There is light at the end of this tunnel.

This week has been good. Oh-so busy and occasionally disappointing, but good. 

There was the blizzard that soaked my hair.

There was the chance to meet Mitt Romney I missed because there was a mix-up with rides.

There were the cool names I found while indexing.

There were all the adventures I had with my roommates (most of them without leaving the house), including leaving my milk and eggs at WalMart and watching Saturday Night Live on Hulu until 4 in the morning.

There were the 6 hours I spent in the library on Tuesday preparing for my SuperLit mid-term.

There was the photoshoot/vegetarian stir-fry/movie night with my neighbors.

There was the fact that I'm caught up on my homework now! The end of the semester is in sight! My hair is cooperative! Life really is good.

Nerd is the New Cool.

Remember when I told you about how I love Thursdays? It's not just the case up at school. I usually have Thursdays off, so that's when adventures tend to pop into my life. Last week, that meant Disneyland with the family, followed by the midnight premiere of the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Today* it started with grand plans. Mom and I were going to get up early, clean the house, and go out for lunch before it was time to pick up the boys. 

Instead, we watched the season finale of Glee. When the boys got home, we watched lots of Doctor Who. As we geeked out about it, my brother pointed about how nerdy we can get as a family. It's true. We love British TV and correcting each other's grammar. We like Star Trek, for crying out loud!

2007(?)

But little did they know how much farther down the rabbit hole I was about to go. I was almost embarrassed of how nerdy I was about to get at a friend's house. The whole concept was a little daunting and I didn't know if I could keep up, much less enjoy it. I decided I would at least give it a shot and see if it would grow on me.

And grow it did. Like kudzu. I'm excited (maybe even proud) to tell you that I survived my first D&D session. Yes, that's Dungeons & Dragons. It's right up my alley and you can judge me all you want because I think it's fun.

*I know it says Friday. Mind you, it's still Thursday to me because I'm a night owl.

It's Clearly A Muttation, Sent By the Capitol to Destroy Me.

It's around four in the morning. I can't sleep. I'm afraid to leave my room even though I'm thirsty. But I don't care. I just finished Mockingjay. I read the entire Hunger Games trilogy in under 72 hours. As much as I've heard others complain about it, I'm more than satisfied with how it ended. I feel accomplished.

But the real story here is why I'm terrified to leave. Not until morning, anyway.

There was a mosquito in my room. 

I can handle spiders and other creepy crawlies, but I hate hate HATE mosquitos.  It was huge, which means it's probably a mosquito-eater, and my mom says those are harmless. I still don't trust it. Can't. I'm wearing shorts tonight and have no desire to wear any additional clothing.

 My plan to get rid of it was brilliant--at least to me, and I've devoted the last three days to a stack of almost magnetic novels, ignoring most impulses to eat and sleep. I waited until the vile thing got away from the door. This took some time. I tried to will it back to hell with angry words, but that only drove it to the light switch. OhgoshIhadtotouchthat.

Soon it went to the ceiling and I made a dash for it, turning off the light behind me. The hall light went on, then the dining room, hoping that the darkness in my room and the light outside of it would draw the thing out. There was no sign of it in the hall, but a quick sweep of my room shows it wasn't there. I sat down in front of the computer and start to turn on a podcast--I'm a few days behind on the news. All of a sudden, the mosquito flew out from under the computer and into my face. I screamed and ran into the hall. My parents were angry when I told them that the noise had been because of a mosquito, but they were too tired to do anything but go back to bed.

Then I saw it. I got it into the hall. I ran back into my room and locked the door behind me. But if I leave, it  might come back in.

No, the books haven't made me distraught. Or paranoid. Not at all. I just need a back massage...okay, or maybe some sleep.

Oh no. There's something buzzing in here.

Flashback.

 I'm exhausted today and still have some homework. So you get to read something I wrote back in senior year for the cute kid in my AP French class.


What a Smile Can Do, 14 October 2008

from across a room i couldn’t help but notice
your smile.
how could i have never noticed
your smile?
it betrays a subtle something in you,
this smile.
a pure bright sweetness shows itself
in your smile.
and i find myself with
a sudden smile of my own.
don’t stop. it darkens the room
when you don’t smile.
i’d really love to know you - the boy
with the perfect smile.
but i’m having such a hard time. why?
how can i be afraid of such a smile?
maybe it’s because
you won’t smile for me.
after all,
who can smile for a smitten fool?
wait.
word on the street is you can.

=]

Replacement Words

Once upon a time, I was an angry punk kid with a sailor mouth. Over time, I realized that foul language wasn't as mature or funny as I thought, so I started using other phrases. (I was still an angry punk kid, mind you.) I'm not angry anymore, but I still use some of my innocuous "replacement words."My mom hates them. They start with the same first letter, so they're naturally equivalent in every way. 

But hey, at least I'm not going around calling people "Nintendos."

NaNoWriMo. Bring it.

Today (or yesterday, if we're going to be technical), on a whim, I decided to take part in National Novel Writing Month. I went to the official website and signed up to be an official participant. By the end of the month, I hope to have 50,000 words written. I'm finally going to play with a story idea I had my senior year in high school. I remember it coming to me in AP French, along with an important character's name. It might end up being a little dumb, but I'm excited for the ride.

Also, don't forget to vote!

Aurora Musis Amica

So depending on how you want to look at things, my sleep schedule has either been ruined or saved. I made a goal before the semester started to get up every morning at 6:00 and go to bed at 10:00 every night. Since I only have morning classes two days a week, this quickly turned into going to bed whenever and getting up whenever. I really wanted to start getting up early again.(It's scripture, you know.) Then as I was organizing old bookmarks, I came across this article on becoming an early riser. Then I realized that that's how I did it in high school. I went to bed when I was tired, got up at 5:00 or 5:30 for seminary, and filled in the gaps with naps when necessary. (Fact: It was necessary every day senior year.) So yesterday I resolved that that's what I would do.

Then I got tired at 5:00. I had been up late the night before and was up early for my photo lab (more on that  to come). I was reading for my International Relations class when I realized I'd been half-asleep for half an hour. (Okay, I was in between readings. I liked Kant...I just never got around to turning to Wilson.) So I went to bed. Sort of. I meant to read for a while...on my bed. I fell asleep with my clothes on, hair done, without even taking off my shoes. And I slept soundly until about 3:00 this morning, but I didn't make myself get up until 3:45 because I was FREEZING. (I'm always cold. My roommate Chelsea is always warm. My bed is closest to the window, which we leave open for her sake. Normally I'm covered in tons of blankets, but all I had was my enormous fleece...which, come to think of it, I don't remember putting on myself.)

So now I'm wide awake at about 4:30. My roommates are still asleep. The gym's not open yet. I dont' have class until 12:45.  I guess now's as good a time as ever to finish all my homework, blog a little more, then relax and enjoy my weekend.

(I don't have class on Friday.)

P.S. The translation of the title (and a place to put it on your wall as a reminder) can be found here.

Lessons I Learned (or Re-Learned) This Summer

1. When there's a job to do, get it done. 
2. That said, it's still crucial to eat three meals a day and get more than 4 hours of sleep a night. Even when you think you're too stressed out to do either.
3. Crying is not a sign of weakness.
4. You don't need a whole lot of things. They cost money.
5. Singles wards are going to have their awkward moments. Embrace them--they'll be great stories to tell later.
6. Handle situations like a mature adult. 
7. Living alone isn't that great.
8. Daydreaming about the impossible is fine as long as you can understand and accept the impossibility.
9. The Atonement isn't just for sins, but for sickness, sorrow, and pain.
10. For the love of all that's holy, wear sunscreen.

I've Got Music and Starlight, but Not Circadian Rythym.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm the world's worst night owl. I love to stay up late, and it's often for no good reason. 

Tonight, I had a reason. Sort of. My roommates were able to register at 12:01. They needed moral and technical support. Really. I've only been here one semester longer than them, but they've assumed from Day One that I know everything about the school, its website, and how to survive at college. I play along, but this new website just stumped me and almost dissolved the mirage. Three hours later, they each have a few classes.

But now we've reached the point where I'm staying up for no good reason. I've been messing around on picnik these days. Here's what I've come up with.

I've been thinking about Kirie a lot lately. With March Madness going on, my phone is constantly lighting up with "sports talk" tweets from her husband Joe. I love this picture from their reception 3 years ago.

My home ward's annual Super Activity always features a "Spin the Bottle" game that Andrea and I made up especially for the occasion. We think of things we want to see Ryan do, put them on a board, and you have to spin an empty bottle of Jones to see which one you have to do. (Seriously. Our thought process: "What about ____?" "I would love to see Ryan do that!") Dallin had to wear red lipstick. Huzzah.


Good night, and thank you.
(Ooh, that's a song from Evita. I had a great idea for a remake of the movie--starring Lady Gaga. Heck,  I would pay to see that onstage!)