A.

What kind of wand would you wish to get? I'd want Willow or Cherry, cause those are
my favorite trees. I'd want it to be reasonably pliant, and to have a phoenix feather core.

Are you pure, half-blooded or Muggle born? I'm pretty sure I'm a muggle-born.

Which day did you get into Pottermore? Not in yet :(

What shape is your Patronus? A Scottish Deerhound

What does your boggart look like? A shark, easily

Would you rather be an Animagus or a Matamorphmagus? Tough one, but I'd probably
go the Tonks route, my patronus would serve as my animal daemon/spirit.

If you were an Animagus, what animal would you be? I've thought hard about this one,
but I think I would be a Golden Retriever. I'd say a wolf, but that would scare
some people, even though I have the same pack mentality and loyalty. I've been told I have the loyalty of a Lab, but Goldens have the same personality, and I think they're prettier and more intelligent looking, plus they're fluffy :)

A Poem, Just For You

2011-07-18T20:35:00.001-07:00

This is a poem I wrote based on a Pablo Neruda poem. Here's hoping you enjoy! *clinks glass*

Self Portrait
For my part, I believe myself to be luscious of lip and long of lash; of hair straight as an arrow; long-bodied; of narrow feet; with skin imperfections; generous with forgiveness; with a focus phobia; too tender of heart; a ridiculous lover of art, musicals, and canine kisses; a bohemian at heart; Scottish to the bone; a tiptoe-r through green grass; a follower of rules; liberator of time; a hard-core loyalist to family; wary of my rivals; a smeller of spicy scents; an entrepreneur of fairy tales and fantastical worlds; a paperback world traveler; tearfully happy under willow trees; a dancer on hardwood and in rain; curious in corner shops; alive in crisp air woodlands; able to survive minus cell phones; a devourer of books; shy on stages; “born in a barn” indoors; clumsy in silence, brilliant set to music; happily messy; mediator during fights; excited in the cinema; perpetually late; all for good causes; a singer by birth and a giddy wallflower.

Honey-Do

2011-07-12T16:01:00.000-07:00

Lately it seems like every blog I read (or write) starts out with "oh my gosh I haven't written a blog in so long, I'm so sorry!" or something to that degree, so I will refrain from saying that at the start of this blog. These past few weeks have been crazy! So many new things are happening! I have this thing going on that I don't want to jinx, so I won't say it here yet, but its great and exciting and new. Then, on a completely opposite note, I have friends who are going through a really tough time right now and I've had to bring my powers out of hiding: those super good mediator skills I had in high school, but let fall by the wayside when teenage dramas diminished. It's kind of nice being needed again, even though the bad situation is terrible. So, here's my honey do list for myself, I just want to have it written down somewhere where people can see it and possibly hold me to it: Find my dream activities list, find a job!!, reread Great Gatsby, finish a novel, decorate a potential apartment, do the laundry! (how exciting), figure out the meaning of life, design an outfit for something, paint a decent picture, buy someone a journal :) That's it for now, here's hoping I get to finish this list, and fingers crossed for the exciting thing in my life ;)

To Sir, With Love

2011-05-25T12:50:00.000-07:00

Today I have the song "To Sir With Love" stuck in my head. Perhaps its because I like that song, perhaps its because I love that film, or perhaps it's because I'm about to watch Glee (and they did a rendition of that song, you know). Anyway, there are so many "sirs" that have helped me get to where I am now, a college grad searching for a job, and I'd like to thank them. My parents, of course, for being there for me always; Mrs.Pedersen for teaching me how to read; Mr.Boebinger for reminding me that I love to learn and for making learning fun; Mrs.Cady for being a super sweet and relaxed 6th grade teacher after the monster of a woman I had for 5th grade; Mr.Abbott for encouraging me to write and making each class a wonderfully goofy experience; Mrs.O'Daniel for teaching me new writing methods and always remembering me; Mr.Hazen for making me love history; Mrs.Parizek for forcing me to write and giving me all those great books to discover; Ms. Reynolds for making me obsessed with art history; and Shari for being the sweetest human I've ever met and making me love PR even more. I just wanted to say thank you for helping me along my journey towards graduation and beyond. For you all, here's a song!

Those schoolgirl days, of telling tales and biting nails are gone,
But in my mind,
I know they will still live on and on,
But how do you thank someone, who has taken you from crayons to perfume?
It isn't easy, but I'll try,

If you wanted the sky I would write across the sky in letters,
That would soar a thousand feet high,
To Sir, with Love

The time has come,
For closing books and long last looks must end,
And as I leave,
I know that I am leaving my best friend,
A friend who taught me right from wrong,
And weak from strong,
That's a lot to learn,
What, what can I give you in return?

If you wanted the moon I would try to make a start,
But I, would rather you let me give my heart,
To Sir, with Love

random tidbits of news

2011-05-06T09:41:00.000-07:00

I realize that I neglected my BEDA duties following Easter and ending with my birthday celebrations over the past weekend. Sorry!! Even though I didn't finish BEDA, I did really enjoy blogging so often. It makes me feel more creative when I have to come up with something readable for my audience (giant audience of 5, that's right). So I''m gonna start using this thing more consistently. I've also decided to join the rest of my generation and start using my TWITTER more regularly too :)
Side note: I've decided that I'm not going to address the Osama being shot deal on here because even though I'm living through a momentous time in history, I agree with the quote said by a facebook user/MLK jr. "I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. 'Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that'" and we're gonna leave it there. Instead, I want to mention that, come June 1st, I'm going to be starting my own "Happiness Project" and I will be partially keeping track of it on here.
In other news, I made a profile for this free geek dating website and I think that I sound super pretentious/exactly like an english major in my 'about me' section. Editing that is next on my to do list. Ciao!!

Beda 21

2011-04-23T12:31:00.000-07:00

I have to do hw, so I'll say sorry for missing yesterday, I'll post about the Doctor later tonight, and here's a picture of color inspiration for my project. See you later!

Beda 21

2011-04-21T16:49:00.001-07:00

Well, today bites. Hard. I wasn't a fan of today. Bad things happened. None were drastic, but there were enough little ones to add up to one mildly drastic one. GRRR. But now that its almost evening, I only have one more class to suffer through, I got my edited senior photos on a USB in my pocket, I'm soon to be headed off to a farewell party for the sweetest person I know (its okay, even though its a surprise, there is literally zero chance that she'll read this), and later on its trivia night, I'm starting to be in a slightly better mood. *Sigh* I wish this semester was over already. Until next time!

Beda 20

2011-04-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

We're almost done! Only 10 more days! But I really liked this, it's the first time I've actually stuck with something involving the internet. I have yet to finish a NaNoWriMo, my youtube channels haven't had a video posted on them in months (a year?...) and I use my twitter once every 4-5 months. I'm excited that I've stuck it out this far, and only had a little bit of a lull in the middle there.
In other news, I watched Lemonade Mouth tonight, and I liked it. While the romance wasn't always epic, and the plot didn't flow as well as I wanted (sometimes they just threw stuff at you), it was pretty decently acted, they all had nice voices, the ginger kid was adorable in addition to being an excellent rapper (I know I know, cradle robber, I can't help it, he's cute! and ginger!), and the songs were epic. I actually bought the album on iTunes and am currently listening to it and bopping my head. You should at least give the songs a chance. Here: the rap in this one is awesome!
See you tomorrow!

Beda 19

2011-04-19T19:02:00.000-07:00

Don't you want somebody to love, don't you need somebody to love? yes, yes I do. Hope I didn't scare them away with that ridiculous last post...

Gotta go exercise now, so that I can fit into that gorgeous bridesmaid's dress that's awaiting me!

Beda 18

2011-04-19T15:55:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is my Alice and Wonderland preliminary wedding plan. Maybe I'll copycat it out and do a HP one next week...

Theme: Alice and Wonderland, emphasis on the Mad Hatter
Colors: Whimsical wildflower colors, emphasis on magenta and sage
Flowers: Bouquet of wildflowers like calendula, and orange roses
Decorations: Long tables with sage tablecloths. Mason jars filled with wildflowers. Twinkle lights all around area. chairs with bows on the back. Floral plates.
Favors: Pocket watches for groomsmen, Key necklaces for bridesmaids, potpourrie in a sewn bag for guests
Father/Daughter song: Butterfly Kisses
First Dance: Smile-Uncle Kracker
Endless Love
Rituals/Traditions: knot tying ceremony, cocktail hour, bouquet toss, throw rose petals instead of rice, something old...
Little Details: guest book, photobooth with paper flowers, small top hats/bows/fascinators.
Cake: Topsy Turvy, whimsical. No polka dots, multi coloured.
Dress: The top of this one
and the bottom of this one:

Hows that for a plan!?

Beda 17

2011-04-18T18:16:00.000-07:00

Whoops, forgot yesterday again. I was too busy watching nevermind the buzzcocks and doing homework (sorta) Here is my list, copied from Lauren, of 30 day movie list, done in one day

1. Favorite Film: The 5th Element

2. Least Favorite Film: Muriel's Wedding

3. Film you watch to feel good: Butterflies Are Free

4. Film you watch to feel down: Full Metal Jacket

5. Film that reminds you of someone: Howl's Moving Castle

6. Film that reminds you of somewhere: Starter for 10

7.Film that reminds you of your past: Royal Wedding

8. Film you can quote best: LOTR Two Towers

9. Favorite Actor: Bruce Willis

10. Favorite Actress: Kate Winslet

11. Favorite Director: Ron Howard, I guess...
AWWW...

12. Least Favorite Director: Michael Moore

13. Guilty Pleasure Film: Bride and Prejudice

14. Film that no one expects me to like: Jurassic Park

15. Film that depicts my life: a mix between Iris from The Holiday and Mark from RENT
IRIS
MARK

16. Film I used to love, but now hate: A Walk to Remember

17. Favorite Drama Film: The Breakfast Club

18. Favorite Comedy Film: Beverly Hills Cop 1,2,and 3, I can't choose
My favorite line from the second one is at the end of this clip

19. Favorite Action Film: Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

20. Favorite Romantic Film: Breakfast at Tiffany's

21. Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

22. Favorite Horror Film: The Orphanage

23. Favorite Thriller/Mystery Film: V for Vendetta
Best Speech Ever

24. Favorite Animated/Children's Film: Tangled

25. Favorite Documentary: Mad Hot Ballroom

26. Favorite Foreign Language Film: Amelie

27. Favorite Independent Film: Driving Lessons

28. Most obscure film you've seen: Blow Up

29. Favorite Film as a kid:its a tie between Little Mermaid and The Last Unicorn

30. Film you were obsessed with this time last year: Dogma

okay, so I have other favorite actors too (McGregor, McAvoy, Zahn, Fraser, Grint, Radcliffe) but Bruce will always hold a special place in my heart. Same goes for films of all genres. Also, some of these film genres overlap, so cut me a little slack if you don't think Star Wars should be counted as action because it's clearly sci-fi, I put it there and that's where it's staying. So, what do you think people?

P.S. I rather want to see this

Beda 16

2011-04-16T16:57:00.000-07:00

I know I said I'd do another wedding post, but I haven't done it yet...But, I did remember that one blog post I was gonna do earlier! Okay, the list is TV shows that I've started but haven't finished yet!

Skins-good, but must only finish the season, cause then all the characters changed
Misfits-little crazy and scary at times, but I love it and need to start it again
Merlin-LOVE IT, really need to start it again
Secret Diary of a Call Girl-my guilty pleasure show, purely for fun
Primeval-SPOILER ALERT!! Too many characters died for me to TRULY care anymore
Monarch of the Glen- SPOILER ALERT!One of my faves died and I haven't got over it yet
Battlestar Galactica-starts out slow, need to get into it
Nevermind the Buzzcocks-SO FUNNY!!
QI-again, SO FUNNY!!
21 Jumpstreet- Cheesy, but adorable! Plus Johnny Depp in all his teenage glory
Big Bang Theory- Good for a laugh
Heroes- Stupid, stopped watching after Season 1 and so should you
Farscape-I quite liked this, but then I sorta forgot about it...

Beda 15

2011-04-16T10:50:00.000-07:00

Almost caught up yo!

So, my friend (actually, many of my friends...) just became engaged. What is it about spring? I can count 5 couples who've gotten engaged in the last month (CONGRATS!!) 3 couples who are engaged, but not married yet (June, Oct, Nov), and 3 couples who got married within the last six months (YAY!!). Is it the age that we've all reached that is causing all these people to get married? Or is is just spring makes us feel even more romantic than normal? Or is it this year where people are just getting married all over the place? Idk, do you?

Anywhoo, in my last post I mentioned that I was looking at wedding themes. Now, I am a bridesmaid for a wedding in June, but my bride and friend is a very independent person who knows exactly what she wants (high five!) This does, however, mean I have very little input in what is going on in the wedding, which I don't mind, but would be happy to help if asked. I did get to pick out my dress though, its gorgeous! So, this new close friend that got engaged last weekend, I have a vague hope that I will get to be in the bridal party. Even if I'm not, I would still really love to help plan, cause I like planning events, especially weddings, I just haven't gathered the courage to ask her yet. If she's reading this, which I doubt but you never know, then I don't even have to ask! haha. Anyway, all these weddings, especially hers, have got me in the wedding planning mood! Two days ago I looked up a bunch of themes, and came up with these possible winners based on her personality:
Black and White-not my fave, but cool nonetheless.
Fairytale-again, not TOO much her style, but we could have fun with this.
Garden-my favourite for her, its relaxed, filled with nature, beautiful, fairylights, etc...
Rose-could be beautiful with all different kinds of roses, real, pictures, silk, you name it!
Peacock-she likes blue and it could be eye-catching for sure!
Vintage Travel-she likes to travel, and the color palette, like an old suitcase with stickers, is relaxed like her
Casual Elegance-another favourite of mine, with colors of either royal blue and lavender, or light blue and royal purple.

Then I came across this theme, which is so exciting and fun for me! I'd always thought that I'd want a garden themed wedding, maybe even "Secret Garden" themed, but this blew my mind, and there's so many variations that I can absolutely make it my own. Alice and WOnderland! Of course, being a Mad Hatter myself, I'd focus on that aspect. No queen of hearts red or croquet for me! Okay, next post I'll fill you in on all the things you can do for a wedding theme like this, and I encourage you to type it into google anyway! Super fun! Now I just need to find a groom...how do you do that again?

Beda 14

2011-04-16T10:43:00.000-07:00

So I caved, I looked at which number I'd be on now. Also, I had a really good idea for a blog post while I was copying the pictures into the last one, and I forgot :( So, until I remember, have a list of stuff on my desk

1. Candles for ambience
2. Computer and accoutrements, duh
3.Reeses easter cups, because everyone needs a little candy in their life
4. A dying bamboo plant :(
5. A zebra shaped computer screen cleaner, he's so cute!
6. A book about the do's and don'ts of traveling the world
7. A tardis for my usb's
8. 5 cds to put into my computer; delovely, billy holiday, once, good charlotte, selena gomez
9. The girl who played with fire by steig larsson
10. and eeyore mug filled with pens, including my peacock mock feather pen and a pair of scissors.
11. A mini set of drawers for all my office needs
12. a ball of yarn and an unfinished blue scarf :)
13. The ever-present hat that keeps wandering around my room
14. Last but not least, a notebook, who is open to a page on wedding theme ideas!

Beda Whatever

2011-04-16T10:31:00.000-07:00

Oh man, it's the 16th and I don't want to check which blog I left off on (12? 13?), So here you have it, blog "whatever". There's a reason I was busy yesterday, I was having my senior photos done! My friend Laura is a photographer, and a great one, and she and I spent 4 & a half hours yesterday wandering around downtown taking pictures! Here are some faves, what do you think?

Have any faves? I know I do! (Keep in mind, these will be edited for cropping, flyaway hair etc...)

Beda 12: Senioritis will kill me

2011-04-13T14:31:00.000-07:00

I'm supposed to be doing homework right now, but I thought I'd take a few minutes to write a quick blog. Also, I'm watching 21 JumpStreet, which is a surprisingly great show! So, now I have to do some homework. First, I'm gonna edit my mock Press Release. Then I'm going to order a book online, then I'm going to diagram two essays on an opera and Invisible Children, then I'm going to do an online merch quiz, then I'm gonna take a shower, maybe do a load of laundry and eat dinner somewhere in there, then I'm gonna go to a choir sectional practice, then a meeting. yay. Music and hw time! wish me luck, I'll update you later on how this vegetarian thing is going...

Beda 11: obligatory myspace survey

2011-04-12T21:38:00.000-07:00

1. What Is your natural hair color? Golden Brown

2. Where was your default pic taken? NAU Noh8 photoshoot

3. What's your middle name? Elyse

4. Your current relationship status? Single and looking

5. Honestly, does your crush like you back? Honestly don't have one

6. What is your current mood? Inspired

7. What color underwear are you wearing? Teal

8. What makes you happy? Books, Music, Family, A good TV show

10. If you could go back in time and change something, what would you change? Nothing

11. If you MUST be an animal for ONE day- what would you be? A wolf in the woods,
experience a wolf pack closeness

12. Ever had a near death experience? Um, not that I can recall, thank goodness

13. Something you do a lot? read, watch tv

14. What's the name of the song stuck in your head right now? My default song,
"Don't Worry Be Happy" verses

15. Who did you copy and paste this from? No one

16. Name someone with the same b-day as you? Daniel, Rossen, Pfieffer, Jason
Alexander, John Kouns, I guess September was a busy month for parents ;)

17. When was the last time you cried? a movie sometime in the last month...?

18. Have you ever sung in front of a large audience? yes, I've been in choir since I
was 5

19. If you could have one super power what would it be? The ability to grow plants,
like in Sky High

20. What's the first thing you notice about the opposite sex? Smile/Body

22. What's your biggest secret? I don't have one...?

23. Favorite color(s)? Green/Orange

24. When was the last time you lied? a few days ago, white lie?

25. How amazing is your boyfriend/girlfriend? So amazing that he's non-existant!

26. Do you still watch kiddy movies or TV shows? yes, they're heartwarming

27. What are you eating or drinking at the moment? tortilla chips

28.Do you speak any other language? Some french, and I'm gonna learn Welsh as soon
as I can!

29. What's your favorite smell? I really like mowed grass, fresh laundry, roses, and
fresh berries

30. If you could describe your life in one word what would it be? Beginning

31. When was the last time you gave/received a hug? Sunday morning

32. Have you ever been kissed in the rain? no, held hands in the rain though!

33. What are you thinking about right now? The person I held hands with in the rain

34. What should you be doing? checking my email

35. What was the last thing that made you upset/angry? the plight of the Invisible
Children

36. How often do you pray? Usually every night, sometimes during the day, in times
of duress or gratefulness

37. Do you like working in the yard? Not really, but I like smelling the roses

38. If you could have any last name in the world, what would you want? Boyd or
Harper, but I quite like my current last name, maybe I'll even keep it when I'm
married!

39. Do you act differently around your crushes? Yes, a bit shy

40. Name one song that reminds you of an ex? don't have one...

41. What number question wasn't included in this survey? 21 :)

See you laters!

Beda 10: Silence Will Fall*

2011-04-12T21:04:00.000-07:00

I have just gotten back from a documentary screening about the organization "Invisible Children". I just have to say, I am so moved, inspired, and, yes, a bit sad. This organization helps raise money and awareness for the war against the terrorist group the LRA, which abducts children and forces them to fight in their war. The LRA fights in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda. Not only does this kill and maim the children in the army, but it destroys their emotional well-being, childhood, youth, displaces and destroys families. The LRA is run by Joseph Kony, and a bill that passed in Congress a few years ago helped put together a resistance/protection plan, which helps alert villages of the LRA using radios, rescues lost children and rehabilitates them, as well as spurring the gov't to find and arrest Joseph Kony.

On April 25th I will be staying silent for 25 hours to represent the 25 years that this horrible civil war has been going on, destroying families and lives. Up until then, I will also be raising money (the goal is 25 dollars) to send over there. I know people always hear about things they can donate to overseas, and I almost always think that helping ones own country first can help other countries in the future, but in this case, I make an exception. There has been little media coverage of this travesty, so many people don't know about it, despite the extreme efforts of Invisible Children. If there's any amount that you can donate to me to pass on to Invisible Children, that would be awesome! And the first person to donate 1 dollar or more will get a bracelet hand-made in Uganda. You can also pledge to be silent on April 25 to raise awareness and funds. Here's the site, check it out!! www.invisiblechildren.com Okay, I'm off my soapbox now :)

*I had to sneak a Doctor Who reference in there somewhere, I'm so excited!

Beda 9

2011-04-11T23:03:00.000-07:00

Here I am, it's 11 o clock at night, I'm cranky because a)I don't want to do any more projects, but I have to b) I know I have to buckle down, but don't want to c)I want to take a shower, but wonder if I should because of the hour d)I want to just graduate already! and e)I want some freaking beef or something! It's only been a week, but I really want meat again. Well at least we've learned something kids: Madeline is not meant to be a vegetarian senior, she gets really cranky when she is. Oh well, only a month to go. I think I'll go have a cutie now (unfortunately I mean the orange. A real cutie to hold would be nice though...add that to the complaints list that is tonight's blog of self-loathing. :) see you tomorrow!

Beda 8

2011-04-11T18:00:00.000-07:00

So, I'm just a BEDA fail, I'm so sorry!
I'll do two today, maybe 3 and 2 or 3 tomorrow.
Hey, so there's this new tv show coming out in June or July that actually looks good, despite the fact that it's on ABC family. It's called 'switched at birth' and it's about two families whose children were accidentally switched at birth, and leah thompson is then shocked to find out that her biological daughter is deaf. She seems to treat her like a cripple, because she's trying to help, but doesn't know the first thing about deaf teenagers. She's doing this while her own daughter gets more and more alienated by both her mom and the new strange addition to her family. It also looks like there's some funny bits, but drama too! After Pretty Little Liars, Wildfire, Secret Life of an American Teenager, and Make It or Break It I'm rather excited!

Beda 7

2011-04-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

I know I know, but I got several bits of news yesterday that bummed me out big time, and I just wanted to sit at home, eat chips and salsa, and watch reruns of the nanny. Anyway, this weekend should be pretty fun, even though it won't be quite what I expected. I'm going dancing tonight, which I'm excited about, and maybe tomorrow my family and I can go see Arthur, which we really want to see (at least my mom and I do). That's all I can be bothered to write right now, I'm just not feeling it. I'll write another post when I get into Phoenix. The snow really isn't helping my off-kilter mood any either. humph. See you laters.

Beda 6

2011-04-06T23:04:00.000-07:00

So, I'm about to hop in the tub for a quick shower, but I remembered at the last minute that I need to do this before I go to bed! I know I promised a funny one today, but I just can't seem to get the ol' funny bone a workin'. So, instead, I will inform you that today is my one month long foray into copycat-ism. Namely, I am full-on copying my friend and trying to go vegetarian+fish for a month and see how it goes. Tonight I had a ready made pizza with goat cheese, spinach, and tiny tomatoes. It was delicious and I got to share it with my roommates! I also bought a bunch of meat-free food to last me until I graduate :) I'll update each blog at the end with what I ate that day. Yay! Hopefully this will help me to be healthier (not as much red meat, fish for protein) and to lose weight as well! Wish me luck!

Beda 5

2011-04-05T23:04:00.000-07:00

So it's late at night, but still before 12, so here's my promised movie review. The movie I saw was called NASHVILLE and it starred Henry Gibson (the reason I wanted to see the movie in the first place, I love him), Lily Tomlin, Shelley Duvall, Jeff Goldblum, Keenan Wynne, Keith Carradine, and a bunch of other people who I don't know, but there was a bunch of them. 24 main characters was the count I think. Well, this movie was a sort of musical, but with songs that had a point, not just singing random songs to sing. They were all country-esque songs and most of them were delightful, funny, or beautiful. There were a few that made me want to hug the singer out of pity though... Anyway, the story followed all these people and how they interacted with one another. You may think this sounds like a southern, 1970's Love Actually, but it definitely is not. There were your weird oddballs, like Goldblum, who didn't talk, but instead constantly drove around on his big ass motorcycle or did magic tricks while smiling like a fool. There's Shelley Duvall, the perpetual tease with an affinity for wigs, and there's Barbra Jean (real name Ronee something) the country singer who had a mental breakdown, but is still kind of adored. You also have your normal characters like Lily Tomlin, the white gospel singer with a secret, or Haven Hamilton (my boy Henry), the washed up but still kind of famous/loved Opry star who thinks he's bigger than he is, or Keith Carradine,the handsome, soulful rocker who wants to break from his band and go solo. It had a sembelence of a plot, but really it read more like a truly gifted and in-depth documentary. It ends abruptly and doesn't really flow, but if you throw away all conventional movie-going expectations, I bet you'll really enjoy it, just like I did

Beda 4

2011-04-05T15:26:00.000-07:00

Whoops! Only day 5 and I've already forgotten two days, I'm failing! I'll make up for it with a movie review later tonight.
It's hard you know. I read so many blogs; ridiculously well-written ones, poignant ones, creative ones, and silly ones, and I always feel like I have to talk about intense issues like love at first sight or perhaps "THE FUTURE". Today I'll hold to that trend, but tomorrow I"m gonna do something silly, promise! Right now though, I wanna talk about body image. I'm writing this while in my fashion merchandising class, surrounded by thin, chic, well-dressed people. It doesn't help my self-image that I have a cold and have to keep blowing my nose, but that's beside the point. It's hard to be positive about my own body and style in an environment like this.
I'm currently working on losing weight (and not truly succeeding). I tell myself that it's because I'm not in the correct area for the age/weight/height chart thing in doctors' offices. While this is one reason, another reason, and a bit bigger one, is that I have both a lack of body confidence and the desire to have my dream body. I just want to say that even though I have these body image issues, I think everyone does, and, as long as we don't get too hung up on them, they can actually be healthy! But there needs to come a point where you let go of the issues before you get to obsessed. Don't forget, you're beautiful/handsome and I love you!

BEDA Day 3

2011-04-03T20:07:00.001-07:00

So I'm sitting here watching reruns of NCIS and taking a break from homework/shooting the breeze. I don't feel really well today, so I've been lazing about a lot. Once I finish this blog I'm gonna get back to my science homework though. So, I've discovered a new TC show (even though it's actually an old show) that I have fallen in love with. The Monarch of the Glen! It has the good things about a soap opera, without the horrible cheesy things that annoy people, namely me. Plus, there's romance, humor, and Scottish accents, not to mention several of the main characters wear kilts, one of them all the time! MMM... So, it's on Netflix, I recommend you watch it!

Ooh, it's my fiftieth blog post!

2011-04-02T16:10:00.000-07:00

So this is my second blog of the day, due to my epic fail of yesterday. I was just musing about something. Last night I went to an opera at my school called l'elisir d'amore, the elixer of love. The singing was magical and the actors made all the right faces at all the right times, and there was even a funny kissing scene, but I was iffy about the 'love' part of the story. It got me thinking, what about love at first sight, or love blossoming when the object of desire becomes unavailible? A lot of stories, especially those written in the 1700's and before, deal with this, but does it actually exist? Can we fall in love with someone right away, when you don't even know the little quirks that make them who they are? My belief is NO. I believe you can fall in LUST at first sight, and I have ;) but not love. What do you think?

BEDA

2011-04-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

Alright, so I know BEDA started yesterday, but it was a holiday (kinda) and I got distracted by my homework and my scots* to do any blogging. Anywhoo, I was reading blogs today and some of them were about things to be inspired by, and it got me thinking, "what am I inspired by lately?" So I decided to make you a quick list. Ready?

1. A bracing breeze in the spring time that chills the bones and wakes up the face
2. Remarkably good indie movies, see: Driving Lessons, Howl, Saved
3. Home and Garden Television, I love designing my own imaginary places after that
4. Art History, I can't help it, I love that stuff so much!
5. Music, in almost all its forms, inspires me. I'm almost always humming something, and if you know me long enough, you'll realize that my default song is set to the "don't worry be happy" verse
6. Flowers, especially wildflowers and not so much roses unless they're unique roses, make me feel beautiful
7. Trees do as well, especially Willows, Cherry Blossoms, and Japanese Maples
8. Pictures of Faraway places that I want to visit
9. A really good, sweet, interesting, or crazy book, ie: anything written by Cornelia Funke, the Alchemist, Ella Enchanted, Austen, Jemima J and many more
10. Last but not least, people inspire me, you inspire me, and I thank you for that.

See you tomorrow!

*Ah Monarch of the Glen , you make me smile :)

sigh

2011-03-30T21:23:00.001-07:00

I want someone to kiss goodnight, don't you?

ChChChChChanges

2011-03-22T15:58:00.000-07:00

So, it seems that grown up life is finally starting. I know that I'm 21 and I should be used to this by now, but I've always lived in a dorm or at home with the parents, I won't even consider getting married for another 5 years at LEAST, I have only had 3 part time jobs that weren't in the field I was interested in, you know, I'm still a kid in terms of overall life experience, even if I'm not mentally a kid anymore. But every time I look around something new and characteristically "grown up" is happening. For at least two hours today I was looking up and applying for internships (because it's remarkably hard for PR people to get jobs without having completed at least one internship), I'm seriously considering getting my own apartment the second I get a real paying job, and everywhere I look people are getting married or engaged! In this past year alone (so going back to last march) I can think of 10 people who've gotten engaged, married, or started a family, kids included! And I've probably forgotten people. It just seems crazy that all of this is finally happening. I blinked and all of a sudden I was getting ready to graduate, people around me were starting families, the job hunt has begun etc... On the one hand, I'm so excited for my life to start, I'm so excited to be doing something with the years of education I've had. On the other hand, I'm so scared. This is the second to last chapter in my life (Baby, K-12, College, Real Life, Retirement, in my eyes anyway), and what if I do it wrong? It's the longest and I have the most time to correct it, but still, scary! Oh well, I think I'll go contemplate 'real life' some more and continue searching for internships. Cheerio!

2011-01-28T17:13:00.000-08:00

So, here I am, watching Breakfast at Tiffany's, getting ready to workout a bit and then pampering for a glorious night out. There's nothing quite like watching Audrey Heburn and George Peppard fall in love in the glamorous early 60's to help you get ready for a glorious evening. Tonight I'm going to a concert! Now, it's not the first thing one might think of when a college student says they're going to a concert, normally they'd be going to a rock concert or something equally as hip. The concert I'm going to is called "Bach in B Minor" and with each passing hour I get more and more excited to see this unique show :) Then I'm going to a party welcoming my friends and I back to school it'll be a ball. Anyway, I must finish getting ready now! Laters!

2011 To-Do List

2011-01-10T16:57:00.000-08:00

So, since everyone on the internet is doing it...Just kidding! I just think that this thing that's going around the internet is a mighty fine idea and perhaps a good way to actually keep some of my new year's resolutions this year, like I have tried and failed to do in previous years. So, here goes, my list of things I will try to do this year:
-Graduate with Honors in May
-Become a "yes man" with some stipulations
1: The activity doesn't interfere with my moral compass
2: The activity doesn't conflict too much with my goal to graduate with honors
3: THe activity doesn't risk my life or well-being too much
-Become more healthy. I wan't to eat better, drink more water, exercise at least five times per week, get my weight to the best level according to the weight/height/age chart in doctor's offices, and raise my ability to run in the high altitude of flagstaff without getting out of breath too quickly
-Meet someone I admire, be it a celebrity, an author, or a youtuber, and if it's a youtuber, become actual friends with them!
-Read as many books in 2011 as I did in 2010, which will be super hard because I devoured books last year
-Get a good internship!!
-Meet someone. Someone special, who's not gay or taken, with whom I have the possibility of falling in love
-Be much more active on the interwebz and do a blog or a vlog at least once a fortnight
-Become closer friends with the people who are far away(you know who you are! and I love you!)
-Get back into Ballroom Dancing, and go dancing at least once a week
-Give up my vices ie; biscoff cookies, soda(except special occasions), magazines, and I think that's it...
So, since I posted it on here, and it's in this handy list form, maybe it will actually help me to keep them under control :) Any resolutions that you have? Share, share!

Last Song Apple Played: Surefire Winners~Adam Lambert
Number of China Garden visits: 0
Books Read: 2

College College College!

2010-08-29T18:32:00.000-07:00

So, I'm back at school now. It's my final year this year and it starts tomorrow! I'm quite excited for this year, as I have so many things that are new to me and so many goals. I want to
1)Figure out if I'm going to grad school, and what for
2)Become a more healthy person and get to a healthy weight-height-age ratio
3)Network for my Public Relations major
4)Make new friends
These are some goals that will seriously affect my life here in my final year at school. There's so much to do, not only with my goals, which are substantial in themselves, but also with my 19 credit hours. Not to mention the ridiculous amount of books to read and Heroes to catch up on! Crazy times are about to ensue. But before the crazy times start, I have to show you my spiffy, newly decorated apartment! I'm really quite proud of it and how it looks :)
Alright, I know that I haven't blogged in a while, but I am now promising to blog more and keep you all more updated! Look for a blog about thoughts on life and growing up: coming soon! In the mean time, here's some pics of my new room, YAY!

Rainbows and Bread-and-Butter-flies

2010-04-19T16:40:00.000-07:00

So, this afternoon is a pretty good afternoon. The day started out a little rough, what with class schedule mixups that force me to switch around my schedule epically, and getting up early to study. But then, it got much better. After ranting about various issues (friends and stupid computer glitches mainly) to my folks, I felt a bit better, as well as worse, which is a paradox that I will never understand. Then I went to Target and got a card for a dear person, and some milk, and a schmancy new water bottle (its orange!) which made me feel better, as did the walking. Then it was exercism time with Jenika! 30 minutes of the stair climber thing, 10 ubersit-ups, 15 regular sit-ups, 10 pushups, and much stretching later I started to feel the happiness high of endorphins. I then went home, listened to some awesome indie rock/musicals, took a very quick, yet all together lovely 5 minute shower, and got all ballet'd up (I was just feeling like a ballerina this afternoon I guess, high ponytail, high waisted flowy skirt and ballet top, plus orange converse just to be mildly different) to go to my last class, which got out 2 hours early! All in all, I'm in a very happy mood right now! Perhaps not quite a "rainbows and bread-and-butter-flies* mood, but definitely a "flowers-in-a-field" and "whimsy-in-the-air" mood. I hope that your afternoon is as fabulous as mine is turning out to be and that this blog post made you smile a little (even if it was just a description of my day). I'm off to go frolic in the grass, or possibly write my speech due wednesday. Dovisdanae!

*Alice in Wonderland reference, coupled in literature with Rocking-horse-flies.

Sexy: Daisy Chains in Perfect Weather
Unsexy: The sunburn that I hopefully won't get today

Still no nail polish, sorry.

Jesus Christ, SUPERSTAR!!

2010-04-13T10:36:00.000-07:00

So, this past weekend was insanity personified. Okay, so first, friday. After getting done with classes, I drove down to Phoenix with my 3 friends who were going to the Muse Concert. Before you get too excited, I did not go to the concert with them (although I heard that it was amazing). Instead my mom surprised me with tickets to Jesus Christ Superstar! Starring Ted Neeley!! Now, you probably have no idea who that is, but because I'm a musical fanatic I know that he is the original star of the 1970's movie version of the show. Back then (and I rewatched the movie after I saw the show, to compare) he was young, maybe 25, and innocent looking in his portrayal of Jesus. In the stage show, he was much older, around 65, and slightly more creepy looking when looking through the binoculars. Anyway, despite his appearance, he was amazing. His voice was phenomenal, with a bit of a hard rock edge to it, and then he went and did his signature note, which is so high it sounds unearthly and no human male should be able to hit it and then hold it for so long, so loudly. It was sort of like a musical scream. Epic. I recommend that you go rent JC Superstar and watch it to find out what I'm talking about. Besides Ted Neeley, the rest of the cast was wonderfully talented. I am officially in love with the guy who played Judas, John Twiford
()
and the rest of the cast was pretty good too. Anyway, after the show we went to the back door so that I could gawk/get a pic/get an autograph with ted neeley. We waited for over an hour, talking with some cute kids and their dad who are big fans of the show, and speculating about this ridiculous lady near us talking about how she's friends with Ted and he wants to meet her mom or something (btw, she was totally making this up, her facts were from the program and his earlier radio interview). My mom and I had heard how nice he was and how he loved coming to the back door and talking with fans, so we were wondering what was taking so long. (We did get to meet Judas though, hot!!) Anyway, soon, after strange-woman tried to sneak in the door, a stage hand announced that Ted would not be coming out tonight. I blame the strange-woman, and so do all the people who were around us, because we think that she was a legit stalker. She ruined it for me, and because Ted is older now, he will probably not do anymore national tours, so I will never have the chance to meet him again (I had to go back to Flag the next morning for a Luau and surprise party of awesomeness.) Stupid strange-woman. I hate her, literally hate her. I've loved Ted Neeley since I saw the movie, but never ever thought I'd have the chance to meet him, and then I did and it was so close, and then snatched away. Grrr. I wrote him an email anyway, and if he's as nice as he seems, maybe I'll get an autograph in the mail.

On saturday Jenika and I went to a Luau thing with all kinds of fun dancing from Maori version of jumprope to oiled up men grunting in an angry manner and stomping to a modern hula. We went because I have a friend who was one of the dancers, she was great btw, and it was really worth it. We also met this nice engineering major girl at our table and got tons of food, the salsa thing was especially magnificent. After that we booked it to McKay for a surprise bday party for our lovely Jaime and it was super fun! There was balloons, Mario Battle thing(supersmashbros?) and cake. Then on sunday I went to JP's house and we watched a movie called I hate valentines day with Nia Vardalos, who is lovely and from My big fat greek wedding. It was supa-cute! You should go rent that too, after JC SUPERSTAR of course. So yeah, Intense Weekend=check

I'm gonna go hum Jonathan Coulton and JC Superstar songs whilst taking notes in class, before jetting back to my flat to finish my essay due at 230. Yeah. BYEBYEBYEBYEBYE!!

Sexy-John Twiford and men who can sing
Unsexy-psycho stalkers who ruin lives(that might be a BIT melodramatic...)
Nail Colour-NONE, I'm such a slacker...

Edinburgh and Back Injuries

2010-04-08T16:21:00.000-07:00

So, BAMF is going rather well, now that it's not BEDA anymore :) So, not to complain or anything, but today has been a mildly bad day. Started off with me not knowing that I had a quiz in French this morning. Its a good thing that I love french and am not too bad at it, otherwise I would have failed. As it is, I probably only got a C or B. Boo. Then, sometime during the quiz class I managed to hurt my back and now I can't move the left side of my back or neck without shooting pain! On the awesome side of today, my back is hurting less with time (or perhaps I'm getting used to it), My good friend JP has offered to make me dinner and massage my shoulder whilst we watch the Princess and the Frog, the weather outside today is absolutely 100% gorgeous which is nice because today is barefoot day and me, along with several other students that I've seen around campus, are walking around barefoot in the grass and on the toasty sidewalks. Overall, despite the wretched start to the day, it has turned out to be quite marvelous. Everyone has a sunny and bright demeanor today, even the doctor I saw at the school's health clinic was nice and making jokes and smiling :)

Anyway, I did want to babble about deep things today. There are a select few blogs that I follow written by writers, and it seems that no matter what they talk about, from the most mundane things to intense philosophical queries, they talk about it eloquently and make it seem like a story and the most exciting thing to read ever! They remind me of one of my favourite book series, of which I just finished the most recent one this morning, called the 44 Scotland Street series. It's unlike any other series that I've ever read. It's about the daily goings on of the residents of 44 Scotland Street and their various friends, but it's more than that because its just a mundane life that they all lead, and there are no plot devices. For example, if the author mentions something that might seem like a plot device that will come back later in the book, it might (and it might be a key plot point) or it might be inconsequential and never come back again, but trick readers into remembering it and thinking that its critically important. Also, while these interesting characters are living their mundane lives in Edinburgh, they have very deep philosophical musings on life, the universe, and everything! It's just fantastic that these books and this author take you for a loop and keep you musing and guessing throughout the whole of the book, which has many truly existing people in it, and many real places in it (I know, I've seen the people and been in the places!) That's what these people's blogs remind me of: philosophical musings on daily life occurrences. And that's what I aspire to, to be able to question things in life that shock me, things that confuse me, things that amuse me, and things that I love or things that love me ;)

Anywhoo, I think that perhaps I should start paying attention to what my teacher is saying, cause I may need to use this in my later publication designs.

Sexy: writers who muse philosophic, also, scottish folk

Unsexy: Back injuries

Nail Colour: NONE! omg, lately, this is a shocker, probably paint them over the weekend.

So, yeah, BAMF

2010-04-03T15:15:00.000-07:00

So that idea epic failed...but now I'm taking after Kristina Horner and doing the Blog in April More Frequently, AKA BAMF( I know I know). Anyway, yesterday was fun. And by fun I mean, mostly not fun until I got out of my speech class. I really didn't want to take this class, but it's required for my major and also, probably a good idea for a class in general. But still. SO, yesterday I had to give a speech, and I ended up giving it on why embryonic stem cell research should be federally funded in the US. It was 9 minutes long. It had a powerpoint. It was epic. I did however, somehow keep forgetting that I had notes in my hand, looking at the powerpoint for what to say next, and then getting mildly lost, but I think I hid it decently well. B material I hope.

In other news, I came home yesterday for Easter. My parents and I went to a church service then came home, ordered pizza and watched the newest episode of Bones, which was nice, if a bit sad at first(and by a bit sad I mean I-was-yelling-at-the-tv-I-was-so-upset), but then got very happy at the end. Today, even though its already 320(because my dad and I wasted the morning watching movies and tv...) my mom and I are thinking about going shopping. She wants to get me some sort of easter dress, and I need to get my watch band fixed. Currently it has 3 pieces of tape on it and is just falling apart in general, but I love the watch so much that I can't bear to get rid of it. It's a cool watch okay, it tells the time by saying 10 past 5 or 15 till 12 or half past 9. Yeah, it confuses people, which MIGHT be a factor in why I like it so much...

Okay, well, I'll see you all see, as I'm trying to BAMF (hehehe)

Current nail colour: Night Flight Sally Hansen

BEDA yo

2010-04-01T21:32:00.000-07:00

So, I'm thinking that I'm going to do the blog-every-day-april challenge. However, as I am currently insanley busy, if I fail I will just say it was a drawn-out april fool's day joke. Anyway, today has been nice, even if the first part, and right now of course, are incredibly hectic and crazy!! This is going to be a really short post. I promise tomorrow will be longer! (Mostly because I'll be done with my 8 minute speech on embryonic stem cell research, and at home for Easter!) Okay, gotta go, talk at you tomorrow

Current Nail Polish: Sally Hansen Night Flight
Sexy: Paolo Nutini's voice, charm, accent, and cheeriness(I'm on a Paolo binge currently...)
UnFlattering: Writing a speech and being nervous in general

Nothing

2010-03-06T20:56:00.001-08:00

Hi, I'm Lonely, who are you?

Squealing Fits of Joy?

2010-03-01T16:55:00.000-08:00

So, I want to warn you. I am not depressed. I think these last few blogs have been a bit melodramatic, and this one will be as well, probably. But I just wanted to let you all know that I have many happy moments too, its just that I'm usually a moderately bubbly and optimistic person so my happy moments aren't all that thrilling and noteworthy. Except for this week!! As its not for sure yet (though I'm pretty positive it'll happen) I am not at liberty to say what it is. I can, however, say that the possibility of it happening induced several happy dances and squealing fits of joy with friends. Now, while I am obviously very happy and excited about this news, I must also pint out that I am in for a huge lonely spell coming up. As my closest college friends, as well as friends I am just starting to get close with are finding their own "persons of interest" I fear that I will be left out of the loop for a while. My time will become less important to them, because, lets face it, who would choose a relatively solid friendship over a new and well exciting romance? As it was pointed out to me earlier today by a wiser, more street smart friend, "this will happen all throughout your life" When friends get married, move, etc...there will be more exciting things to them than our friendship, which I totally get. An old friendship that they don't think they need to work to keep the same will change for good. WHile it probably won't disappear (Neither me or most of my friends are that kind of person) it will certainly be different, maybe not as strong, or on a different level or, in extreme cases, be transformed from a friendship to a friendly acquaintance. For reiteration purposes, this will happen many times in my life and therefore I should get used to it. This does not make me particularly happy though...and yet my happiness over the earlier mentioned situation outweighs my concern for the future! (As you can tell, I've had a lot on my mind these past several days...)

Awesome: Jonathan Coulton, specifically his song "Not About You". Give it a listen if you're in the mood for laughter.

Lamesauce: The amount of time that I've spent thinking about aforementioned thoughts, enough to put it in a blog? jeez!

Current Nail Polish: "Here today, Aragon tomorrow!" OPI

Epic. Fail.

2010-02-04T09:35:00.001-08:00

So, there goes the 2-3 times a week thing...its just that not that many exciting things happen to me now that I'm back in my normal university with my old friends(who are rather lovely, but not really new and exciting). I've pretty much been doing basic college student stuff. You know what I mean, working on my homework, attending an obscene amount of classes, going to a few parties, hanging out with my friends, the occasional creative flurry of activity (I have recently taken to knitting, as well as trying to write a bit, and thinking about borrowing one of my dad's canvases during the summer and having him teach me how to paint, and my mum is going to teach me how to cook decent food instead of pasta and microwavable goods all the time), exercising quite a bit, and, of course, the college arts of napping and procrastinating. Like I said, it's been pretty basic. I love college, but it isn't as exciting as it seems to be from a high school point of view.

I want to go travelling again. I miss the adventure of not really knowing where you're gonna be until days before you leave. I miss the new cultures and foods to be experienced. I miss all the historical icons that you can see. I am going somewhere soon, hopefully. Most of my friends are doing something exciting for Spring Break (like going on a 21 and older cruise) so I am currently trying to convince my parents (hint hint) that we could maybe drive to San Diego and visit old friends, if its okay with them of course, and see the beach and maybe go to Disneyland or SeaWorld or something. And then there's Vegas! Oh I'm so excited. My good friend Jen and I are planning an excursion into the lights and glamour of Las Vegas in June. It will be a belated 21st bday celebration for me, and a 22nd bday celebration for her. We have people from all over (possibly) flying in. Our friends from back east and our friends from England and Germany and Mexico are hopefully coming to visit us in AZ and journey to the land of clinking coins and drinking glasses. WOOHOO!! I'm so beyond thrilled to see them again, it's been too long.

Anyway, some how I feel like its time for a change. I'm working on my body(exercising 3--4 times a week with a buddy), and think I might dye my hair a darker shade of brown. It's also getting pretty long, compared to what it was this time last year anyway. And I'm going to pursue some more creative outlets, as mentioned earlier. Maybe it will help me in my Publication Design class, and my Advertising class. I wish I could draw, but since I can't, perhaps I can paint, like Bob Ross! :) I'm also gonna give writing a story another chance. I think I'll start with a short story (any advice Lauren?) and then move on to trying to write a novel, and I think I'll stick with the genre I like best, which is young adult. And knitting, but that's more of something to do with my hands whilst I watch the television. Sometimes you just crave a bit of change, you know? The human desire to shake things up when you can't just pick up and leave to go somewhere exciting? I get that urge sometimes anyway, maybe you do too.

Well, I think that's enough gabbing for now. Actually, it has to be enough, cause I gotta get to class!! Off I go, running down the hall...

Awesome: what a cheerful mood writing this blog post put me in

Awful: that I'm a copy cat (stole this Awesome/Awful idea from Hayleylujah Chorus but it's just so darn much fun that I have only a bit of remorse for stealing it...)

Love you Bye!!

It's a New Year Now

2010-01-15T18:26:00.000-08:00

Well, it's a new year now, and has been for 15 days! I just started getting back into the swing of things here at my university, and I'm ever so slightly overwhelmed! I have lots of projects coming up this semester including 4 speeches, a postcard, a poster, a research-based ad campaign for a candy brand, and a gazillion little french assignments, not to mention two choir concerts, and a 400 level class. Whew! That is an awful lot, but I've told myself that I can do it, as long as I prioritize my time, which I am making a schedule for tomorrow.
Among all the school work I have, I also starting some New Year's Resolutions
1. Excersize everyday except Sunday. I started on the 30 day shred program, but I'm on the second floor at Uni and now that I'm back there, I can't do all the jumping things because my RA lives below me. Instead I used some of the quieter moves and made my own routine.
2. Vlog once every fortnight. I have a YouTube channel, but I never seem to use it! So, its a new goal of mine to post a video, be it a vlog, or a funny, or an instructional video, once a fortnight. It will be a super fun challenge, I think
3. I also plan on using this thing more. When I was in England, I used this thing all the time, but I also went on lots of trips and had lots to gab about, but now, back in the boring old town of Flagstaff, there isn't as much, so I haven't been as motivated. But it is a new resolution of mine to post on this thing 2-3 times a week.
Okay, I also want to get clearer skin, but that one's pretty self explanatory. Okay, that's all for now, but I will post again very soon (as it's part of my resolutions), okay?

Awesome: How excited I am to stick to these resolutions. Also, sexy guitar players, one of whom I met tonight.

Awful: How many times I used the word "okay" in my last paragraph in contrast to how few sentences I had.

LOVE YOU BYE!!

Un-Romance

2009-12-04T11:34:00.000-08:00

M'kay, so, evidently I lied. In my last post I said that I didn't want a romance, that I was just going to concentrate on my friends and my studies, which I have been doing, but with the holiday season upon us and all the couples and couple-y things surrounding me 24/7 (mistletoe, warm fires, cold snow, hot chocolate etc...)Plus all the couples around me and all the romantic christmas movies on tv, makes me think that I may have changed my mind a bit. It's not hard to want what you don't have, you know? Especially with the Christmas season tricking you into thinking that love is in the air, even if it isn't. Anyway, I shouldn't really act on this desire becasue it would violate two things: The promise I made myself in my last blog and the Pact. I don't want to break those promises, but I can't help feeling a need for a real romance, especialy now during the most romantic season of the year. Bah Humbug.

Friendships versus the world

2009-11-02T16:54:00.000-08:00

So, it's the month of NaNoWriMo and in honor of that, my subconscious and my schedule have decided to corroborate and make me write as much as possible. With essays, group projects, my novel, and these blogs that I feel the urge to write, I don't know when I'm gonna have time to watch Glee! Mixed in with all this writing I'm doing is the purpose of this blog. I'm trying to have a better social life and not be such a hermit. I'm trying to hang out with my friends more, take more initiative when hanging out to be there for them, and do more fun and exciting things like swing dancing and rock climbing. I've decided that instead of focusing on myself or finding some sort of love interest, I'm going to focus on developing the friendships I have and trying to make new ones. These will be the people who I stay with, who I tell my secrets to, who I learn from and lean on and visa versa. At least I hope so. This is a current life decision and I intend to stick with it for a while. On a lighter not, expect some modern, sexy, fairy tale photos soon. I'm taking them for my photography portfolio and I'm well excited. YAY!

Let's Go To The Movies (or TV)

2009-10-04T18:44:00.000-07:00

Film: 5th Element
Action Film: Equilibrium
Drama Film: Under the Tuscan Sun
Fantasy/Sci-Fi: Lord of the Rings series
RomCom Film: Pretty in Pink
Horror Film: The Orphanage
Film based on a book: Jane Austen Book Club
Film based on a play: Midsummer's Night's Dream w/Stanely Tucci
Actress: Kate Winslet
Actor: Bruce Willis/Alan Rickman tie
Comedian: Stephen Fry/Carol Burnett
Director: Ron Howard/Gurinder Chada
80's Film: Weird Science
Foreign Film: Amelie
Film Couple: Stanely Tucci and Meryl Streep in Julie and Julia
Classic Film: Born Yesterday/Royal Wedding tie
Movie Musical: Finnian's Rainbow
Christmas Film: Miracle on 34th Street
Favourite Old Sitcom: Bewitched
Favourite 90's Sitcom: Sabrina the Teenage Witch
Favourite Current Sitcom: Glee
Favourite Crime Show: Psych
Favourite Comedy Show: How I Met Your Mother
Game/Quiz Show: Does qi count? if not, Jeopardy
Stand Up Comic: Michael McIntyre
Cult Film: Blow Up
Television Actor: Neil Patrick Harris/Dule Hill/James Roday/Kevin Sorbo four way tie
Television Actress: Jane Lynch/Kristin Chenoweth
Favourite Reality Show: Dancing with the Stars
Favourite SciFi Show: Andromeda

I encourage you to copy this and do it yourself...cause it's fun!

Austin, TX, apparently the capital of awesome artsy stuff

2009-09-23T15:53:00.001-07:00

So, I have some plans for the summer, if I can find an online or freelance job to earn some mulah. I have three ideas so far:

Idea Number 1

Intern in the Public Relations department at the Phoenix Art Museum. It would be cool because I'm a bit of an art history nerd (and by a bit I mean obsessed...) and a bit of a fashion nerd (same definition, and they have a fashion exhibit). Also, I might get to help organize public galas etc...which would be really fun and good experience. Plus side: Live at home for free. Downside: It's in Phoenix and doesn't really aid my need for travel.

Idea Number 2

Intern in the Public Relations/Marketing Department at Walden Media Studios in L.A. It would be cool because its what I really want to do, at this point in my life, you know, work in the book/music/movie/fashion industry, as opposed to doing PR for a law firm or something equally as boring. Also, I'd get to deal with different kinds of crises and meet famous people and become their friendly aquaintences, or even their friends! Plus side: It's in L.A. and its a publishing company(!). Downside: It's in L.A., kind of a sketchy town, and I don't currently have the money to live there for a summer.

Idea Number 3

Intern in Austin, TX, possibly at a boutique I found while browsing the interwebs. It would be cool because it deals with fashion, which is something I'm looking for. Also, I am hoping to convince a family friend that lives there that if I pay rent or buy my own food, she would let me stay at her house. I haven't breached that topic yet, but I will soon (maybe she'll read this!). Also, it's in Austin, the capital of cool and bohemian awesomeness, with a really good music scene. Plus side: It's in Austin and aids my need for travel, as I've never been there. Downside: I don't know if I can convince my friend to let me stay at her house...

As you could probably tell by the title of this blog, this option is my current favourite.

Which option is your favourite/Which option do you thing I should go for?

xxx

Disney Ridiculousness and Tip-Top Days

2009-09-23T15:33:00.000-07:00

Today may not be the epitomy of good, perfect days, but it came darn close! The only two things that are a real downer so far are: the fact that I slammed my finger today when I tripped up the stairs...I'm having just a bit of trouble typing because, well, it does kind of hurt, not to be wimpy about it. And my Women's Studies class, as a whole. Pretty much it's a load of rubbish with a few interestingly decent points thrown in here and there. Today she talked about how body image is perpetuated by Disney Princesses which I guess I understand, but then she said, and I quote "what's with all the silly dresses and tiaras?" Well, the dresses focus on the time period and geographical location and they wear tiaras because they're royalty, of course...duh. Also, teh class mentioned that villains are always people of colour. In my vast film viewing, I find this to be false. For example, Disney films with humans, created by Walt originally (who people know was slightly racist): Aladdin- Jafar was the same race as everyone else. Mulan- the Huns really were the enemy of the Chinese. Peter Pan- Hook was white. Snow White- White. Sleeping Beauty- White, well okay, sorta green... Little Mermaid-...purple... Cinderella- White. Beauty and the Beast- white, AND the ideal of a "perfect male physique". Pochahantus- Whites(who really were enemies of the Native Americans at one point. 101 Dalmations- White. And those are just Disney films. Actually, most villains are played by Brits, rather than people of colour. There are villains that are people of colour (Push and Shanghai Noon for example) but it really isn't a stereotype and I wish people wouldn't make such a big deal of it. Every monday and wednesday I leave the class fuming and have to call someone to listen to me rant. It's the only thing that calms me down. If I happen to call you, just nod sympathetically (I can hear that through the phone you know) and make occasional remarks like "really?" "no way!" "I can't believe she said that!". It'll help me a lot. I guess the class does make me think...
But on to the overwhelmingly good part of the day! I got to talk to two people about my time studying abroad, fun! I made plans in the distant future to travel to, a) botswana b)China c)Amazon on a river tour, with a friend. I met someone new and exciting today and am looking forward to having a new, cool friend in her. I got compliments on some photos I took(!!) and overall, I'm have a tip-top day. Tonight, it gets even better with Dancing with the Stars (Sabrina, Swayzee tribute, and Lion King performance), Glee(need anything else be said?) and laundry, yippee! Sorry that this was a bit of a lacklustre blog to come back from my hiatus on, but I'm just too happy to write much :)

Homesick for Normalcy

2009-08-12T11:07:00.000-07:00

I've been in this really weird state of mind recently. I'm home and what I'm doing was, at one point in my life, normal (to clarify, I'm sitting at home bored out of my mind or doing chores), but that sort of lifestyle hasn't been normal for about 4 years. I've always had something to do, a job or something. So, while I'm sitting here on the interwebs, bored out of my mind, with the occasional fun thing to do, I'm pining for different things. I'm pining for more family time. I want to bond with my parents, I want to just watch movies and play games and chat, but they are at work a lot of the time, and I am not. I pine for my University life. I can't wait to go back and see all the friends that I haven't seen since december. I pine for the normalcy of going to class everyday and hanging out with good friends at night and watching movies, or going to church, or grabbing a coffee. I pine for my highschool friends, who I won't see for much longer, unless they make the two hour drive up to Flag. And I also pine for England. Yes, of course I pine for the foggy glory of the British countryside, even though I love me a good cactus and some rocks, but mostly I pine for the people. I want so much to have the times we had back, but they will never again exist. Even if we all get together again, which I'm hoping most of us will do next year, it won't be the same. Change is good, it broadens the mind and the personality, but right now I'm stuck in this strange limbo and I just want to go back. Perhaps not rewind time, because that would be counterproductive, but to have my family, my British friends, my American friends all together with me, each group similar to what it always was, all in one place, so that I can stay close or get closer with all of them, instead of losing the friends I've made and tried so hard to keep. That's all (but don't think I'm depressed or anything, I'm just in Limbo).

Leaving On A Jet Plane

2009-07-22T11:58:00.000-07:00

Tonight is my last night in the UK. I don't quite know how to feel about this. On the one hand, I'm quite sad to be leaving this beautiful country, it's mild temperment, it's liberal attitude, the friends I've made here etc. On the other hand, I'm so thrilled to see my family and friends again, start planning for my 3rd year in college, making a scrapbook of my adventures, and, despite myself and all my whinging, I'm actually excited about seeing my hometown again with its surprisingly beautiful cacti, and desert rocks as well as its gorgeous sunsets. I will be quite sad to leave the friends I have made here though, as I've already said. Once I leave (once I left Essex Uni actually) it will never be the same ever again. I will never have those special people all together again. We will never have a time like we had these past two terms at Essex. It was the first of many things for me, and I will miss it immensly, but change is inevitable and it can be good, I suppose. As I have been thinking about this quite a lot recently, I brought it up while talking with a friend. He came up with the brilliant, honest, heartbreaking reality that, while I will never have a time like this ever again, I will always have the memories of my time here and I will have other memories to make with the people I met here at different times. It is true and sometimes when I think about it I smile, and then other times I want to cry. It's different then when I left home. When I left home in January I knew that I would be coming back on July 23rd. For certain. This is not so certain and the Uni experience is already gone forever. It's a bit too blinding a reality than I care to accept. As my computer will be packed up tomorrow morning, I will quickly list things that I have enjoyed and memories that will stay in my mind forever:
Paris with Lauren
Spain meandering with Jenika
Spanish Spin the Bottle
EuroTrip
Waffles and Peep Show with the Fencers
All my many birthday celebrations with Rossen
Italia and Scotland with Tinerz
York with David
Flirt, SportsFed, and Potato Wars
Exploring England with Rossen
That time
Jenika and I hanging out
Flat 3 and Flat 8 SouthSide

I will miss the experience and the people for sure.
I love you all.

hopeless houseguest

2009-07-11T04:51:00.000-07:00

So, I'm am officially a houseguest for more than 2 nights. I know I was technically a houseguest when I stayed in Poland, but I knew both the people that I was staying with well enough to feel comfortable with them. Here in Surrey, I only know one of the three people I'm staying with. Another thing that I'm not used to is not helping in any way that I can, Rossen simply forbids it because "I'm the guest". Oh this is frustrating and I really wish I could help or make them and/or myself more comfortable. I'm just not used to this! The only time I've ever stayed at someone's house I was almost equal friends with the family as with the friend I was staying with, and it was only for one or two nights, not two weeks! This is just the newest situation for me, and its a bit uncomfortable for certain reasons and it's confusing. Ah well, I'm having a nice time of it as it goes. Rossen's parents are lovely and his mom reminds me of an old russian movie star when she smokes a cigarette very elegantly and then mutters in Bulgarian, its the only image I have in my head :D

I will make a picture post later with some photos from Surrey, but sadly I don't feel inspired enough to write about Roma or York, other than David's family is lovely, I saw Obama, and I saw the most beautiful church in the world, no offence to people who don't attend services at Santa Maria Della Vittoria. byebyebyebyebye!!

Dzien Dobry!!

2009-06-24T09:39:00.000-07:00

aka: hello in Polish! well, you guessed it, I'm in Poland, officially. After an well crowded flight over here, and a short wait in the airport coffeehouse, I saw Jim, after three years! It was wonderfully exciting and nice. Last night Anka cooked us a traditional polish dinner of something similar to dumplings topped with goulash. It was yummy. Then today, after waking up completely confused as to where I was and what day and time it was(I was tired and delirious) I went on a bus to town centre. I wandered around the huge mall, Galeria Dominikanska, for a bit, then went to the market place where there wasn't much out (it was raining) and I was accosted by a gypsy asking for money. I didn't know what to do and was so confused, and she kept blocking my escape, until I was rescued by an older polish woman who put her hand around my waist and led me away whilst chatting to me in Polish. I love that woman I've decided. After that little excursion, I met Jim for lunch in a milk bar(which doesnt' really have milk) and had some more traditional dumpling food. MMM!

This evening was my favourite so far. It was just a typical family night, I felt like I'd walked in on a movie and was just observing. The parents played helicopter with there kids for a bit, then we all played blocks. Now there's soup on the stove, Jim was on his computer doing work with an infant sleeping on his lap. Aniela was sitting in her chair pretending to read her mulan book whilst Anka entertained us all by playing the piano beautifully. It was so stereotypically beautiful it made me want to shout for joy! I wish you could have seen it, but then it might not have been so special. I was the only guest and I know them, and I STILL felt like I walked in on an old film or scene from a novel. Well, I will update more when I can about the town, Jim's upcoming show, and possibly Krakow. Then it will be York where I see David again, Italy where I see Tina Simone and Elisha again, and, finally, Surrey where I get to see Rossen again! YAY!! I'm thrilled, actually. Couldn't you tell?

Guess where I am?

2009-06-18T09:52:00.000-07:00

EDINBURGH! That's right folks, I'm in Scotland right now. I got up at 10 to 5 this morning, got on a coach, then a plane, then two trains, then some walking and now Tina and I are in Edinburgh, mooching off the Library's internet. We have done so much cool stuff today! I was speechless earlier when I discovered that a favourite book of mine, 44 Scotland Street, has actual places in Edinburgh. We went to the coffee shop across the street from the art gallery and had a lovely conversation with a posh couple and the posh coffee shop owner, who knows the author personally as he comes in there all the time! He also knows some people that characters are based on! We then journeyed onward and found Cumberland Bar, Drummond Place, and Scotland Street itself! Although, I was quite disapointed when I found out that 44 doesn't exist, it only goes up to 43, Darn that McCall-Smith! As soon as I finish this post, which will be momentarily, Tina and I will journey to the Elephant House, the place where J.K. Rowling wrote her Harry Potter novels on napkins, I'm so excited! After that we might go on a pub crawl, or we might sleep, we'll see where the night takes us. Look out for pictures of Scotland Street, Elephant House, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Loch Ness and Loch Lomond, they're coming soon!

Planning Makes My Head Hurt

2009-06-12T19:40:00.000-07:00

It really does, I've had a constant headache for the past two days straight, and on and off for a few days before that. I've been planning like mad, but the headache has finally mostly gone away. I think that it is due to the fact that I booked my flight and hostel for scotland, my hostel for roma, my flight for poland, my places to stay in London and Surrey and will find out about my place to store luggage and stay for a few days in Berkshire tomorrow at around 1. I'm so excited! All that's left to do is find out about luggage storage and book my flight to Roma! YAY!! I'm so very thrilled. My absence of headache might also be due to the two parasetomal I took earlier...whichever cause floats your boat :)
Travel itinerary update:
Scotland with Tina
Poland with Jim
York with David
Italy with Tina
Surrey, Stonehenge, Kent, Brighton, and Colchester with Rossen
London with Katie and Krista
THEN HOME! I must admit though, I'm really rather sad about coming home, except that I'll get to see my family and friends again! I will miss it so very much here, I am considering moving here later in life. I think that will be good.

On a side note: why is bloody everyone getting married?! Chelsey, Chandra, Jimmy, Rachel, Dan, Julie, Andrew, Aundrea, Lauren (they're all engaged) and Amanda, Ashleigh, Devin, Katie (they're all married). It's craziness! How can you even fathom that at our age!? (They are all my age or younger, apart from Ashleigh, who is one year older than me)

easy exams cause slight stress

2009-05-30T03:23:00.000-07:00

So, I sat in my first British University exam yesterday and it was exciting. I got there about 25 minutes early because a) I gave myself extra time to find the room and I found it right away and b) I heard that they lecture you 15 minutes before, which they did! It was the European Society and Politics in 1500-1750 first year history course, so it was relatively easy. I was expecting the worst, I didn't know whether or not it would just be a surprisingly hard test and ruin my curve and cause me to lose my NAU scholarship, but it didn't. It had two source analysis sections (which are basically short answers about the two articles that the examiner gave us) and one essay question, which I answered in a bit over 3 pages. I chose the one on one of the subjects I studied hard, which was the influence Charles I had in the English Civil War. Overall, it was an easy exam, which worries me a bit, but I hope it just means that I did well and not that I didn't do what I was supposed to...

The Socialistic Week of Busy

2009-05-15T09:33:00.000-07:00

So, I absolutely can't be bothered to write out the rest of what happened on our epic road trip, being that it was so long ago and I'm a horribly neglectful blogger. Suffice to say, it was tension filled, confusing, amazing and wonderful. After that, I madly wrote essays for a while and then took a break to visit London with Laura and DenniMarie, old family friends who came to town. They let me sleep in their fancy hotel, I had my picture taken with a Frenchman dressed as a Scot, rode on the London Eye, met(sorta) the lead singer of Duran Duran, and saw the place where Henry VIII had Anne Bolyen beheaded! Exciting stuff for sure! So, this last week has been chock full of exciting thrilling things! Last Saturday Lauren and I went into town to get her some shoes for the Summer Ball and then we saw Hannah Montana the Movie (which was surprisingly sweet and classic Disney).
On Sunday a few friends and I proceeded to epically fail at tennis for several hours (except Chris, he was good at it of course)
On Monday I went into London and saw a concert with Lauren where the preview acts were alright, if a bit repetitive, and the main act, whose name happens to be Andrew Bird, was really good. He had a small recording studio on stage and for a lot of his songs he accompanied himself with backing vocals, whistles, violin picking, actual violin playing, and guitar! He also had a drummer, a bassist(who also played the bass sax) and another guitar player. He had a lovely voice and was quite talented and all in all worth the 12 pound train ticket.
On Tuesday I did something exciting, but I don't remember what it was...
On Wednesday we all went to Mexican night at a local restaurant and then went to Star Trek and I was blown away by the special effects. Blown Away. You should go see it. Right now. Seriously, why are you still reading this?
If you are still reading this, you're a true friend. On thursday I cleaned my room, and that may not sound exciting, but it is :) Then a friend came over and we watched Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. After that a few friends and I went to a very loud and good jazz performance, followed by an even louder alternative dance party, followed by chilling at one of their houses and watching cheesy movies until 4am. After that we all walked home in the drizzling rain while the sky was getting lighter and the day was getting foggier. It was one of the most beautiful things I've seen in a while. Truly awe-inspiring.
Now I'm off to a Star Wars marathon!

GO SEE STAR TREK

SLLS!

Uber Update

2009-03-29T07:54:00.000-07:00

So, this post will have 3 categories: Paris, EuroDisney, London Again.

1. Paris
I just got back from Paris about 5 days ago. It was amazing! Everything there was beautiful! My friend Lauren and I went with the school's International Academy. First we went on a ferry from Dover to Calais and we got to see the white cliffs of Dover, which were so pretty! Then when we got there we drove straight to the Eiffel Tower and it was beyond my imagination. From far away I was thinking that it wasn't too special, it looked like it did in the pictures, but then, as we got closer, it got exponentially more and more beautiful. Paris itself was like a fake world. There were happy couples everywhere (I know its the city of love, but really? yes, really), cute picture perfect families complete with 2.5 children and a dog, and simply gorgeous architecture all around. Our first real day in Paris was filled with typical tourist things. We first went to the Sacre-Coeur and walked reverently inside the grand church. I also bought a candle and prayed, as one is tempted to do in a place so beautiful. Next we went for a complete change of pace and drove to the Moulin Rouge. It was very expensive to go in, so we didn't, but we did take lots of pictures of the iconic outside. In the afternoon the group journeyed to Notre Dame Cathedral and listened to the bells. Afterwards, Lauren and I spent the rest of the day walking through the Louvre Museum and generally being in awe of all the paintings. In the evening, Lauren and I found a quaint little chinese restaurant, ordered some takeaway, went back to our hotel, and ate it before going to sleep. All in all, a great 2 days in Paris.

2. EuroDisney
This place was amazing. It was so different, and yet the same to the Disneyland I'm used to. The castle was pink instead of blue, everything was more decorated and more beautiful, Indiana Jones was a pure rollercoaster, Space Mountain was so much more intense, and Star Tours was in French! It was amazing. I'm gonna let the pictures do the talking, I think 3. London Again
This was my third trip to London, and its still as magical as the first trip. Big Ben is just as unexplainable and Westminster Abbey is just as old. This trip we did a few new things though. We finally got to go into the national gallery, something I've been wanting to do since I got to England. We saw all of these amazing paintings by Degas, Van Dyck, Rubens, Vigee-Lebrun, Da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo. I was in Heaven. Speaking of Heaven, we also went into a church and were there for the Evensong. The church was St. Paul's Cathedral, and the architecture in that building was so amazing and ornate it made you want to cry. The Evensong was very beautiful. The men's choir had voices like angels, and some of them were very high pictched angels, they were singing all the way up in my range! Then, after that, we went for a complete scene change. The Troubadour, a downtown restaurant and bar, has acoustic musical acts held in the basement. Jenika, Jaime and I went there to see an aquantaince of mine perform. When we got there we were surprised to see that it was in a part of town that was not touristy at all! It was very nice. The show was filled with pretty decent indie music. The first act was Catherine Tran. She had a lovely voice, but her melodies were great for background music. The second act was Tom Milsom, a brief acquaintance of mine. He was great! I've heard him sing better, but I've never heard a better kazoo act. Also, his in-between chatter to the audience was the funniest out of the three acts and his electric ukelele was enjoyable to listen to. The last act was called Animal Kingdom. They were used to more 'rockin' settings so their acoustic set was rather depressing, but still great sounding. We then caught the train back to Colchester and I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Catherine Tran

Tom Milsom

Barcelona Part Deux

2009-03-09T10:58:00.000-07:00

So, when we got back to the apartment after a fun morning, we met up with two mexicans, Carlos and Mauricio, and a Brit/Kenyan, Caroline, and went exploring. Mauri took us around the metro, because we definitely didn't get it, and we went to Park Guell, designed by Gaudi. Lemme tell ya, Barcelona LOVES Gaudi. His architecture is everywhere! But Park Guell had to have been my favourite.

Isn't it beautiful!? Anyway, after that fun adventure, we had another fun adventure: Jenika was pick-pocketed. She got her wallet back, sans about 60 dollars, but it still had all her cards and things, so that was good. We were so relieved that we immediately went home and celebrated with amazing kebabs, that's kebabs, not kabobs, so no stick involved. It actually tasted a lot like what I get when I go to Chipotle's. Later, much later, in the evening we journeyed to a club, we got there at 2am, cause we'd heard that clubs started later there, and no one was there yet! We left and came back around 3am, and that's apparently when the party started. The music was alright, but the clubs at Uni are better. When we left at 4am, there was still a line all the way around the building to get in. Sunday was a fun day in which we succeded in getting lost several times, much like Saturday afternoon, but still had fun. We went up to Montjeuc and the Castle, which was a killer climb of a gigantic hill and about 1,5oo steps. We took a break in between the two at a lovely area with fountains and flowers galore.

Once we got to the top, we explored the castle a bit. It was relatively small, but it had really nice gardens with about 6 cats playing around in them.

I named him el tigre. He was very affectionate. After that we went down the mountain again in the funicuolare (like an enclosed ski lift) and saw so many pretty views from high up. Following the very exciting funicuolare ride, we hopped on a metro to the sea. It was so nice there! I loved it. I don't have very many good pictures of it though, so I won't be putting one up. It was freezing, but I played in it anyway. Then we went to a restaurant on the coast, it was a Spanish buffet and it had great food finished off with icecream. MMM! Then we went back to the flat and socialized with our flatmates for the rest of the night, and in the morning we hopped on a plane and were back at Uni by 130. How exciting!
This was our group for Saturday and some of them for Sunday

Scheduling Surveys

2009-03-09T09:30:00.000-07:00

So after not much deliberation, but multiple groans and sighs, I have my schedule for fall term worked out and here it is:

PR 371 Public Relations Case Studies and Research
Tues and Thurs 2:20-3:35
PHO 181 Communication Photography
Tuesday 4:00-6:30
PHO 285 Intermediate Photography
Tues and Thurs 9:35-10:50
PSY 101H Introduction to Psychology Honors
Mon and Wed 2:00-3:15
MUP 362 Women's Chorale
MonWedFri 10:20-11:10
MER 131 Merchandising Fundamentals
Tues and Thurs 8:00-9:15

And that's my new schedule for fall term. It's not gonna be great fun, but it won't be bad. The only blemish on my plan is that I have an 8am class in the Communication Building on North Campus, and I live in Pine Ridge, the far end of South Campus about a 20 minute walk away. Bleck.

And now for something fun, just to copy Lauren:
person (famous) = Zooey Deschanel
person (familiar) = Mom and Dad, can't choose
gift to receive = Handmade (but nice)
item of clothing = My black dress from the Basement
.poem = "Captain and crew, captain and crew, take me, oh take me, anywhere new" exerpt from Needles and Pins by Shel Silverstein
deity = Christian God
vehicle = Specific kind of Jeep
designer = Jovovich-Hawk
season = Spring
contemporary movie = The Women
80s band = Bon Jovi
song = "You really got a hold on me" She and Him
Movie Quote = "Leeloo Dallas, Multipass"
"Philosophical" Quote = "My formula for living is quite simple. I get up in the morning and go to bed at night. In between, I occupy myself as best I can." Cary Grant
Book Quote = "These shoes had a mind of their own. They kept clunking into each other, making me trip, and I had to stare down at them and order them to pint in the right direction. I felt as if I were trying to keep two little kids from squabbling with each other." Bloomability by Sharon Creech
Social Networking Site = Facebook
Blogging Site = Blogger/Blogspot by Google
Online Game Site = bigfish.com
Weird Online Thing = ThisIsNotTom.com
Music Site = 99.9kez.com
News Site = BBC World News
Electric Device = Bedside Clock
Electronic Device = iPod
Winter Item = Scarves
Summer Item = Sunglasses
Fall Item = Cardigans
Spring Item = Flouncy Skirts
Office Supply = Pencils
Toothpaste = Crest Whitening with Mint
Chain Restaurant = CoCo's
Non-Chain Restaurant = Collin's Pub in Flagstaff
Pizza Place = Rays Pizza in NYC
Ice Cream = Chocolate mixed with Oreos
Chinese Dish = Sweet and Sour Pork
Indian Dish = Chicken Tikka Masala
French Dish = Chicken Cordon Bleu
After-Dinner Mint = Andes Chocolates
Spice = Nutmeg
Herb = Thyme
Marine Animal = Sea Otter
TV Show: The IT Crowd

The end! Do the survey thing if you wish, it's fun, just delete the one's you don't have an answer to :D

I stole/helped create this with Lauren and Now I'm doing my own

2009-03-08T04:28:00.001-07:00

Flower = Callalily
Fruit = Orange
Contemporary Actor = Bruce Willis
Contemporary Actress = Kate Winslet
Classic Actor = Fred Astaire
Classic Actress = Audrey Hepburn
Contemporary Book = 44 Scotland Street Series
Classic Book = Pride and Prejudice
Contemporary Writer = Janet Evanovich
Classic Writer = Edith Wharton
Photographer = Annie Leibovitz
Painter = Degas
Impressionist = Edouard Manet
Sculptor = All things Lladro, but if that doesn't count, Bernini
Blockbuster Movie = Star Wars Return of the Jedi
Indie Movie = Little Miss Sunshine
Foreign Movie = Amelie
Classic Movie = Royal Wedding
Animated Movie = Aladdin
80's Movie = Weird Science
90's Movie = The Fifth Element
British Movie = Driving Lessons
Classical Musician = Mozart
60's Band = The Beatles
70's Band = Does The WHO count?
90's Band = Backstreet Boys
Current Band = She & Him
Record = The Boyfriend
Classic TV Show = Bewitched
Contemporary TV Show = Psych
Reality TV Show = Dancing with the Stars
Cartoon = Felix
Male Singer = Josh Groban
Female Singer = Mandy Moore
Animal = Fox & Crocs have tied since I was 6
Mythical Creature = Merfolk
Obscure color = Peach Chiffon
Actual color = Orange or Green
Decade (Not Lived In) = 1940s
Decade (Lived In) = 2000s
Broadway Show = Oliver!
Off-Broadway Show = Altar Boyz
Magazine = Teen Vogue
Country = England, so far
Drink = Pepsi
Film Character = R2D2
Novel Character = Jemima Jones
Theme Park = Six Flags
Shakespearian Play = Midsummer's Night Dream
Non-Shakespearian Play = Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
Philosopher = Carl Jung
Textile Pattern = Plaid
Fabric = Cotton
Store = Anthropologie
Cuisine - Mexican
Perfume = Cool Play by Lacoste
Cologne = Bulgari one from Stephanie Plum novels
Nut = Pistachio
Christian Holiday = Christmas
Pagan Holiday = Halloween
National Holiday = Thanksgiving
Day of the Week = Tuesday
Town = York, England (Bath if its only one's I've been to)
City = NYC
State = Arizona
Board Game = Scattergories
Sport = Dance/Gymnastics
Vitamin = C

Barcelona for the Weekend

2009-03-07T07:38:00.000-08:00

So, I'm writing this blog in addition to trying to finish my essay by tomorrow. Woot! Anyway, thought I'd finally make a post about Barcelona, now that Jenika has already done two...
So, our first day was uneventful because we just got on a plane in the morning and made it to our flat at around 7 ish. Then we went and ate at some traditional Spanish restaurant where I tried sangria and proceeded to hate it, a lot. Then we went back to the flat and while everyone else went out to a crazy shot bar (it was crazy, I saw the pictures!!) Jen and I went to sleep so we could get up relatively early and go exploring. We didn't get up as early as we'd planned because I forgot to change the time on my watch, but we still had fun exploring. We saw the living statues getting ready for the day, the amazing market with silver candy and the best oranges I've ever tasted, the port with a giant Christopher Columbus obelisk of sorts, and a hot air balloon about to take off. It was a fun first half of the day. On our way back to the flat, we made an impromptu stop for chocolate churros(curly churros with a sligtly crusty shell on which you poured pure sugar and then dipped in mugs of melted chocolate). After eating those we, yes, drank the rest of the chocolate. This was not hot chocolate, it was pure melted chocolate, oh yeah. Then we went back to the flat and...I'm gonna stop it there until next post.

Epic Fail

2009-02-22T17:12:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the Epic Fail of that last post, but I'm technologically impaired at the moment and can't fix it, so just scroll down while enjoying the lovely mulit-coloured polka dots.

Bathering at Bath

2009-02-22T16:52:00.000-08:00

I went to Bath this weekend. It was lovely. Wouldn't it be mean if I ended it there? No, I don't think I'll do that. Anywhoo, I had the most amazing time! Lauren and I got up at 445am and started our travel journey at 545am. Had fun on the trains and buses and underground. Made a quick stop off at Kings Cross to be geeky Harry Potter fangirls.

Got to Bath around 11. We decided to just wander and ended up going to the fashion museum (relatively neat, but slightly overpriced...), walking past the jane austen museum(woulda gone in, but had spent too much mula already), eating fish and chips while people watching, and just generally exploring the lovely town that is Bath. At 13ish we walked to the train station for the Bathering(youtube gathering in Bath). We met some awesome people(hi awesome people who might be reading this!!) and got to hang out with them all day. We ate at Pizza Hut, walked around, got crammed into a sweet shop, snuck onto a small outdoor stage, had a private concert of a random choice of songs on ukulele played by Tom(who I happen to be listening to at the moment), and went to a bar/hotel/restaurant where some of us didn't even order anything. I met some great people and hope to see them again soon! Pic time:

Lovelies

Bath Another Lovely(and me) --->

Gone Clubbin', Be Back Later

2009-02-19T10:27:00.000-08:00

So, I went clubbing in an actual club for the first time last night. I'd gone to the ones on campus of course, but never the one in towne. It is called Liquid, and its super hip. I realize that I just brought down it's hip-ness by calling it 'super hip', but oh well, it has 'hip' to spare. I had a really good time! It was Sam(my flatmate)'s 19th birthday yesterday and the school was having a bash in town(not for Sam, just coincidental) and we all had a party in the flat with cake, then went to the club. The club itself has 2 levels, one techno and one r&b. I stayed in the techno one all night because I prefer that type of musica. The club had awesome lighting, and a wicked double dance floor. Here's a picture, enjoy!

Me and Piradipa

New Tastes All Over the Place!!

2009-02-09T07:48:00.000-08:00

Friday was Lauren's birthday. Jenika and I decided to make it super fun for her. In the morning I went with Jenika to the dentist to get her tooth fixed(turns out time is it's only healer), then we went into Colchester and ate at Nando's the amazing Porteguese restauarant. Then we went back to campus to get Lauren and went straight back out. We searched high and low for the Secret Garden and were extremely dissapointed when it turned out to be luxury apartments(those liars!!) Next door to the liars however, was a garden and 3 museums. We didn't have time to go into the museums, but we did meander around the garden and take lots of pictures with the gazebos(GAZEBOS!!) Jenika had to go back to Uni to see some concert where she was denied food(go read her blog) and Lauren and I went to the cinema and saw "he's just not that into you". It was sufficiently cute :) Then she took me to an Indian restaurant and I got to experience Indian food for the 1st time, and it was amazing!!

The next day, the 3 of us went back into Colchester again and explored the museums. The castle museum was nice, and we learned about women power, Boudica the woman who invaded Colchester, and then went to the prison, which was beyond creepy and I never want to go there again. Also, there was a 50 foot well which was intense, it took two seconds for our coins to hit the bottom! The Natural history museum people were liars just like the secret garden people. It was not a museum, it was a tribute to taxidermy, ewww. The hollytrees museum was the most fun. There were all these fun random rooms to learn about and there was even a sillouette drawing machine, which we all used :) Then we all went back to Lauren's place and watched part of the 10th Kingdom while eating local fish and chips.

Sunday started out with the tragic bus adventure, in which Jenika and I proceeded to waste almost an hour lost on the public transit system. When we finally got to Lauren's suburb, we shopped for snacks in the CoOp. Once we were back in lauren's flat we had a feast of junk food(oreos, milk, cheesecake, nana's chips, salsa, cookies, clemetines, brie, baguette and much more) while we finished 10th Kingdom(where's my Wolf?) and watched Sabrina(go bogey!!).

All in all, it was a super fun weekend and I think I gained about 3 or 4 pounds, what with the junk food feast, Porteguese food, Indian cuisine, McDonald's lunch, takeaway fish and chips and the chocolatey cereal I'm about to go eat. MMM!!

Lazy Fingers

2009-01-28T10:51:00.000-08:00

Okay, so this was supposed to be the blog about London, but I'm too lazy to type it all out (mainly because I would be typing until tomorrow morning because it was just that awesome) and Jenika did such a decent job describing it that I am now linking you to her here's the first one: 1st and the second one: 2nd there you go, enjoy!

Come On with the Come Ons!

2009-01-19T05:57:00.000-08:00

So, yesterday Jenika (from AZ) and Peradipa (from London) went to this itty bitty fishing town about a 10 minute bus ride from Uni called Wivenhoe. It was amazing! The houses were simply adorable! It seemed like they were fake, like something that movie makers would build to represent England. They couldn't have possibly been real, they were too cute! Anyway, we wondered around for a bit (ok, we were lost, but we found our way eventually) and then went to this pub called the Rose and Crown. We had to wait about 45 minutes for our food, but it was worth it!! Check out the picture!

Anyway, we had fish and chips (delish!), Shepard's Pie (even more delish) and some sort of hot chocolate pudding (best of all!). Oh it was so good. All throughout this lunch, by the way, we were being questioned and examined by the most adorable little british child named Keira. She asked us questions in her adorable accented voice, tried on our jewelry, took pictures with my camera and, and I quote, "may I see your handbag please?" It was pretty much the highlight of the day :) We then wandered around some more, found a pretty church and proceeded to take pictures while a service was going on inside, walked reverently around the cemetary, watched a man play with his very excitable dog, and walked the plank, quite literally! except we landed on a tiny pier, not in the arms of Peter Pan...too bad though, I'd love to meet him!

The day before our riverside adventure, a large group of us went to Colchester, the town on the opposite side of Uni. It is the oldest village in England and it was so weird to she shoppes like Build a Bear and TopShop on this ancient cobblestone street. OH! and they had a TKMax. That's right, tKmax! Photo op. Colchester was lovely and I'm for sure going back soon :)

So, onto the title of this blog (it's a long one today). Today I ran into one of my friendly british aquaintances. We

chatted and he proceeded to tell me that I looked radiant. RADIANT! Now, if I was in the states, I would say that this was a HUGE come on, but here, I just don't know. People go around saying quinessential nice things like that all the time and I didn't know how to make heads or tails of it. But it did boost my ego, so, Cheers Lee! Ok, London adventures will be next, bye bye bye bye bye!!

Karaoke Night at the Bar

2009-01-16T09:17:00.000-08:00

So, last night, I met up with a bunch of international students for a fun quiet-ish night at the campus bar. Little did I know that last night was karaoke night. Oh. My. Goodness. The first thing I think of when I hear the word Karaoke is embarrasment. Oh no. Unlike in the states, the people here flocked to the bar. There was an influx of about 40 people within a matter of 10 minutes, all for the bad, drunken singing! People were singing everything from Grease, to Kanye West, to Rocky Horror Picture Show, to Chicago, to Ricky Martin (that one was sung by my new friend Sara from Jersey). It was intense. I, of course, didn't get up on stage, but you could definetly hear me during most of the songs. Sometimes we (Jenika and I) even got the French Canadian and the Colombian to dance with us! It was a surprise how much fun it was! Can't wait till Thursday for the next karaoke night.

Ok, it is now time to dress up like a wee devil for the Heaven and Hell party that I'm going to. Oh, and tomorrow I'm going to Colchester. Be prepared to anxiously anticipate pictures being posted. <3

Jolly Old England

2009-01-13T15:22:00.000-08:00

By tomorrow night I'll have been in Britain at the U of Essex for a week! Oh wow, sorry that I haven't written about it yet, my computer has officially died and I am using my new flatmate's. So, for the next *insert number here, a lot* of blogs I will be talking about things that are happening while I am abroad. So, this week has been exciting! I met tons of new people (Aussies, Brits, Mexicans, this random guy from Finland, Canadians who speak english, Canadians who speak french...), had tons of new weather (Fog further than the eye CAN'T see cause it's so thick) and learned lots of new words such as: cheers-everything from cheers to thanks, innit-what do you think?, and o-re-GAH-no, which means oregano :) Everything has been pretty crazy so far, classes are confuzzling, buildings, at least at the U of E, are crazy unorganized, and drinking is apparently a sport! One great thing I've noticed about Britain so far, among all the good things, is that all the Brits are incredibly friendly and hospitable. They are willing to help me cook, or cook for me :) , show me around the campus, lend me there extra laptop when mine has a nervous break down (Thanks Steve!) walk with me to Tesco (a super walmart hopped up on AWESOME drugs) and just be my friend in general. It's awesome. Sometimes I can get a bit homesick, but hey mate, I just remember that I'm in the country that is responsible for fish and chips, then all is good again. Cheers!

Technologic

2008-12-05T22:44:00.000-08:00

Hey! So, Holiday Dinner at my college is going well (it's this really intense choir show/3 course meal). I got back from it just a bit ago. Also, I know that I have very little followers and I love the ones I have so this is for you. I haven't filmed a vlog in exactly a month because my camera thingy is lame and my sound sucks. When I go back to PHX for holiday, I might bum kat's camera off her. :) She(you) can be in my video. Also, I now have a twitter https://twitter.com/LinaMeka. Check it out. Also, thinking of getting skype...yes or no? This technological accumulation of stuff has taken over my life. I now check Twitter, goodreads, facebook, myspace, naumail, regular mail, youtube and this blog. OH MY GOODNESS. dude, I'm not even that into technology, what is up with my lately?? (Shameless plug, and why is youtube a different colour? Maybe it thinks it's special...) BYEBYEBYEBYEBYE

JD Survey that I stole, teehee

2008-12-03T13:52:00.000-08:00

I stole this from Johnny Durham's blog :)

1. What's your name?
Madeline

2. What is your favorite thing to wear?
Jeans and a long tee

3. Last thing you ate?
blueberry muffin, oh it was so good!

4. One place you will NEVER eat at?
any sushi place

5. I say Shotgun, you say:
burn it *snaps fingers*

6. Last person you hugged?
I don't know :( dang, now I really want a hug

7. Does anyone you know wanna date you?
it's possible...?

8. Would you date anyone you met online?
sure! but only if they lived close enough for me to meet up with them regularly.. i couldn't have a relationship with someone if it was completely based online.

9. Name something you like physically about yourself:
my lips?

10. The last place you went out to dinner to?
Um, went to coco's with my family 2 weeks ago...

11. Who is your best friend?
I have a few close friends

12. What time of the day is it?
14:54

13. Who/What made you angry today?
nothing yet

14. Baseball or Football?
football (but only if you mean "soccer")

15. Ever gone skinny dipping?
yeah, once

16. Favorite type of Food?
mexican

17. Favorite holiday:
christmas

18. Do you download music:
mhm, although i occasionally still buy actual, physical CDs... it's nice to hold them (y)

19. Do you care if your socks are dirty?
I prefer clean socks in general

20. Opinion of Chinese symbol tattoos?
they're alright, I prefer elvish, cause I'm that big of a dork

21. Would you date the person who posted this?
yesm, he's a cute boy from the UK

22. Has anyone ever sang or played for you personally?
I don't believe so. I have for other people...

23. Do you love anyone?
certainly do.

24. Are colored contact lenses sexy?
i'd prefer people to just be happy with their natural eye colour. that's sexier.

25. Have you ever bungee jumped?
no way jose

26. Have you ever gone white-water rafting?
not yet, but would love to!

27. Has anyone ten years older than you ever hit on you?
not quite 10 years older

28. How many pets do you have?
one, but he's sick, really really sick :(

29. Have you met a real redneck?
I believe I have, yes!

30. How is the weather right now?
a bit nippy, but beautiful :)

31. What are you listening to right now?
traffic outside my window

32. What is your current favorite song?
seventeen forever/metro station

33. What was the last movie you watched?
it might have been dogma...

34. Do you wear contacts?
nopes.

35. Where was the last place you went besides your house?
to target

36. What are you afraid of?
losing people.

37. How many piercings have you had?
one hole in each ear

38. What piercings do you want?
no more for me

39. What's one thing you've learned this year?
that the suffix able only goes on the end of whole words and ible goes on altered words...horrible, changeable...

40. What do you usually order from Starbucks?
double chocolaty chip frap...mmmmm

41. What Magazines are you reading?
I'm kinda addicted to magazines, so, most of the girly ones ie glamour cosmo etc...

42. Have you ever fired a gun:
i've fired a water gun ¬_¬

43. Are you missing someone?
i'm missing lots of people.

44. Favorite TV show?
andromeda, dancing with the stars, WOWP

45. Do you have an obession with WoW?
non, pas pour moi

46. Has anyone ever said you looked like a celeb?
oh yes, many many times.

47. What celeb do you look like?
I've gotten Jennifer Garner, Liv Tyler, Molly Ringwald(?) and Hillary Swank.

48. Who would you like to see right now?
so many people!

49. Favorite movie of all time?
gah, i hate this question.. i never know my answer...The Fifth Element, possibly?

50. Do you find yourself loved?
sometimes :)

51. Have you ever been caught doing something you weren't suppose to?
who hasn't, really?

52. Favorite smell?
foods i like, or redzone/old spice

53. Butter, plain, or salted popcorn?
ooh, extra butter please

54. What's something that really bugs you?
when people pretend like they're listening, but really aren't.

55. Do you like Michael Jackson?
i do. he's the king of pop.

56. Taco Bell or Burger King?
both, depends on the day

57. What's your favorite perfume?
it's actually a cologne and its called cool play from lacoste

58. Favorite baseball team?
ny mets

59. Ever call a 1-900 phone number?
no, 1-800 yeah...

60. What's the longest time you've gone without sleep?
more than 24 hours, but less than 48hours...

61. Last time you went bowling?
oh wow, that was a LONG time ago

62. Where is the weirdest place you have slept?
pretty sure I've slept in a library, is that weird enough?

63. Who was your last phone call?
mom, to talk about something or other...

64. Last time you were at work?
i has no job.. i'm a student, innit.

65. What's the closest orange object to you?
retainer case

Catch Up

2008-12-01T22:15:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I haven't posted anything in a while, I was being a bad blogger. I've had a lot of things happen recently and it's been quite thrilling! 1st, "my" fashion show was a huge success. We sold lots of items at our silent auction and the models were great! The only model messup we had was committed by a 6 year old, so she made it cute :) We had lots of different kinds of fashions from pjs to outdoor wear to date wear, professional wear, casual wear and student designs. I didn't get to design one this time because I didn't have the time, money, or a sewing machine, but next fashion show, I'm so there. Anyway, awesome success and I was super thrilled.
2nd, turkey day/weekend was fun. I went to PHX and had dinner with 13 other people (the three families that have been getting together for holidays for the past 9 years). It was nice, I had stuffing, harvest/pumpkin pie, and crescent rolls, all my favourite things! It was lovely. Then I just chilled with my parents for the rest of the weekend watching movies like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (awesome) and Finnian's Rainbow (pure joy and simply fantastic). Also did some christmas/black friday shopping. That was scary and thouroughly unenjoyable. Never again...until I have lots and lots of xmas gifts to buy.
3rd, Sunday was quite an exciting day. I now, officially, have my ticket to adventure (AKA London). I leave on Jan. 6th at 9 at night and arrive at Uni on the 7th in the afternoon! I'm so excited!! I'm going to Venice for the masquerade festival, Ireland for St Patty's day, Scotland, Rome(hopefully), Poland, Germany, Switzerland (hopefully) and France, not to mention all around England and Wales :) Oh, I'm so thrilled!
Upcoming, I have a show on tuesday, thursday, friday, sat, and sunday. It's a choir concert and it will be amazing!! Also, I am pretty much moving out of my dorm this weekend, except for the bare essentials, so that will be fun...yeah. Ok, done with random rambling, be back soon! Love You SLLS

So, now what then?

2008-10-28T16:53:00.000-07:00

Hi! I'm totally feeling so much better!! I got accepted into the Study Abroad Program and in January I will be off to the south of England! Yay, I'm super thrilled.
I am working really hard to get all of my applications and stuff in and tomorrow I must get a blood test and all kinds of horrid stuff. ew. I am also super busy with projects and stuff to finish for classes, but yeah. So, now I'm trying to expand my UK vocabulary, so leave comments with wicked British words (I know some already) and their definitions. I cannot gush enough! I'm so thrilled. I have Kat and possibly Allison and Abby visiting me there, and I get to visit people while I'm there too! The Caddows, Jim and Anka, Rene and Jon, Aqil, and Lauren here I come! Also, I plan to visit Venice, Belgium, Switzerland, Poland, Scotland, Wales, London, maybe France, and Roma. Oh gosh, you have absolutely NO idea how thrilled I am right now. If any of you think of another place or places I should visit while I'm across the pond, leave a comment of where and why! Dude, I'm so excited right now, if I was actually talking I would be rambling incoherantly about all the stuff I'm gonna do :D Bye for now!

Debbie Downer

2008-10-23T18:03:00.000-07:00

oh gosh. today. I am being such a loserific person! Oh dear. The drop of a pin could change my mood, which is not a fun way to be living. I'm just like "why, madeline, must you insist on subconsciously pushing people away?" I'm lame. On the plus side of today, I discovered a blogger, who you all have most likely heard of already, but I think he's funny. go charlie. :D ok, well, I'm going to go wallow, or possibly do hw and listen to upbeat music to make me feel better. Cheers!

Unproductive Weekend

2008-10-19T20:29:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all! I took a break from Flagstaff this past weekend, to get some stuff done in Phoenix, but fate is a fickle friend. I had arranged to take two photos for my photography book, one of the little mermaid and one of rapunzel, but fate had other plans and I didn't get either of them. Then, I also arranged to make a dress to submit as a design in the fashion show, which also didn't happen. Oh well, at least I found a Halloween costume. I'm not sure what it is, but I will post pictures after Halloween, and you can tell me what you think it is. So, although this weekend was unproductive, I did get to hang out with my parents and see Chandra for the first time since March, so, unproductive, but still totally rockin!! SLLS, Maddie (post script: for those of you who know what SLLS means, good for you, you know me! (; )

1st Post!!

2008-10-12T23:26:00.001-07:00

Ok so, Kate Watson, I've decided to call you that now, to differentiate between the many katie's that apparently exist in the world, is the one who convinced me to start this blog. Thanks! It's fun! I have decided that, in addition to posting about the goings-on in my life, I will also post fun poems that I write, characters and stories I create, and fashions I design. Yay! ok, that's all folks.

Shining Brightly

Top Fives

Harry Potter Character Questions

(B)risk (A wednesday poem on thursday)

Poem Wednesday Fail (cause...it's sunday...)

The Language of Love

Emma's Interview

Poem Wednesday

What I Want

Stealing "Poetry Wednesday"

Shining Eyes

Pottermore Survey

A Poem, Just For You

Honey-Do

To Sir, With Love

random tidbits of news

Beda 21

Beda 21

Beda 20

Beda 19

Beda 18

Beda 17

Beda 16

Beda 15

Beda 14

Beda Whatever

Beda 12: Senioritis will kill me

Beda 11: obligatory myspace survey

Beda 10: Silence Will Fall*

Beda 9

Beda 8

Beda 7

Beda 6

Beda 5

Beda 4

BEDA Day 3

Ooh, it's my fiftieth blog post!

BEDA

*sigh*

ChChChChChanges

2011 To-Do List

College College College!

Rainbows and Bread-and-Butter-flies

Jesus Christ, SUPERSTAR!!

Edinburgh and Back Injuries

So, yeah, BAMF

BEDA yo

Nothing

Squealing Fits of Joy?

Epic. Fail.

It's a New Year Now

Un-Romance

Friendships versus the world

Let's Go To The Movies (or TV)

Austin, TX, apparently the capital of awesome artsy stuff

Disney Ridiculousness and Tip-Top Days

Homesick for Normalcy

Leaving On A Jet Plane

hopeless houseguest

Dzien Dobry!!

Guess where I am?

Planning Makes My Head Hurt

easy exams cause slight stress

The Socialistic Week of Busy

Uber Update

Barcelona Part Deux

Scheduling Surveys

I stole/helped create this with Lauren and Now I'm doing my own

Barcelona for the Weekend

Epic Fail

Bathering at Bath

Gone Clubbin', Be Back Later

New Tastes All Over the Place!!

Lazy Fingers

Come On with the Come Ons!

Karaoke Night at the Bar

Jolly Old England

Technologic

JD Survey that I stole, teehee

Catch Up

sigh