Jan 30, 2006

Wonderbread

(originally posted at eclaircie.diaryland.com)

Last semester was the semester of not doing homework. This semester is the semester of not going to class. I can't pull off Wonderstudent, I'm sorry. But remember how I'm getting a 4.0 this semester. Just watch. And I'm being really good about homework, okay?

I just remembered I'm giving blood today. Scary, really. I've never done it before. And even though I tease Emilee because she faints at the thought of needles…oh man, it really is kind of scary. Probably I should eat something today then.

Oh, food. It really is good stuff, but it’s just so easy to not eat it. Man, I'm so glad I don't have body image issues; it would be so easy to be anorexic.

Jan 26, 2006

Twenty-One, for those still wondering

(originally posted at eclaircie.diaryland.com)

I had almost forgotten about this incident, but I did say I’d share it, so here it is (this was over Winter Break, I think my last night home):

Trivia Card: How many merit badges does one need to become an Eagle Scout?
Marsha: Hmmm, Dad will shoot me when he finds out, but I haven’t the faintest idea…
Me: I’ll give you a clue; it starts with a ‘t’.
Marsha: Umm…thirteen?
Me: Higher.
Marsha: Thirty-two.
Me: Lower.
Marsha: Thirty-one.
Me: Lower.
Marsha: Oooo…then it has to be thirty.
Me: Lower.
Marsha: WHAT??!! That’s impossible. You said it started with a ‘t’, right?
Me: Yes.
Marsha: But…fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen…none of them start with a ‘t’!!!!!
Me: Right.
Marsha: And it’s higher than thirteen and lower than thirty?!
Me: Correct.
Five minutes later…
Marsha: Ohhhhhhhhhh…..the twenties!!!!!!
Me and Melissa (while laughing our faces off): “I can’t believe it took you that long,” “That’s so embarrassing,” etc.
Marsha: Oh well, at least it’s just you two that were in here…not that embarrassing.
Melissa: How about I’ll put it in my blog?
Me: Hmm, I’ll do that, too, okay?
Marsha: Noooooo!
Me and Melissa (practically in unison): That means “yes”.

Natie!!!....oh man, just realized I had an entriy titled the exact same thing back in like...May-ish

(originally posted at eclaircie.diaryland.com)

Just because I know you're all like me and can't get enough of the kid, here's an e-mail from Nate:

"Well I've decided that myspace is a phenomenal waste of time, so I probably wont need Emilee’s tutorial. And your sneaky suspicion was completely wrong. I only joined myspace because there was a possibility that she had a myspace and that's completely different. She doesn't have one and I've invited her, but she hasn't joined. But she will. I know because I asked the magic eight ball program that I wrote on my calculator and it said she would. I've basically become the ultimate calculator programming nerd. The number one cause of my lack of sleep is that I spend too much time programming. Let me just list to you my programs:

CF converts temperature from C to F.

CGRS ok remember my girl rating system, I've made it on my calc and now have a top secret feature where at some point I enter a secret number that makes it clear all of my answers so that no one can find out what I wrote.

COOL ok this is my work and my glory, you can ask Dalby, I’ve spent a majority of my math class for like a month making this. It consists of an A that can shoot an O or three O's at an x that moves randomly. It takes two hits to kill it and it keeps track of how long it takes to kill it and even keeps track of the high score. I'm still constantly adding new features.

DL shows pictures I drew of our drumline and makes them play the beginning of our warm-ups.

Done doesn't do anything it just says "Done".

FC converts F to C.

Gtky does something useful when programming that I don't want to explain.

HMWK isn't really a program, it’s just where I store my homework assignments.

IN calculates interest.

M8B is a magic eight ball.

PROGRAM is a variation on my program Greg Burgeven made. In his there is and X value and you have to guess it and if you guess wrong it says nope and if you guess right it says hizza! But in mine there is no X, it’s just to make stupid people keep guessing.

QD is a really good quadratic formula program. It not only displays the answers, but it displays what it would look like in the radical and everything.

RGRS stands for real girl rating system. It only has one category: body.

RMOV is a random movement experimental program that helped me figure out how to make the X in COOL. I just today made an addition to it so that when it starts moving in one direction, it is more likely to continue in that direction.

SYNTH does synthetic division for me.

So suffice it to say I waste a lot of time. I probably need to purge my calculator of useless programs, I do this every week or so.

By the way, you’re crazy if you actually read this all.

Nathan"

Man, he's such a nerd and I adore the kid. Totally my favorite sibling (but don't tell anyone).

And I love that he has a girl rating system and it's almost the same thing as my guy rating system, but we came up with them independently and then sheepishly admitted to each other that we had a system and then were like “Whoa! Me, too!!! Well…how embarrassing.” Though mine has always been more based on ranking guys against each other in the categories (like there can only be one number 1, 2, etc.) and his is just giving a score of 1-10 in each category. But we had almost the same weighting system for categories and stuff. And once it was out we got all sorts of good ideas about how to do it (“I’d never thought of having ‘body’, ‘face’, ‘hair’….mine had always just been the one heavily-weighted category ‘looks’….you’re a genius!” “Yeah, well you had ‘school smarts’ and ‘basic intelligence’ separate…pure genius!”).

And I may or may not have run through a guy ranking in my Math Modeling class the other day for the first time in a long time. But hey…it’s modeling the world I live in through mathematics, and that’s what the class is all about, yes? And I would share results, but the three males that read this were each on there and that would just be embarrassing.

Jan 25, 2006

Thoughts and Conversations compiled while bored at work and of course not doing homework

(originally posted at eclaircie.diaryland.com)

So weird how some days are uber busy at work and other days I'm just sitting here...memorizing the members of the US senate (up to 62 thus far) for lack of anything else to do. And putting on this hand sanitizer over and over again. I'm not a germ paranoid person at all. Just bored. And the hand sanitizer is there, and that's enough for me. And wishing I’d left my hair down today, because then I could trim split ends…always a favorite work time activity. And life keeps on truckin’ along.

Neal: Hey listen, can I take you to lunch today, or sometime?
Me: Oh, actually I have a boyfriend and…
Neal: Oh…sorry, I didn’t know…well, then, can I talk to McKenzi?
Me: Hey, second choice! The phone’s for you!

There is a collection bowl in the office so that Joe can buy his lady flowers for Valentine’s Day. I put in a nickel, because it was in my pocket and not doing me any good. Oh people and their ideas, though. Crazy bunch. The whole lot of them.

Terri: We don’t set those sorts of requirements; it all comes to us from the BYU board of directors.
Random lady on the phone: Well you can tell the damn head of the board of directors that…
Terri: His name’s Gordon B. Hinckley, would you like me to transfer your call to him?
Random lady on the phone: Oh. Ummm. *hangs up*

When I was a little girl my dream for the future was the house full of cats. Oh man, the obsession with cats. And the one requirement for future husband was “not allergic to cats”. Because the only reason I wanted to get married was to be out in my own house where I could have lots of cats. But nowadays, some things are more important, and my requirements for future husband have been upped to: “not allergic to cats and has similar taste to me in decor.” Because, let’s be honest, the other great thing about having your own house is not only can you have all the cats you want, but you can also decorate it however you want! To think how naive I was as a child.

I’ve reached the point in my life when the word “Indian” automatically makes me think of India. And when it’s used for American Indians, it always throws me off for a second. It used to be the other way around. But really…do I know a single American Indian person? I can’t think of any. But I personally know a bazillion Indian Indians. So there you have it.

The goal for the semester is 4.0. I’ve never done it before, always at least one pesky class that I’ll get a B in. But not this time, okay? I’m going to do it. Just watch. Maybe doing homework will help…hmm, I’ll think about it.

Jessica’s actually leaving in a couple weeks. She got the chance to go do something in Chicago, so she’s taking it. And Brittany’s leaving once she decided whether she wants to work in Austin or San Diego. And it’ll just be the four. And we’ll have lots of fridge space and lots of quiet. Neither of which are all they’re hyped up to be. I kind of miss Melanie. Kind of miss Melanie a lot, actually.

Jan 24, 2006

Rather Smitten

(originally posted at eclaircie.diaryland.com)

He just makes me happy...or I choose to be happy about him??

Jan 20, 2006

Just a Little Side Job

(originally posted at eclaircie.diaryland.com)

So, I'm now offically doing an advice column for church programs, anytime you need me, I'll be there. One happy customer:

violasonfire: hypothetically, what would you piece play if you were a violist on the bill for the next sacrament meeting and they needed to know for the program by tonight?
ajnmmjkk: i would play "love me tender"
violasonfire: so i asked...and love me tender is apparently not appropriate for church or something?
violasonfire: something about elvis being devilspawn?
ajnmmjkk: oh come on now...
violasonfire: (our music chair is very old fashioned...and old...and you saw the way he moved his hips)
ajnmmjkk: okay, then how about "my heart will go on"? always a winner
ajnmmjkk: AND celine dion keeps her hips under control in general
violasonfire: hmm
violasonfire: but that song was in a movie with very disturbing images
violasonfire: wouldnt want the sinners who saw it to be reminded of the evil...
ajnmmjkk: fine...then how about "hakuna matata"
violasonfire: hmm
violasonfire: ill ask
violasonfire: apparently
violasonfire: hakuna matata is a swahili thing
violasonfire: and since she is so old
violasonfire: well shes not be updated since the 60's
violasonfire: and missed the whole race equality thing
violasonfire: its a no go
ajnmmjkk: hmmm
ajnmmjkk: this person is tough to deal with
violasonfire: racist old folk are sometimes
ajnmmjkk: so new suggestion: violent coup of the stake music chair!!
violasonfire: hmm
violasonfire: thats going a little too far
violasonfire: remember this whole thing is hypothetical
violasonfire: i wouldnt actually get myself into such a quandry
ajnmmjkk: haha
ajnmmjkk: i see
ajnmmjkk: well, you can hypothetically stage a coup
violasonfire: oh
violasonfire: okay
violasonfire: but then id hypothetically still have to play
ajnmmjkk: but you wouldn't if you ran the music program!
ajnmmjkk: you could do whatever you wanted!
violasonfire: hmm
violasonfire: thats true
ajnmmjkk: so i'd do it anyway..just as a precautionary measure
ajnmmjkk: you could book metallica for sacrament meetings!
violasonfire: so we could have like...great balls of fire played on the organ?
violasonfire: oh metallica!
violasonfire: my fav
ajnmmjkk: metallica followed by great balls of fire..i'm thinking
ajnmmjkk: because great balls on organ is a very tough act to follow
violasonfire: good call
ajnmmjkk: yes
ajnmmjkk: well, that's why they call me a genius, hm?
ajnmmjkk: i'm thinking about doing an advice column
ajnmmjkk: especially for church music programs
violasonfire: youd be wonderful

Jan 16, 2006

Old men

(originally posted at eclaircie.diaryland.com)

So I had a dream last night that I went back to my high school and Mr. Watson my physics teacher asked me on a date. It still gives me chills just thinking about it. What's with me and old men lately? Hehe...kidding of course, Timothy.

Jan 15, 2006

I guess I'm boring...oh well.

(originally posted at eclaircie.diaryland.com)

Am I not that memorable of a person? I've had two people (one at dodgeball, one at church) ask me this weekend if I was new in the ward. And the thing is, they are both people that I knew who they were and I'd talked to them before. And Hilary asked me what my name was (in the meeting a new person way, not the "I'm sorry I can't remember" way) for the fourth or fifth time this weekend, too.

And though dodgeball and dance party at the Bran were nice on Friday, yesterday was considerably duller. Most exciting it got was either the grocery trip for ground beef and Cool Whip, or watching the History Channel. With second place going to re-runs of Isaac.

Jan 11, 2006

Life in a nutshell

(originally posted at eclaircie.diaryland.com)

I was in the shower last night and it felt so warm and comforting that I shaved my legs for an excuse to stay in longer. But then I couldn’t have all that effort go unnoticed, so I wore a skirt today, despite the fact that it’s 30 degrees out. So now I'm freezing. AND in uncomfortable shoes because they went with the skirt best. Oh, the irony.

Jan 9, 2006

Up close and personal...now inescapable

(originally posted at eclaircie.diaryland.com)

So with Melanie off to London, of all places, this means the rest of us were one roommate down. But then, a mysterious note appeared. “Hi, I’m your new roommate Jessica”, etc. And we all worried, because if you notice from that direct quotation, she didn’t put a comma between roommate and Jessica, even though the situation clearly calls for one. And then if you continue, the note said something about how no one was home so she’ll stop by later to see which room/bed was hers. But here’s the thing: there’s only one empty bed, one empty closet, etc. So we were like, “Oh no, she’s going to be a total idiot.” We immediately started referring to her as “Jessica Simpson.”

She stopped by last night, though, and seems decent enough. She’s really cute, and seems pretty chill. I think she’ll be good.

But anyway, Jessica Simpson doesn’t go to BYU, and for that matter isn’t Mormon. (Neither of these is a bad thing at all, but means she’s living a different lifestyle than the other 5 of us, like, we’ll be going off to school stuff and church stuff when she won’t be). She’s just working at McAfee and is here because her family lives in Provo. And she’s an aspiring actress. And so far her big break was a role as leg double for Cameron Diaz? So her legs are in some movie with Cameron Diaz in it. I think it’s something not out yet, but I can’t recall what it’s called. She normally lives in LA, but is here for a while to get some money and get over a longtime boyfriend she recently broke up with.

It'll be interesting to see how she deals with her room roommate being McKenzi. Because McKenzi's a Molly Mormon-type to the shizzle. And also an extremely intense person. And if I were a laid back not Mormon kind of person, I think I'd have trouble living with her.

Emilee: I bet she’s a serial killer.
Emily: Oh no, we’re all going to die!
Me: I doubt it; most serial killers are really good at killing people that nobody would expect. She wouldn’t kill someone so close, it’d give her away.
Emilee: True, it’s probably some random person in Roman Gardens that she’ll kill first. I bet she won’t even kill someone in Centennial.
Brittany: Oh man, I’m so glad she’s living with us; just think: we could’ve died

Hmm, and I was thinking a Jessica Simpson song would make a good title for this entry, and then to my chagrin and utter horror, realized I somehow know all the lyrics to "Irresistable" and considered killing myself, which I would've done if it weren't for the fact that the 7th Harry Potter book isn't out yet. So still gotta hold on.

Jan 7, 2006

Why, though?

(originally posted at eclaircie.diaryland.com)

My life has never been very hard. I don't get it. I mean, sure I have the rough days, or even rough weeks from time to time, but it always seems like I don't have that much to worry about. I've always had decent health and succeeded in school and had good friends and I never went through a rebellious stage (well, any more than wearing that one skirt that my mother thought was too short that one day when I was 15 and that sort of thing) and my family's always been fairly together and...is it a normal thing to feel like everyone has more problems in life than you? It's normally the opposite, yes? Everyone thinks their problems are worse than anyone else's. Which makes sense because nobody understands how much it hurts to not make the high school musical when all of your friends did or how much it hurts to have him decide he doesn't love you anymore or how much it hurts to realize you're just not as funny or pretty or interesting as your sister. Nobody knows exactly how much it hurts but the person experiencing it. And yes, it makes sense, but I'm not like that.

Not that I don't have problems and hurts, but everyone else's always seem more complicated. Perhaps because I can't understand what's going on inside of them, and so my somewhat overactive imagination makes things worse than they really are for other people? It's hard to say. But I know I live a blessed life, and a simple life. And I wonder why...

And now I worry that this sounds like I'm trying to brag about my attitude on life or something. "Look at how optimistic I am! I think I have less problems than everyone else!" Or even worse: "Look how empathetic I am!" I'm always paranoid when making observations about myself that they'll turn out sounding conceited. Which makes sense because most observations of me reveal such an awesome person that it's hard not to sound full of myself.

And that would be me throwing in a sentence that is obviously meant to be taken light-heartedly after what was supposed to be serious discussion (though now that I look at it, even minutes after writing it, I'm hideously embarrassed with anything that was serious-like...and why am I so afraid of stuff like that?). I do that a lot. I think it's some sort of defensive strategy. Though I couldn't really tell you what I was defending against exactly.