Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone! It seems that since I’ve become a grown up, the holiday has lost its spark. I’m too old to go door-to-door begging for candy from strangers and most of the adult costumes out there have turned the day from Halloween to “whore-o-ween.” Not really my idea of fun. I’m not a fan of scary movies or being scared in general. Pretty much, Halloween isn’t my thing, though I love seeing people’s cute costumes (especially if they involve small children or puppies.)

Halloween used to be so fun. I remember when I was in 9^th grade. I’m pretty sure it was the last year I went trick-or-treating. I dressed up as a witch, green face and all, and went around with three of my friends. We would knock on the door or ring the bell and wait for the person to answer. As soon as the door opened, we burst into horribly off-key renditions of Christmas songs. We went all over my neighborhood doing it, before we convinced one of our parents to drive us to our choir teacher’s house (we were all in madrigals together.) We were in the middle of rehearsals for “Anne of Green Gables: The Musical” and when she opened the door we started singing the main song from the show. It was ridiculous and insane, but it’s one of my favorite Halloweens. I miss those days.

No matter how you’re spending your night, be it at a party or skyping with your friends until you can start writing, be safe. Be responsible. No amount of money can pay for a life.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Live Tweeting

I have some professors that say some pretty funny shizzle. Of course, the best class doesn’t allow cell phones and is very critical of laptops so I can’t tweet it up. So, I decided to write down some of the funny stuff I’ve heard professors say over the last couple of days. I’m leaving names off just so they can’t be identified, because I’m nice like that.

“Puberty is rough, especially if you have a Crisco face like me. But there’s hope, just look at this vessel of manhood in front of you.”

“If this is the English building, why is it named after an engineer?” “Because there are no rich English majors.” #honest

Sitting in a class and the projector starts a loud pitched humming. Professor glances at it and it stops. “We live, apparently!”

“All she wrote was ‘I hate this. I hate this. I hate this.’ It’s my life goal to do that to someone.”

“This is a horrible thing to decide, but I decided I didn’t like her as a person.”

“You’re more likely to see a woman in a wedding dress than a moose. #naturetalk”

“You can disagree with me, but I happen to be right.”

Dear USU

Dear Skateboard Dude-

                Are your legs broken? Is that why you have those two lovely ladies pulling you along the sidewalk? They may have ponytails, but they aren’t horses. You don’t look cool, you just look like a player.

-Sincerely, Rachael

Dear Law Professor:

                I don’t understand half the words coming out of your mouth. Can you put them in Legally Blonde terms?

-Confused, Miss Wabel

Group-

                I can’t wait for this class to be over. I know you don’t care about this project, but I do. I miss working with my PR besties.

-Counting Down, Rachael

Dear Nano Logan Group-

                I know I’m the black sheep who isn’t writing fantasy, but I think you guys are cool. Quadside Café write-in soon?

Write On, RaeMarie

Hey Lovey-Dovey couple in my Psych class,

                Please get a room! My breakfast belongs in my stomach!

On the verge of puking, the girl sitting behind you.

To the Boy next door:

                Do you have CNN texting you updates about Hurricane Sandy? Please turn the vibrate and sound off on your phone!

Irritated, the next door neighbor.

Dear Boy in the Library-

                You are hot, but maybe I’m not? Will you please look up and acknowledge me so I can stop feeling like a stalker?

Waiting, Rachael

Feel Good Song

I think everyone has that one song that automatically makes them feel better when they listen to it. It seems that most of these songs have feelings or memories that keep us returning to them. I have an ipod full of great dance-worthy songs, but there is one that no matter what’s going on, hearing it makes me happy. Like happy to the point of screaming it at the top of my lungs, dancing around the room, tweeting the lyrics. I’m pretty sure this song is going to end up on my wedding playlist. So what is it….

DRUMROLL PLEASE

Rachael’s feel good song is “Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry. I’m going to safely say this is my favorite Katy Perry song, and the one that made me fall in love with her music. “Not Like the Movies” is a close second, but hands down “Teenage Dream” is my jam.

I’d love to know what your “feel-good” song is. I think they say a lot about people, and I’d like to get to know my readers better. So fess up, what’s the song you turn to to make everything better?

While you’re thinking, enjoy “Teenage Dream” 

Sick Day

Maybe it’s because the weather is changing, getting colder and wetter. Maybe I’ve ruin myself to exhaustion. 

Maybe it’s going around. Whatever is to blame, today is a sick day. I knew it was going to be when I woke up this morning, but I hoped it would pass. Guess I’m not that lucky.

Sick days in college suck a lot. If you decide to suck it up and go to class (like I attempted to do) you have to go outside. That’s probably the only thing I miss about high school. In high school once you trekked from the parking lot, you didn’t have to leave again until the end of the day. College isn’t cool like that. All of my classes are in different buildings that happen to be across the quad from each other. The exercise is good, but doing it in the chill when all you want to do is still be in bed, is not a great idea.

Aside from having to go outside, professors aren’t required to be nice. Even if you email them and say you won’t be in class because you don’t feel well, they don’t always give you the handouts, assignments or help on those assignments that you need. I think it’s all about knowing the professor and what you can get away with. Thankfully, this semester most of my professors are pretty chill. Their power points end up online (eventually) and they seem to be willing to work with students. Those are the best professors in my opinion. By keeping me out of class, they are keeping themselves and everyone else healthy. Sick days are no fun.

Karma has to rear her ugly head and have me get sick on a day that I have a lot to do. All I really want to do is lay in bed and watch movies, but the homework has to get done sometime.

Anyway I’ll stop complaining now and leave you with some hump day cuteness.

It's the Little Things

Happy rainy Monday everyone! Hopefully the Fall Break hangovers aren’t exceptionally bad. I wish I was still on break, but today hasn’t been super horrible for a Monday. As I was sitting in class today, listening to everyone complain about having to be back, I started to think that my day wasn’t going so bad. Sometimes you just have to look at the little things and find the joy there. Take today for instance. The good things that have happen to me:
• My 1st class was canceled, which meant even though I got up and got dressed for nothing, I was able    
          to spend an hour hanging out in the ag spa with my PR besties.
• I’m wearing a cute new outfit that only cost me $10.
• I bought the new Taylor Swift album with all the songs I’ve fallen in love with over the last couple of  
          weeks.
• Chocolate covered pretzels were only $1 at Smiths.
• I might get off work early tonight since my last work class is taking their midterm.

Everything on that list is pretty simple, but they’ve all made my day. I think sometimes we get caught up in the negative and what we, as poor and starving college students, don’t have. We should look for the good things and celebrate them. Maybe then, even with the gray skies, we’ll be happy. And isn’t joy better to share than negativity? Plus if we look at all the good things of today and the last weekend, we can handle the fact that it’s supposed to snow on Wednesday.

Happy Monday everyone!

Music is Going to Make Me Broke

I know it’s the end of the 3^rd quarter, start of the 4^th, but does everyone have to put out new music now?? The worst part is, I like all of it!. Like, enjoy it to the point that I want to buy it. In the last month alone, P!nk put out a solid new album with more good songs than bad (I have yet to buy this but it’s going to happen soon.) The new Sky Ferreira EP came out, which I also really liked. “Skyfall” by Adele is a decent song and will probably continue to be until the radio kills it. Lifehouse wrote a great rainy day song called “Between the Raindrops” and the new Taylor Swift album comes out on Monday. Like the P!nk record Red is a whole album purchase. I need another job just to pay for this habit.

So needless to say, I’ve been listening to a lot of stuff this week, which makes picking something to share a lot harder. The last couple of weeks, I’ve had a sort of “song of the week.” The song I listen to non-stop until I find something better. This week hasn’t been that way. Thinking about what I was going to blog about, I decided I would go with something a little older. The newest songs are going to be on the radio, but the older songs from artists aren’t always showcased.

The song this week comes from Adam Lambert. It’s from his Trespassing album, which came out earlier this year, but didn’t do well. I don’t he released more than 2 or 3 singles to the radio, but the songs are still worth a listen. This is called “Runnin.” Hope you enjoy it. (Sorry about the ad before it, but that's youtube for you)

Fall Break

I can almost taste the freedom. No classes, sleep, kittens, it's almost here. Fall Break starts tomorrow. I have to go to my 8:30 class to pick up my midterm, but then I'm home free! It is such a refreshing feeling! I have been in Logan for 3 weeks and while that seems petty, it's the longest consecutive amount of time I've ever been here. Basically, I'm ready to sleep in my own bed in my own room, have kitten cuddle time and sleep. Oh sleep, I've been missing you. It's so sweet and it's almost here! I just have to get through today.

Being Wednesday, it's also hump day. If you're anything like me, you might need a lil "pick-me-up" to endure. So I present to you cuteness overload. Cue the "ahs"

Why Can't I Have Nice Things??

Maybe I’m just meant to not have things go right. That’s honestly how I’m feeling today. I make plans and figure out a way, think it will be the best thing for me, and then something goes and gets in the way. Growing up in a religious home, everyone tells me that it’s God’s way of directing my life, but I’m not so sure about that. I think it’s because I drew the short stick.

Here’s what happened…

I decided last week that I’m done living in campus housing. Dorms are full of drama and very immature people. I’m over that scene. I love my roommate Rikki, but the others in the apartment drive me nuts. So I said I wanted out. I found an apartment that I liked, private room, nice girls, CLEAN (something that is lacking with my current housemates) and it was the same price as what I’m paying. It seemed perfect.

In past years, if you wanted out of your housing contract for spring all you had to do was sign a paper. That policy changed this week. I went and talked to the housing director to find out what I could do and he told me the change was because all the mormon kids want to go on missions and everyone is leaving so the school is losing money. To move out if you aren’t getting married or going to the military, you have to sell your contract. With what I have to offer, I don’t think anyone is going to want to take my space. I can’t afford to pay 2 rents. Looks like I’m stuck.

I honestly don’t know what to do anymore. I highly doubt I’m going to have enough money to even finish school. I just feel like I’m trying to get ahead and I’m getting thrown eight feet back. So what do I do? Stay in a sucky housing situation, or try to market my space, knowing it probably won’t sell?

If you were me, what would you do??

Country Cutie Goes Pop

Taylor Swift is known for being the country cutie who writes songs about the boys who break her heart. She's notorious for leaving their actual names in the songs, making them even heavier hitters. Among all the ex-boyfriends and teary eyes, she has worked her way into the hearts of millions across the globe. Swift was even named "Artist of the Year" at the 2011 American Music Awards.

But she's starting to cross over into the pop world. The latest track from her upcoming album Red is full on pop confection. Synthesizers, drop beats and sing-a-long worthy lyrics have "I Knew You Were Trouble" swinging with full potential. The depart from sweet country is refreshing, but we have no doubt sad love ballads will be back.

If you haven't heard "I Knew You Were Trouble" click the video below. Don't worry no one will judge you when you start dancing along. Everyone will be dancing with you!

Humans vs. Zombies

It’s that time again. Humans vs. Zombies. Pretty much it’s the only acceptable time to run around campus throwing socks and shooting nerf guns at each other. I know there’s more to the game than that, but to a non-player, that’s exactly what it seems like. While it may be fun for them, its obnoxious for the rest of us. In the quest to “eat” the human or escape the zombie, zealous freshman will stop at nothing, including dropping innocent bystanders to their feet. I hate zombie week!

I think part of my dislike comes from my experience with HVZ last year. I didn’t play. I reported. I was in a news-writing class last fall and one of our assignments was to write an article everyday about the status of the game. That was probably one of my most stressful weeks of college (until this week hit me.) So, if any of you are living hell week with LaPlante, I wish you the best of luck.

This whole game is really relating to my life right now. I am a zombie, slowly dying, and my homework pile is the human attacking me. I hate media law and case briefs! Anyways, good luck out there everyone. May the odds be ever in your favor.

Red or Blue?

Tomorrow’s the last day you can register to vote. It would be totally hypocritical of me to tell you to all go out and register, because I’m not voting. Yes, you read that right. I. Am. Not. Voting. I have a lot of reasons, including not feeling like I know enough about the candidates to make an educated decision, knowing that because of where I live my vote doesn’t count in the grand scheme, and a few others. I don’t want to discourage anyone from voting if they want to, it’s just not something I feel the need to do.

I remember when I turned 18, I couldn’t wait to vote. Of course my birthday is in January, so I had a while to wait. November creeped up on me and I didn’t register. It was just a local election that year so it didn’t seem like a huge deal. I was going to school in Logan but spending weekends and summers in Syracuse. Neither place really felt like “my city.” Same thing happened last year. And this year, well, I just don’t care.

Whenever I tell people this, I get the typical lecture “if you don’t vote, you can’t complain.” It’s justifiable, but in Utah, where everyone knows that the electoral votes are going to Romney, does my vote really count? It’s not like the people in charge really listen anyways.

I guess a lot of this is because I’m not really aware of what’s going on. Basically if it isn’t on the MSN homepage or affecting something I really care about, I don’t know. I feel like being in college is like living in a bubble. Maybe I’ll register when I’m living in the “real world.” Until then, I’m not going to get too worked up about the whole thing.

What are your thoughts on voting? Are you going to? 

Two Door Cinema Club

I’m not sure exactly how I found them, but Two Door Cinema Club has found their way into my heart. Two Door is an indie band out of Northern Ireland starting their American invasion. Their made up of 3 guys and I honestly can’t think of another band to compare them to. I’ve listened to a bunch of their songs and have yet to find one I don’t like, which is always good because it makes purchasing the album worth it. Being October, it seems fitting to share “Costume Party.” Happy Friday everyone!

The Worst Part of College

I made a goal a while ago to try to be more positive about everything, but today I feel like I need to rant a little. Getting things off your chest is healthy right? Explosions aren’t usually a favored response. So here it goes.

I hate how all my classes are simply telling us what we can do. There doesn’t seem to be much doing. I’m noticing this a lot in my PR classes. Obviously, I have to be told how to do something before I can do it, but hearing about it only makes me more anxious to be out in the world doing it.

Sometimes my ADD get’s the best of me and I find myself thinking about the hundred other things I need to do during class. Without a doubt, I know I’m the only one who does this. It’s really bad when the subject material is boring, or something I already get. Knowing students do this, why do professors have to call on me when I don’t have a clue what is going on? It happened yesterday. I was sitting in class, thinking about what groceries I needed to get, what I still needed to do for my brochure and print ad and trying to figure out what I wanted to eat before I went to work. Clearly, my brain was not in the same classroom as everyone else. I was doing fine on my little think train until I heard it.

“Rachael?”

Head jerks up, confusion floods the eyes and I stare blankly, completely clueless as to what’s going on.

I had to apologize for not focusing, making my cheeks burn. 3 more semesters and then I can stop hearing about how great it is and actually start doing. I can’t wait!

You Must Hate Life

Little kids have an easy life. They go to school, don’t really have any homework and a hard night is one where they don’t get to watch their favorite show. They also have the luxury of being able to say just about anything and have people go “aww” instead of get mad.

I went to the library to study yesterday. I was there a grand total of five minutes and then I almost got stung by a bee. Yes a bee inside the library. I am terrified of bees/hornets/wasps and am also allergic. A sting means I swell up, and swelling means I have to take Benadryl and Benadryl knocks me out. I had a lot of homework to finish. Are you starting to see why this bee encounter is a bad idea?

Scared of being attacked, I decided I wanted to study outside and headed to First Dam. I spread myself out on the grass, my books littering my blanket. Several families were there having picnics and feeding the ducks. 

For the most part every parent kept a close eye on their children, expect one little girl. She was probably around four or five and flitted around the grass, talking to just about everyone. It was clear she wasn’t lost or homeless, just a social butterfly.

I watched her for a minute, smiling at her carefree spirit. She stopped at my blanket, with her brow scrunched in confusion. I pulled my headphones from my ears and smiled at her.

“Do you hate life?”

Her question stopped me. What would provoke someone to say that? I didn’t think I looked particularly sad, stressed maybe, but I had a lot to finish. I shook my head, “No, why would I hate life?”

With the most serious expression any small child could manage, she pointed to my book cluttered blanket. 

“Because you’re doing homework. I hate homework.”

She paused for a second before skipping off to the next group, leaving me silently laughing before I returned to my work. Just so you know little girl, I hate homework too.