I feel like, since I wrote a huge long thing about how crappy my dating life has been, I should at least mention my best dates. Because, even though I did blow up the fountain at prom and get left at the top of the mountain with one ski, I have had some fun dates. The problem with good dates is that there's not much of a story behind it. So this will probably be brief. That would be a first, wouldn't it?
#5. Best Prom Ever: So, junior year, prom was a disaster, but my good friend Keith took me to Prom my senior year. Here are some things that were fun about the date: 1) Keith had already seen the worst of me (tear-stained with bad hair the night of the Preference date gone bad), and still wanted to take me to Prom, so I didn't have to try to impress him. 2) Keith helped me get over the fountain experience by taking me to the exact spot the fountain had been the previous year (no fountain this time), and we danced right on the spot and laughed about it. 3) Nothing went wrong. 4) I got to hang out with my good friend all day and wear a fancy dress without anything going wrong. It was my favorite date in high school.
#4. Bon Jovi, the first time: It wasn't so much the guy I was with (it wasn't at all the guy I was with) that made it so much fun. It was that I got to spend the evening with Bon Jovi, and I finally had an excuse to wear leather pants.
#3. U2: Who wouldn't want to spend a night with Bono? And Tim? I managed to buy 2 tickets to U2, and, after much deliberation, asked Tim to go with me. It was our first date, and I am super glad I took him. Things sure did work out! And he bought dinner and paid for parking, so that was nice. Plus, we can both remember what we did on our first date. And who doesn't like U2?
#2. Romantic surprise: Our first Valentine's Day as a married couple was very modest. We ate Quiznos at the park down the street from our apartment. The next year, we had more money, and Tim surprised me by making reservations at the Roof in Salt Lake, and didn't tell me what was going on until we got halfway to Salt Lake and I started to get nervous. The food was excellent, of course, but part of the fun was that he did something totally surprising and romantic.
#1. Our first date as parents: After our first baby was born, we felt doomed to be stuck at home every night for the next 12 years, until we felt comfortable leaving the oldest at home in charge. So when my mom offered to watch our newborn for an hour so we could get out, it was as good as flying on a private jet to Italy to eat pizza. We were in Vicksburg, though, so we went to Sonic and got cheeseburgers, ate them there, and went to the outlet mall so I could buy some in-between pants. It may not sound like much, but the feeling we had cannot be replicated. Children are a blessing, and so are dates without them. It's good to look back at that day and remember that even though we can't get out much, we can always leave the kids with someone for an hour and go get burgers together.
There you have it, folks. I've been on lots of really fantastic dates, but those are the ones that I really remember. All I need to be happy on a date is leather pants, Bon Jovi, Bono, or a cheeseburger.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Weight loss, dating, and time travel
It's a new TV season! My DVR is humming with activity these days. There are just so many shows to record! And Tim and I have discovered yet another show that adds to my recording schedule. Here's a quick summary of what's on this season.
We all know that I love to watch trash, so, of course, one of my weekly obsessions is The Bachelor. I have watched the last 3 seasons, and this is the first time the Bachelor is a decent guy. He's a single dad, who's wife ditched him and his toddler. He was on The Bachelorette, and either he's really good at faking sincerity, or he's a really genuine guy. He got the boot on the final episode, after a very lovely proposal, and all trash-watching girls of America were in an outrage. So now he gets to be the boss. I am hooked.
It is also another season of The Biggest Loser, which I've already raved about in previous posts, so I won't say much here. Let me just say that there are 2 pairs of LDS guys on there, Dane and Blaine, and Felipe and Sionne. It's refreshing to have a few contestants that aren't being bleeped every other word during the last chance workouts. I'm cheering for Felipe, a big Polynesian guy that seems really nice. This season is better than last season, because almost everyone is really nice. Joelle is completely bonkers, and super annoying, but everyone else has been quite pleasant up to this point. Go losers!
After like 4 years, it's time for another season of Lost. Yay! The break between seasons is so long, it's hard to keep caring what happens to those people on the island. Then you watch the first episode and you get sucked back in for another 18 episodes. Let's just avoid a writers' strike this season, PLEASE! This season there is time travel involved, which has made the first two episodes even more confusing and complicated than the previous 4 seasons. Awesome! Just keep Desmond in there, and stop letting Sayid kill people, and I'll be happy.
Tim and I are huge fans of The Office, which, if you aren't watching it yet, is a special brand of humor that is realistic to the point of being uncomfortable. If you've ever had an office job, you most likely know a Dwight (I worked in an engineering firm for a few years, and they were all Dwights), a Kevin, a Michael, and maybe an Andy (who is exactly like all those guys my freshman year that spent hours playing the piano in the Wilk and trying to sing harmony at girls' dorm windows). You feel embarrassed for Michael during most episodes, sorry for Pam most of the time, and hope you are more like Jim than anyone else, because he seems to be aware of the ridiculousness surrounding him, and has a good sense of humor about the situation. My brother and his wife, as well as some other friends, know what we like in a TV show, and recommended 30 Rock. We Netflixed the first 2 seasons and have thoroughly enjoyed it. It, too, has a humor that is so relatable that you sympathize with Liz Lemon as you laugh at her. Alec Baldwin is genius in his role as an ultra conservative executive at the studio. Kenneth the Page (I don't know the actor's name) is a Southern boy with hometown values (I don't drink coffee. Hot drinks are the devil's temperature!) and steals the show. Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) is a harried, work-obsessed producer at a variety show, who has to deal with The Talent on a daily basis, and has a disaster of a personal life. It's painful, yet funny, just like the Office. There are political jokes that I actually get! We are impatient for Season 3 to come out on DVD, or at least go into reruns so we can start watching! If you're a fan of the Office, I'm guessing you'll like this show as well.
There are my other shows, of course, like Ugly Betty (what's going on these days? There are new episodes every 3 weeks or so!), and House. Still enjoyable. And Chuck is back on now, too. I'm just waiting for the next cycle of America's Next Top Model and Pushing Daisies! I'm enjoying Psych and Monk again, too, now that we've got USA again. For anyone aged 28-35, you'll enjoy all the pop culture references in Psych. Even if you're not, it's a good laugh.
We all know that I love to watch trash, so, of course, one of my weekly obsessions is The Bachelor. I have watched the last 3 seasons, and this is the first time the Bachelor is a decent guy. He's a single dad, who's wife ditched him and his toddler. He was on The Bachelorette, and either he's really good at faking sincerity, or he's a really genuine guy. He got the boot on the final episode, after a very lovely proposal, and all trash-watching girls of America were in an outrage. So now he gets to be the boss. I am hooked.
It is also another season of The Biggest Loser, which I've already raved about in previous posts, so I won't say much here. Let me just say that there are 2 pairs of LDS guys on there, Dane and Blaine, and Felipe and Sionne. It's refreshing to have a few contestants that aren't being bleeped every other word during the last chance workouts. I'm cheering for Felipe, a big Polynesian guy that seems really nice. This season is better than last season, because almost everyone is really nice. Joelle is completely bonkers, and super annoying, but everyone else has been quite pleasant up to this point. Go losers!
After like 4 years, it's time for another season of Lost. Yay! The break between seasons is so long, it's hard to keep caring what happens to those people on the island. Then you watch the first episode and you get sucked back in for another 18 episodes. Let's just avoid a writers' strike this season, PLEASE! This season there is time travel involved, which has made the first two episodes even more confusing and complicated than the previous 4 seasons. Awesome! Just keep Desmond in there, and stop letting Sayid kill people, and I'll be happy.
Tim and I are huge fans of The Office, which, if you aren't watching it yet, is a special brand of humor that is realistic to the point of being uncomfortable. If you've ever had an office job, you most likely know a Dwight (I worked in an engineering firm for a few years, and they were all Dwights), a Kevin, a Michael, and maybe an Andy (who is exactly like all those guys my freshman year that spent hours playing the piano in the Wilk and trying to sing harmony at girls' dorm windows). You feel embarrassed for Michael during most episodes, sorry for Pam most of the time, and hope you are more like Jim than anyone else, because he seems to be aware of the ridiculousness surrounding him, and has a good sense of humor about the situation. My brother and his wife, as well as some other friends, know what we like in a TV show, and recommended 30 Rock. We Netflixed the first 2 seasons and have thoroughly enjoyed it. It, too, has a humor that is so relatable that you sympathize with Liz Lemon as you laugh at her. Alec Baldwin is genius in his role as an ultra conservative executive at the studio. Kenneth the Page (I don't know the actor's name) is a Southern boy with hometown values (I don't drink coffee. Hot drinks are the devil's temperature!) and steals the show. Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) is a harried, work-obsessed producer at a variety show, who has to deal with The Talent on a daily basis, and has a disaster of a personal life. It's painful, yet funny, just like the Office. There are political jokes that I actually get! We are impatient for Season 3 to come out on DVD, or at least go into reruns so we can start watching! If you're a fan of the Office, I'm guessing you'll like this show as well.
There are my other shows, of course, like Ugly Betty (what's going on these days? There are new episodes every 3 weeks or so!), and House. Still enjoyable. And Chuck is back on now, too. I'm just waiting for the next cycle of America's Next Top Model and Pushing Daisies! I'm enjoying Psych and Monk again, too, now that we've got USA again. For anyone aged 28-35, you'll enjoy all the pop culture references in Psych. Even if you're not, it's a good laugh.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Worst dates ever
I'm a little hard up for post subjects lately. I'm listening to Harry Potter on my new iPod (yay!), but don't feel a need to do a review. I haven't seen many new movies lately, although we did watch Ghost Town last night and I would recommend it to anyone who likes a good laugh. Two thumbs up.
Anyway, the previous post made me start thinking of bad dates I've been on, so I thought I'd do a countdown of my worst dates ever. I've considered writing a memoir just to help other people feel better about how dating went for them, or how it's going for them. It could be worse. I'll only do 5, because this post will be long as it is.
#5--"Seatbelts are for suckers, and so are stop signs" I had this ability right after high school to attract guys who managed to not graduate due to some sort of bad behavior. This date was with a guy from marching band that had been kicked out of school after messing with grades on the computer, or something stupid like that. He called me and said, "Hey, this is Darryl. Want to go out?" Sure. "What do you want to do?" Okay...I suggested bowling. "Well, I was thinking we could go to the slick track over at Trafalga, then see a movie." Okay... "What movie do you want to see?" I suggested something I wanted to see. "Well, I was thinking we could see "something or other, which I can't remember". Okay... "The movie starts at 10:30. See you in an hour!" So along comes Darryl. I can hear his truck from a mile away, and when it pulls up, it's 4 different colors. He honks. Nice. I hop in his truck and notice that there are no seatbelts. And then he starts running stop signs. We go to the slick track (YEE HA!), then head over to the dollar theater, where there are 2 hours until the movie starts. So we go into ShopKo. He immediately goes over to the posters and starts rating the bikini ladies for me. Then he heads to the stereos and turns all of them onto country stations at full blast. By the time the movie started I wanted to chop my own head off and slit my wrists with a piece of paper. Highlight of the evening: Darryl excuses himself to "see a man about a horse" (that's a direct quote) and two very cute guys in front of me ask if he's my boyfriend. No, no and NO! If only he hadn't come back just then. We see the lame movie and run stop signs all the way home. And Darryl is never to be seen again. I choose this experience to share, not because it is unique, but because it represents a large number of dates I went on in my single days.
#4--"My dad said it was good we broke up" I went to Preference at BYU with a boyfriend one year, and after a really weird night (some sort of vibe going on), I just wanted to get home. We were both in a bad mood, there were lots of awkward pauses (which was weird, because he liked to discuss our feelings almost non-stop--fresh off the mission, you know), and I was really tired. I was driving, and pulled into his covered parking lot to drop him off. There was one empty spot, which was between a pole and his car. I was so busy watching the pole that I didn't pay attention to his car and CRUNCH. Oops. Way to end a weird night. We broke up the next day, and this exboyfriend felt it was appropriate to tell me that he'd told his dad about the car (which had a tiny ding in the bumper--my parents' car had a smashed headlight) and the breakup, and his dad told him he sure was glad he'd broken up with me. Not the best date.
#3--The Principal, A Tux and A Fountain. The comments from the previous post may have already clued you in on this date. There was nothing wrong with the guy I was with. He was very nice and very quiet and it was a very mild evening. My date and I were enjoying a nice chat with my sister and her date next to a cute little fountain that had been brought into the State Capitol rotunda especially for the dance. There was a hose attached that led to a water source some distance away. I was keeping my eye out for my friend Stephanie, who was on her first date with Erik (they're married now) because I was eager to see how it was going. So when I thought I saw her, I took a quick step in her direction (it turned out not to be her) and caught my heel on the hose. The hose became detached from the fountain, and the water pressure was such that it sprayed in a circle a few times before settling in an arc and forming a pool. My sweet single English teacher and her date came running across the floor and battled the hose, the water spraying them in the face, while I made a quick retreat to the nearest restroom. The bathroom was upstairs, and when I emerged from the bathroom and looked over the balcony, I saw the principal, in his tux, mopping the lake I had created in the middle of the dance floor. Oops. And to top it off, my date had a carriage ride planned for us after the dance. So there we were, soaking wet in the May evening, my velvet dress ruined and my hair flat. The next dance I went to also had a fountain, and after 30 different people warned me to stay away, I started to avoid talking to anyone.
#2--The "Death" group. The other nightmare date that was referred to in my previous post (the car wreck date) was much worse for others in our group than it was for me. It was high school Preference, our junior year. We decided that driving up Provo canyon to go sledding for a day activity was a good idea. We had a huge group, so we went in two cars. Our car reached the sledding area on time, and waited for a while for the other car to show (they had the hot cocoa and the donuts). After a while we gave up and headed up the hill to do some sledding. An hour or so later, the other car showed up, after having been in a minor car accident on their way to pick up one of the guys. They got a little sledding in, and then we headed back down the canyon to get ready for the dance. The other car went first, and disappeared quickly down the road. As our car rounded a horseshoe turn, we saw everyone belonging to the first car standing on the side of the road. My first thought was, "Are they playing some kind of a joke?" Then I thought, "Where's the car???" Well, the car was off the road in a tree. The miracle was that no one had a scratch on them. The downside was that we had a station wagon load of people without transportion, stranded at Sundance. We called our parents, arranged for transportation, and eventually all made it home. My dad was one of our forms of transportation down the mountain, which meant I had the least time to get ready. I was in the shower when my date showed up (he had an 11-passenger van, and volunteered to drive), and was bawling my eyes out while he waited in the living room. We got to the dance 10 minutes before it ended, got pictures (with my bad hair) and headed out. We were known as the death group once people heard the story, which stuck with us for the rest of the school year.
#1--"See you at the bottom of the mountain!" Never, ever go skiing for the first time with a loser. This is a long blog, so let me sum up quickly: Ski rental place: "You have small feet! Here are some tiny skis!" Date: "Great! No, I won't buy the $3 insurance on them. Let's go." Me: "Who's this other girl?" Date: "My sister. I thought you could keep each other company." Me: "Maybe you shouldn't park in that snowbank." Date: "Sure I can. This car is practically new!" Me: "This mountain sure is high!" Date: "I think we should start on a blue square slope. See you at the bottom!" Me: "How do you stop and turn?" Date's sister: "I don't know! See you at the bottom!" Me, an hour later: "I can't stop! I can't slow down! Look out! I'm going to crash!" The lift line at the bottom of the hill: "She's going to crash into us! Fall down! Tip over!" And -pop!- go my skis. Down I go. Date: "Where have you been? Why won't your skis go back on?" Me: "Wait up!" Lift operator: "Please hop on!" Me: "Oh no! My ski fell off!" Lift Operator, yelling after me: "I'll send it up with you!" The ski lift stops as we reach the top so I can get off it with one ski. A 4-year-old goes whizzing by me. Date: "Well, good luck getting down the mountain! See you at the bottom!" Date's sister: Nowhere to be found. Probably nice and cozy in the lodge. The ski's bindings have been ripped from the ski. Turns out the tiny skis are for kids, not a 20-year-old. One snowmobile ride with a cute ski patrol guy to the bottom later and I'm in the lodge with Date. Date: "I'm going to get some lunch." Date eats his lunch in front of me, and offers me a fry, which I devour. I have no money, as I thought this was a date. After one more run down the mountain, Date: "My car is stuck. You'll have to push it out." Me, in the snow, still in ski boots: "Help!" A van full of nice guys comes along and push out the car, and away goes my date, with me standing in the snow. I hop in with the car still moving, and Date says: "Wanna go to my friend's house and watch movies later?" Date was never seen by me again.
You should know, none of these dates involved my husband. We only went on good dates.
Anyway, the previous post made me start thinking of bad dates I've been on, so I thought I'd do a countdown of my worst dates ever. I've considered writing a memoir just to help other people feel better about how dating went for them, or how it's going for them. It could be worse. I'll only do 5, because this post will be long as it is.
#5--"Seatbelts are for suckers, and so are stop signs" I had this ability right after high school to attract guys who managed to not graduate due to some sort of bad behavior. This date was with a guy from marching band that had been kicked out of school after messing with grades on the computer, or something stupid like that. He called me and said, "Hey, this is Darryl. Want to go out?" Sure. "What do you want to do?" Okay...I suggested bowling. "Well, I was thinking we could go to the slick track over at Trafalga, then see a movie." Okay... "What movie do you want to see?" I suggested something I wanted to see. "Well, I was thinking we could see "something or other, which I can't remember". Okay... "The movie starts at 10:30. See you in an hour!" So along comes Darryl. I can hear his truck from a mile away, and when it pulls up, it's 4 different colors. He honks. Nice. I hop in his truck and notice that there are no seatbelts. And then he starts running stop signs. We go to the slick track (YEE HA!), then head over to the dollar theater, where there are 2 hours until the movie starts. So we go into ShopKo. He immediately goes over to the posters and starts rating the bikini ladies for me. Then he heads to the stereos and turns all of them onto country stations at full blast. By the time the movie started I wanted to chop my own head off and slit my wrists with a piece of paper. Highlight of the evening: Darryl excuses himself to "see a man about a horse" (that's a direct quote) and two very cute guys in front of me ask if he's my boyfriend. No, no and NO! If only he hadn't come back just then. We see the lame movie and run stop signs all the way home. And Darryl is never to be seen again. I choose this experience to share, not because it is unique, but because it represents a large number of dates I went on in my single days.
#4--"My dad said it was good we broke up" I went to Preference at BYU with a boyfriend one year, and after a really weird night (some sort of vibe going on), I just wanted to get home. We were both in a bad mood, there were lots of awkward pauses (which was weird, because he liked to discuss our feelings almost non-stop--fresh off the mission, you know), and I was really tired. I was driving, and pulled into his covered parking lot to drop him off. There was one empty spot, which was between a pole and his car. I was so busy watching the pole that I didn't pay attention to his car and CRUNCH. Oops. Way to end a weird night. We broke up the next day, and this exboyfriend felt it was appropriate to tell me that he'd told his dad about the car (which had a tiny ding in the bumper--my parents' car had a smashed headlight) and the breakup, and his dad told him he sure was glad he'd broken up with me. Not the best date.
#3--The Principal, A Tux and A Fountain. The comments from the previous post may have already clued you in on this date. There was nothing wrong with the guy I was with. He was very nice and very quiet and it was a very mild evening. My date and I were enjoying a nice chat with my sister and her date next to a cute little fountain that had been brought into the State Capitol rotunda especially for the dance. There was a hose attached that led to a water source some distance away. I was keeping my eye out for my friend Stephanie, who was on her first date with Erik (they're married now) because I was eager to see how it was going. So when I thought I saw her, I took a quick step in her direction (it turned out not to be her) and caught my heel on the hose. The hose became detached from the fountain, and the water pressure was such that it sprayed in a circle a few times before settling in an arc and forming a pool. My sweet single English teacher and her date came running across the floor and battled the hose, the water spraying them in the face, while I made a quick retreat to the nearest restroom. The bathroom was upstairs, and when I emerged from the bathroom and looked over the balcony, I saw the principal, in his tux, mopping the lake I had created in the middle of the dance floor. Oops. And to top it off, my date had a carriage ride planned for us after the dance. So there we were, soaking wet in the May evening, my velvet dress ruined and my hair flat. The next dance I went to also had a fountain, and after 30 different people warned me to stay away, I started to avoid talking to anyone.
#2--The "Death" group. The other nightmare date that was referred to in my previous post (the car wreck date) was much worse for others in our group than it was for me. It was high school Preference, our junior year. We decided that driving up Provo canyon to go sledding for a day activity was a good idea. We had a huge group, so we went in two cars. Our car reached the sledding area on time, and waited for a while for the other car to show (they had the hot cocoa and the donuts). After a while we gave up and headed up the hill to do some sledding. An hour or so later, the other car showed up, after having been in a minor car accident on their way to pick up one of the guys. They got a little sledding in, and then we headed back down the canyon to get ready for the dance. The other car went first, and disappeared quickly down the road. As our car rounded a horseshoe turn, we saw everyone belonging to the first car standing on the side of the road. My first thought was, "Are they playing some kind of a joke?" Then I thought, "Where's the car???" Well, the car was off the road in a tree. The miracle was that no one had a scratch on them. The downside was that we had a station wagon load of people without transportion, stranded at Sundance. We called our parents, arranged for transportation, and eventually all made it home. My dad was one of our forms of transportation down the mountain, which meant I had the least time to get ready. I was in the shower when my date showed up (he had an 11-passenger van, and volunteered to drive), and was bawling my eyes out while he waited in the living room. We got to the dance 10 minutes before it ended, got pictures (with my bad hair) and headed out. We were known as the death group once people heard the story, which stuck with us for the rest of the school year.
#1--"See you at the bottom of the mountain!" Never, ever go skiing for the first time with a loser. This is a long blog, so let me sum up quickly: Ski rental place: "You have small feet! Here are some tiny skis!" Date: "Great! No, I won't buy the $3 insurance on them. Let's go." Me: "Who's this other girl?" Date: "My sister. I thought you could keep each other company." Me: "Maybe you shouldn't park in that snowbank." Date: "Sure I can. This car is practically new!" Me: "This mountain sure is high!" Date: "I think we should start on a blue square slope. See you at the bottom!" Me: "How do you stop and turn?" Date's sister: "I don't know! See you at the bottom!" Me, an hour later: "I can't stop! I can't slow down! Look out! I'm going to crash!" The lift line at the bottom of the hill: "She's going to crash into us! Fall down! Tip over!" And -pop!- go my skis. Down I go. Date: "Where have you been? Why won't your skis go back on?" Me: "Wait up!" Lift operator: "Please hop on!" Me: "Oh no! My ski fell off!" Lift Operator, yelling after me: "I'll send it up with you!" The ski lift stops as we reach the top so I can get off it with one ski. A 4-year-old goes whizzing by me. Date: "Well, good luck getting down the mountain! See you at the bottom!" Date's sister: Nowhere to be found. Probably nice and cozy in the lodge. The ski's bindings have been ripped from the ski. Turns out the tiny skis are for kids, not a 20-year-old. One snowmobile ride with a cute ski patrol guy to the bottom later and I'm in the lodge with Date. Date: "I'm going to get some lunch." Date eats his lunch in front of me, and offers me a fry, which I devour. I have no money, as I thought this was a date. After one more run down the mountain, Date: "My car is stuck. You'll have to push it out." Me, in the snow, still in ski boots: "Help!" A van full of nice guys comes along and push out the car, and away goes my date, with me standing in the snow. I hop in with the car still moving, and Date says: "Wanna go to my friend's house and watch movies later?" Date was never seen by me again.
You should know, none of these dates involved my husband. We only went on good dates.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
High School Tag
Jackie posted this tag on her blog, and I thought I'd follow her lead. High school was a while back, and I'm going to attempt to remember the answers to these questions. Anyone who knew me in high school, please correct anything you may see that is incorrect.
1. DID YOU DATE SOMEONE FROM YOUR SCHOOL? For a very short time during my junior year. Billy Priddis. If you've followed the BYU/Utah games for a long time, you may have heard of him. He was the Utah cheerleader that beat the crud out of a BYU fan. (I think it was in 1999 or so. I wasn't dating him at the time, but the guy I was dating also knew him from high school and cut out all the newspaper articles about the incident for me to put in my scrapbook.) I also dated 3 other guys from my high school after high school. Here's a little news bit I found: "In 1999, a BYU fan leaped out of the stands and tackled a Utah cheerleader during the game in which the Utes were leading and eventually won. The cheerleader responded by tackling his attacker and landing several punches before security officers intervened and ended the fracas." Yep, high school boyfriend.
2.WHAT KIND OF CAR DID YOU DRIVE? My parents' minivan--a Nissan Quest, and their old Toyota Camry.
3. DID YOU PASS YOUR DRIVER'S LICENSE TEST YOUR FIRST TRY? Yes, but I missed all 6 points on parallel parking. I still can't do it worth a darn.
4. WERE YOU A PARTY ANIMAL? If playing board games and watching movies is considered partying. So, no.
5. WERE YOU CONSIDERED A FLIRT? Absolutely I was.
6. WERE YOU IN BAND, ORCHESTRA, OR CHOIR? I was in band and orchestra. It was cool to be in choir at my school, so naturally I wasn't involved.
7. WERE YOU A NERD? See above answer. Band geek. Hello! (But not really bookish.)
8. WERE YOU ON ANY VARSITY TEAMS? Oh, that's funny. Have you seen me do anything athletic?
9. DID YOU EVER GET SUSPENDED/EXPELLED? Please see the answer to #7.
10. CAN YOU STILL SING THE FIGHT SONG? I don't know if I can remember the words, but I bet I can still play it on my piccolo.
11. WHO WERE YOUR FAVORITE TEACHERS? Mr. Jackson, my calculus teacher, because he never made me feel dumb, even though I had no idea what he was talking about half the time, and Ms. Bodily, my English teacher, because she remembered my name and tried to come to all my recitals in college.
12. WHERE DID YOU SIT FOR LUNCH? By the lockers near the band room, but NOT in the band room. I wasn't that big of a band geek. There was a good view of Hot Guy that ate down the hall from there.
13. WHAT IS YOUR SCHOOL'S FULL NAME? Mountain View H.S.
14. WHAT IS YOUR SCHOOL'S MASCOT AND COLORS? Bruins, cardinal red and gold
15. DID YOU GO TO HOMECOMING AND WITH WHO? Brian Mecham, junior year, and as an alumni with Scott Watson (who is 1 1/2 feet taller than me).
16. IF YOU COULD GO BACK AND DO IT AGAIN WOULD YOU? Absolutely not.
17. WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER MOST ABOUT GRADUATION? I fell asleep after I walked, because I was #15 or something out of like 800 people. I woke up in time to clap for my friends that were at the end.
18. WHERE DID YOU GO SENIOR SKIP DAY? Lagoon, and it was super cold and rainy. I insisted on wearing shorts and sandals because it was May, for crying out loud, and ended up with blue feet and frozen knees. Stupid.
19. WERE YOU IN ANY CLUBS? I think I was in DECA, but I got in all the clubs' pictures so my name would be in the index of the yearbook a million times. I was a nerd.
20. HAVE YOU GAINED SOME WEIGHT SINCE THEN? I think I've doubled in size.
21. WHO WAS YOUR PROM DATE? Keith Phelps.
22. ARE YOU PLANNING ON GOING TO YOUR 10 YEAR REUNION? I didn't know about it until after the fact.
23. DID YOU HAVE A JOB IN HIGH SCHOOL? I worked at Bandit's Texas Barbecue my senior year, and did yard work for my grandpa.
Thanks, Jackie, for giving me something to blog about. It's kind of fun to think about those days, but not actually be living them. I'll tag anyone who's interested. Here's a picture from my Prom senior year. Yes, that's a bow on my butt, and yes, I'm wearing white heels. I need to add that my friend's mom made that dress in 2 days for me. I wasn't expecting the bow on the butt, but you don't look a gift horse in the mouth. I had some pretty funny pictures to choose from that had some pretty great outfits, but I decided to choose the one from the best date I went on in high school. Thanks, Keith. (I have some great high school date stories. I'll tell you some time. The Prom my junior year involved a spraying hose that I detached from the fountain with my heel. The evening ended with the principal mopping up a huge puddle in his tux. Good story.)
1. DID YOU DATE SOMEONE FROM YOUR SCHOOL? For a very short time during my junior year. Billy Priddis. If you've followed the BYU/Utah games for a long time, you may have heard of him. He was the Utah cheerleader that beat the crud out of a BYU fan. (I think it was in 1999 or so. I wasn't dating him at the time, but the guy I was dating also knew him from high school and cut out all the newspaper articles about the incident for me to put in my scrapbook.) I also dated 3 other guys from my high school after high school. Here's a little news bit I found: "In 1999, a BYU fan leaped out of the stands and tackled a Utah cheerleader during the game in which the Utes were leading and eventually won. The cheerleader responded by tackling his attacker and landing several punches before security officers intervened and ended the fracas." Yep, high school boyfriend.
2.WHAT KIND OF CAR DID YOU DRIVE? My parents' minivan--a Nissan Quest, and their old Toyota Camry.
3. DID YOU PASS YOUR DRIVER'S LICENSE TEST YOUR FIRST TRY? Yes, but I missed all 6 points on parallel parking. I still can't do it worth a darn.
4. WERE YOU A PARTY ANIMAL? If playing board games and watching movies is considered partying. So, no.
5. WERE YOU CONSIDERED A FLIRT? Absolutely I was.
6. WERE YOU IN BAND, ORCHESTRA, OR CHOIR? I was in band and orchestra. It was cool to be in choir at my school, so naturally I wasn't involved.
7. WERE YOU A NERD? See above answer. Band geek. Hello! (But not really bookish.)
8. WERE YOU ON ANY VARSITY TEAMS? Oh, that's funny. Have you seen me do anything athletic?
9. DID YOU EVER GET SUSPENDED/EXPELLED? Please see the answer to #7.
10. CAN YOU STILL SING THE FIGHT SONG? I don't know if I can remember the words, but I bet I can still play it on my piccolo.
11. WHO WERE YOUR FAVORITE TEACHERS? Mr. Jackson, my calculus teacher, because he never made me feel dumb, even though I had no idea what he was talking about half the time, and Ms. Bodily, my English teacher, because she remembered my name and tried to come to all my recitals in college.
12. WHERE DID YOU SIT FOR LUNCH? By the lockers near the band room, but NOT in the band room. I wasn't that big of a band geek. There was a good view of Hot Guy that ate down the hall from there.
13. WHAT IS YOUR SCHOOL'S FULL NAME? Mountain View H.S.
14. WHAT IS YOUR SCHOOL'S MASCOT AND COLORS? Bruins, cardinal red and gold
15. DID YOU GO TO HOMECOMING AND WITH WHO? Brian Mecham, junior year, and as an alumni with Scott Watson (who is 1 1/2 feet taller than me).
16. IF YOU COULD GO BACK AND DO IT AGAIN WOULD YOU? Absolutely not.
17. WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER MOST ABOUT GRADUATION? I fell asleep after I walked, because I was #15 or something out of like 800 people. I woke up in time to clap for my friends that were at the end.
18. WHERE DID YOU GO SENIOR SKIP DAY? Lagoon, and it was super cold and rainy. I insisted on wearing shorts and sandals because it was May, for crying out loud, and ended up with blue feet and frozen knees. Stupid.
19. WERE YOU IN ANY CLUBS? I think I was in DECA, but I got in all the clubs' pictures so my name would be in the index of the yearbook a million times. I was a nerd.
20. HAVE YOU GAINED SOME WEIGHT SINCE THEN? I think I've doubled in size.
21. WHO WAS YOUR PROM DATE? Keith Phelps.
22. ARE YOU PLANNING ON GOING TO YOUR 10 YEAR REUNION? I didn't know about it until after the fact.
23. DID YOU HAVE A JOB IN HIGH SCHOOL? I worked at Bandit's Texas Barbecue my senior year, and did yard work for my grandpa.
Thanks, Jackie, for giving me something to blog about. It's kind of fun to think about those days, but not actually be living them. I'll tag anyone who's interested. Here's a picture from my Prom senior year. Yes, that's a bow on my butt, and yes, I'm wearing white heels. I need to add that my friend's mom made that dress in 2 days for me. I wasn't expecting the bow on the butt, but you don't look a gift horse in the mouth. I had some pretty funny pictures to choose from that had some pretty great outfits, but I decided to choose the one from the best date I went on in high school. Thanks, Keith. (I have some great high school date stories. I'll tell you some time. The Prom my junior year involved a spraying hose that I detached from the fountain with my heel. The evening ended with the principal mopping up a huge puddle in his tux. Good story.)
Friday, December 19, 2008
"The Eyre Affair" and other Thursday Next adventures by Jasper Fforde
You may have noticed (if you look at the stuff on the side of my blog) that I've been reading "The Eyre Affair" for about 2 months. I've actually gotten to the third book in the series, "The Well of Lost Plots." These books were recommended to me by my good friend Rachel (whose blogs are a joy to read--there are links to both if you'll look to the right). I am not talking about myself in the third person like Elmo does. I swear. Rachel is an English major and has read just about everything ever written. I always know that if she says it's a good book, it will be a good book. She was, as usual, right! I must warn you, though, that if you're like me, and haven't read all the classics (like Kafka's "The Trial," for example), there may be some jokes that go over your head.
The premise of the book is this: The world is obsessed with literature. There are radical groups, like Baconites, who believe that Sir Francis Bacon wrote the plays credited to William Shakespeare. Genetics labs have brought dodos and neanderthals back to the earth (the dodos like marshmallows, and the neanderthals are used for labor), and there is a special enforcement group called SpecOps, who has divisions that include Literatecs (they investigate forgeries and rare book discoveries) and the Suckers and Biters division (vampires and werewolves). Thursday Next is a Literatec agent whose job it becomes to chase down the evil Acheron Hades, who has made off with the original manuscript of Martin Chuzzlewit. Hades has seemingly supernatural powers, making Next's assignment nearly impossible. Thursday's genius uncle has figured out how to jump into books, using bookworms and lots of electricity. After a series of strange and hard-to-explain adventures, Thursday and Acheron end up in a showdown in the middle of Jane Eyre. If you've already read this book, you'll know that this summary barely scratches the surface.
Now for my opinion: It took me a few chapters to get into it (same as you, Angela). There's a lot of time spent establishing the world, which is a tiny bit confusing. I'm not all that versed in our own world history, but I'm pretty sure the Crimean war has been over for quite some time. Did we even have the Crimean war? But after a few chapters I got sucked in and started to really enjoy the ride. I love the little touches like Pickwick the dodo, who loves marshmallows and brings Thursday a "gift" every time she comes home. The gifts are usually pieces of trash. The book includes fun things like Time Travel (Thursday's father has gone rogue from SpecOps Chrono division), romance, gunplay, and lots and lots of humor. One thing I realized, though, after reading this book, is that I am not nearly as well-read as I thought I was.
This became more and more apparent to me as I moved on to the second book, "Lost in a Good Book." I'm guessing it would have been much more funny to me, had I understood half the literary references that are placed throughout the novel. But I understood enough to laugh out loud at a lot of the book. This time, Thursday is in trouble for messing with "Jane Eyre." She becomes apprenticed to Miss Havisham (yes, the one from Great Expectations) to help control the Book World, where grammasites eat nouns and adjectives and wreak havoc on literature. All the agents meet for roll call at the ballroom in Norland Park in "Sense and Sensibility." Marianne enjoys flying planes and watching TV when she's not in the narrative. It's all very clever and entertaining.
I'm in the middle of the third book, "The Well of Lost Plots." Here are some things to look forward to if you get to this series: A rage therapy session in Wuthering Heights (hilarious), Thursday carrying around her friend's newly purchased head in a bag plot, and much more. I'm guessing that Rachel gets all the jokes. I think I'll do some more heavy reading, and then reread all the books. But even having never read a lot of the books that are alluded to, they are fun and entertaining, and may inspire you to read some classics. Thanks for the recommendation, Rachel.
By the way, Merry Christmas, y'all!
The premise of the book is this: The world is obsessed with literature. There are radical groups, like Baconites, who believe that Sir Francis Bacon wrote the plays credited to William Shakespeare. Genetics labs have brought dodos and neanderthals back to the earth (the dodos like marshmallows, and the neanderthals are used for labor), and there is a special enforcement group called SpecOps, who has divisions that include Literatecs (they investigate forgeries and rare book discoveries) and the Suckers and Biters division (vampires and werewolves). Thursday Next is a Literatec agent whose job it becomes to chase down the evil Acheron Hades, who has made off with the original manuscript of Martin Chuzzlewit. Hades has seemingly supernatural powers, making Next's assignment nearly impossible. Thursday's genius uncle has figured out how to jump into books, using bookworms and lots of electricity. After a series of strange and hard-to-explain adventures, Thursday and Acheron end up in a showdown in the middle of Jane Eyre. If you've already read this book, you'll know that this summary barely scratches the surface.
Now for my opinion: It took me a few chapters to get into it (same as you, Angela). There's a lot of time spent establishing the world, which is a tiny bit confusing. I'm not all that versed in our own world history, but I'm pretty sure the Crimean war has been over for quite some time. Did we even have the Crimean war? But after a few chapters I got sucked in and started to really enjoy the ride. I love the little touches like Pickwick the dodo, who loves marshmallows and brings Thursday a "gift" every time she comes home. The gifts are usually pieces of trash. The book includes fun things like Time Travel (Thursday's father has gone rogue from SpecOps Chrono division), romance, gunplay, and lots and lots of humor. One thing I realized, though, after reading this book, is that I am not nearly as well-read as I thought I was.
This became more and more apparent to me as I moved on to the second book, "Lost in a Good Book." I'm guessing it would have been much more funny to me, had I understood half the literary references that are placed throughout the novel. But I understood enough to laugh out loud at a lot of the book. This time, Thursday is in trouble for messing with "Jane Eyre." She becomes apprenticed to Miss Havisham (yes, the one from Great Expectations) to help control the Book World, where grammasites eat nouns and adjectives and wreak havoc on literature. All the agents meet for roll call at the ballroom in Norland Park in "Sense and Sensibility." Marianne enjoys flying planes and watching TV when she's not in the narrative. It's all very clever and entertaining.
I'm in the middle of the third book, "The Well of Lost Plots." Here are some things to look forward to if you get to this series: A rage therapy session in Wuthering Heights (hilarious), Thursday carrying around her friend's newly purchased head in a bag plot, and much more. I'm guessing that Rachel gets all the jokes. I think I'll do some more heavy reading, and then reread all the books. But even having never read a lot of the books that are alluded to, they are fun and entertaining, and may inspire you to read some classics. Thanks for the recommendation, Rachel.
By the way, Merry Christmas, y'all!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Sometimes the Nice Ones Finish First
Did anyone else watch The Biggest Loser this season? Hooray for Michelle! Hooray for beating out Evil Vicky and Whiny Heba! Hooray for being nice the whole time (at least in front of the cameras)! This season was the worst as far as mean people and contention goes (hello, Heba, what's your deal with Phil?), and it was such a relief to have one of the nice girls win. From the beginning I was cheering for Colleen, but after she got the boot and it was down to Renee and Michelle vs. the evil ones, I started cheering for Michelle. Usually you feel kind of bad for the first few people that get the boot from the ranch, because when they show up at the finale, they look pretty much the same as they did when they left the ranch. But this season everyone that came back looked fantastic. I think Jerry, the 51-year-old cop that looked like he was 70, had the biggest and best transformation. When I saw him at the beginning and found out he was younger than my parents, I figured he'd be dead before he made it to the end of the first week. But at the finale, he looked amazing,and, more importantly, like a 51-year-old man! Vicky was conniving and mean and vindictive the entire time, so even after she had lost 100 lbs, she still looked ugly to us. Tim thinks she looks a bit like a bulldog. I think if she had been super nice and sincere, she wouldn't have looked so much like a bulldog to us. Heba was weird all season, and annoyingly bossy, but as irritating and bossy as she was, we couldn't help but gasp in awe at her transformation. Tim and his calculator figured out that if she hadn't been eliminated before the final 3, she would have won the whole thing. That's pretty impressive. Doofy Ed looked pretty amazing, too, and after Tim found out that Ed is a pro chef, in the South, no less, and managed to lose that much weight, Tim kind of wanted him to win the whole thing. But hooray for Michelle!
And there's a new season in January that they promise to be even bigger and better! (Bigger, literally, because there's a guy on there that weighs over 400 lbs, and he's only 19.) New Year's resolution: To do push-ups and crunches while I watch the new season.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
The joys of the season
I woke up this morning all snuggled in my warm blankets, feeling very cozy and content, which was a sure sign that it was snowing outside. And it was, and still is! For some reason I was having a hard time getting into the Christmas season, but waking up to the fluffy, fat snowflakes falling outside my windows really put me in the mood to celebrate! It also helped that it was already 7am and my baby was waking up for the first time since I put him in bed at 10:30 last night. A full night's sleep and a winter wonderland really inspire the Christmas spirit!
I also made a decision yesterday morning at the ward Christmas breakfast that worrying about calories and that post-pregnant belly can wait until January. There is so much good food at Christmas time, and if I'm sitting around thinking about how much fat is in that fudge, or the high calorie content in that caramel popcorn, I'll be cranky and miserable and miss out on one of the best parts of the season! Going to a Christmas party and sticking only to the veggie tray is a bummer, and besides, the hostess put a lot of work into those cookies, so I had better give them a try!
Also, thanks to all those super people who managed to get wreaths and lights and inflatable snowmen up at their house. I really enjoy running errands when I have houses like that to drive past. Ours is not one of those houses this year. We managed to get up our tree and stockings, but the outside of our house is a little on the Scroogey side. So, thank you, neighbors, for all your hard work to make our street look colorful and festive. Next year we'll join you.
Merry Christmas, y'all. I'm off to eat a mint truffle Hershey's kiss. Yummers.
I also made a decision yesterday morning at the ward Christmas breakfast that worrying about calories and that post-pregnant belly can wait until January. There is so much good food at Christmas time, and if I'm sitting around thinking about how much fat is in that fudge, or the high calorie content in that caramel popcorn, I'll be cranky and miserable and miss out on one of the best parts of the season! Going to a Christmas party and sticking only to the veggie tray is a bummer, and besides, the hostess put a lot of work into those cookies, so I had better give them a try!
Also, thanks to all those super people who managed to get wreaths and lights and inflatable snowmen up at their house. I really enjoy running errands when I have houses like that to drive past. Ours is not one of those houses this year. We managed to get up our tree and stockings, but the outside of our house is a little on the Scroogey side. So, thank you, neighbors, for all your hard work to make our street look colorful and festive. Next year we'll join you.
Merry Christmas, y'all. I'm off to eat a mint truffle Hershey's kiss. Yummers.
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