Flashback Friday

This week has been so insane, not only for school work, but for my musical tastes. I’ve gone from rocking out to Haim (get on that train, I tell you!) to bawling to John Mayer (he has a heart, at least in his lyrics) and then of course, always back to Katy Perry (who happens to be Billboard’s Woman of the Year. Congrats Katy!) So instead of posting a video for every single song that I’m enchanted with this week, I think I’m going to do a flashback Friday.

When I was in the 5^th grade, Avril Lavigne was huge. Everyone knew the lyrics and would sing and quote them all the time at school. She was just this punk girl, singing about stupid boys and trying to figure out things. Perfect for my 11 year-old soul. I remember going to an early morning Thanksgiving sale at K-Mart to get her first album “Let Go” for like $6. I dodged under some guy to grab the last copy and clutched it to my chest as I wandered around the crowded store to find my mom. There is one song in particular that always stands out as “Avril’s song.” Sk8r Boi. Everyone knew this song! I remember driving with my mom to soccer practice and turning the radio up as loud as it would go so I could belt out the words. Looking back, it was so innocent. It makes me sad that all music can’t be that way today. Now our kids are singing about “whistles” and going home with someone. We’ll always have Avril’s innocence though.

Enjoy the blast from the past. I won’t judge you if you sing along. Happy Friday.  

Serious Question: Is this Over-sharing??

Know what I noticed the other day? Ray B. West, the English building here on campus, does not have a bathroom. There’s one in the Family Life that is connected to RBW, but there isn’t one in the English building. The connector bridge is a whole 30 steps long, which isn’t horrendous, but why isn’t there a bathroom in RBW? These are the things I think about during class.

Maybe I’m the odd girl out, but sometimes the most important thing in life is a bathroom. Usually this is the first thing on my mind when I’ve downed a Crystal Light Energy or a large Diet Coke, but it’s still a concern on regular days. Like seriously, I’m pretty sure I pee more than normal, which is a problem when I have long, back-to-back classes. At the start of every semester, I make a point to search the buildings I have classes in for the nearest potty. I’ve been here for 3 years, and have yet to find a single bathroom, girl or boy, in the English building! What is this, potty discrimination?? Okay, take that back. I know I’m not the only one who has this issue. Sophia Rossi, co-founder of Hello Giggles, wrote an article about it. You can read it here: http://hellogiggles.com/can-you-pee-too-much

While some buildings don’t seem to have any bathrooms, I’ve discovered that the Natural Resource building only has boys bathroom’s on the 1^st floor. Girls, you have to go upstairs. Sexism!

And then as anyone who has every hit up a stall on campus knows, some bathrooms are dangerous if not avoided. Sorry BNR, but I can’t convince myself to use that bathroom. I think the fact that they were crawling with insects during the fall Box Elder bug invasion might have something to do with it. The ladies room in the TSC reminds me of a 1970’s LDS Stake Center bathroom with weird green carpet and sagging couches. And the AGRS 1^st floor bathroom reminds me of an airport for some reason. It’s definitely the nicest of the bathrooms on campus. Fully recommend stopping by.

Clearly, I have an obsession with peeing, but I think it comes with the territory of being a girl. Maybe my childhood television exposure had something to do with it. Every show from Sesame Street to Bear in the Big Blue House, tackled this issue. I have no problem admitting it either. I’ll be the first person to announce to a group of friends (good friends and family only) that I have to pee. Can I get that trademarked??

Are there bathrooms you avoid at all costs? Are all college bathrooms weird? I am just overly pre-occupied with this subject? You can get back to me in a minute, I have to pee.

Pep Talk

If your morning was anything like mine, a serious pep talk went down before anything else happened. Coming back from a long weekend is always rough. Combined with the cool temperatures, my warm bed, and my new found need for excessive sleep, my 8:30 law class was on the verge of not happening. But I went and I’m telling myself it was worth it. I only have 1 more Monday! I think I can handle that. In case you need a pep talk, here’s mine from this morning.

Only 3 more weeks.

Remember how great a homework free Thanksgiving was? Get through the next 3 weeks and you get 3ish weeks of that.

If you make it through finals week, you get to write your novel.

You have tons to do today. Get up and get started!

Maybe some music will help. Try listening to something (grab iPod and put first Katy song I found on. It happens to be the ever entertaining “Peacock”)

Ok, see you’re starting to wake up. This isn’t so bad.

If you get up you can have cheerios with sugar.

You bought cute boots and if you get up now you can actually put together an outfit that will look nice with them.

You’re going to be late and miss finding out if the final is take home or not (it ends up being a take 

home, a fact you love)

Awesome! You’re awake. Now get out there and conquer that craycray world!

Good luck with the Monday thing everyone!

Hudson

I’ve been watching this guy for about a year or so and this summer, he finally released an EP. His name is David Hudson, but he just goes by Hudson. His 6 song EP is entitled Dirty Face and each song is great. It’s available on iTunes. As per his Twitter feed and weekly Wednesday web show, he is currently working on new album. He’s attractive, has a great voice and is young. Hudson is definitely going places! Check out his song “We Found Ourselves” my personal favorite off his EP.

Happy Black Friday everyone!

We Found Ourselves

Thankful

I’m going to jump on the bandwagon and do what everyone, their neighbor, and their dog is doing. It’s probably just part of the season. In a way, I feel obligated to do it. Like if I don’t, I’ll be labeled a bad person or something. I know that’s a stupid reason to do anything, but I’m young and the pressure is high. So here it is: My Thankful List.

1. My family. They love me and I love them. Enough said.
2. The freedom and ability to go to school and study whatever I want. I honestly don't think I could be content with my life if I didn't go to school. I love PR and can't wait to get a big girl job!
3. Music. I believe that when words fail, music speaks. It always has and always will. When people say they don't like music, we can't be friends.
4. My friends. They make me laugh and love me for me. I don't have to pretend to be anyone but me when I'm with them.
5. My car. The battery died and I was carless for four days until my parents could come to Logan and look at it. They were some of the worst days I have ever experienced. I love the freedom my car gives me. I'm too independent to be stuck anywhere. (Insert Nelly Furtado song here.)
6. My job. I don't make tons of money, but it does allow me to pay for my car, phone, and other life expenses. Plus, I get to work with and meet interesting people.
7. My phone. I like being connected to people, even when I'm not there.
8. Twitter and Tumblr. 1.       These fabulous sites have provided me endless entertainment during long, snooze-worthy classes. They have also aided my drawn out procrastination sessions. Without them I would not see the adorable kitten pictures, gorgeous shoes, and read the hilarious things people put out for the universe to know.
9. The knowledge my mother instilled in me before sending me out to live on my own. I'm starting to realize not everyone knows how to clean, do laundry, or cook. These skills have saved my life.
10. The little things in life. Crystal light, Diet Coke, chocolate in any form, cute kittens, funny freshman. It's all about the little things.

What are you thankful for this year?

1         

What are you thankful for??

I Don't Want to Grow Up

Registration was last week. Hopefully everyone survived the “Hunger Games” of registration and got into the classes they needed. I heard the server crashed every night. Welcome to USU is all I have to say. Even as tuition rates go up, the amount of server space will never increase (but we get to see and wave at the construction workers every day...so yeah).

I registered for the last spring I will ever spend in Logan. It’s a little sad, but I’m ready for it. I’m ready to be done with school and get a big girl job. It’s scary though. There are so many decisions and choices I have to make. I have to be an adult. My minimum wage paying job won’t cut it anymore (it hardly cuts it now, but it’s a job and I’m grateful for it.) I’ll have to get a place on my own, and pay for everything by myself. It’s terrifying.

Part of the growing up decisions includes my classes for these last two semesters. I won’t graduate until next December, but all my friends are leaving in the spring. I wanted to take one more class with them, but because of registration restrictions I wasn’t able to sign into it. They told me I should go talk to the department heads and see if I could get in. I went this morning, but neither of them were there.

Here’s the thing though. When I realized I couldn’t take the class until next semester after I finish PR research, I picked another class. It’s young adult lit and as a writer of young adult fiction, it really excites me. Both YA Lit and Case Studies (the class I want to take) are taught at the same time. I’m going to be kicking around for an extra semester and know I can get into Case Studies in the fall. That’s where my dilemma stands. Both classes sound interesting and I want to take them for different reasons. So what do I do?

Instead of making these big girl decisions, I’ve decided I’m going to go back to being 5. Any donations of coloring books and fruit snacks would be greatly appreciated. Being a kid was a lot easier. Sometimes I think I grew up too fast. I was in such a hurry to be an adult and be taken seriously, and now that I have to be, I’m not ready.

In other news (and yet another decision), I totally gave up on Nanowrimo. I hated my plot so much, it gave me writers block. It’s not like I don’t have enough to write though. School has exploded like Mt. St. Helens. My thought is that once I finish this semester, I will have 3 delicious weeks to do whatever I want. This will be the first Christmas break I won’t be working at the bowling alley. With a bunch of free time, I’m going to write and read and enjoy my last break before I really have to be an adult. This time next year, I’m going to be job hunting. Freaky!

Daughter

We’re going to slow it down today. I discovered Daughter Wednesday night, purely by accident. I was on Youtube looking up the songs Katy Perry put on her playlist (because spotify would not work for me and the playlist is actually pretty good. More indie stuff than I would normally listen too, but it was decent). I was listening to Passion Pit’s “Take a Walk” and scanned through the suggestions on the sidebar. One video was called “Youth”-Daughter. I clicked on it, just to see what it would was, and instantly fell in love. I’m not really sure of the info about the band. They have 2 EP’s on iTunes and a bunch of demos and things on Youtube. I started clicking on songs, just trying to discover what their sound was like. To me, they’re sort of like Of Monsters and Men and a little like Florence, yet are very much just Daughter. Anyway, they’re a little slower, but I can’t stop listening.

Take a listen and tell me what you think.

Candles

Landfill

Medicine

Youth

Unexpectedly

I was talking to someone the other day and they said “he unexpectedly passed away,” which got me thinking. How can just someone UNEXPECTEDLY die? Don’t we all UNEXPECTEDLY DIE?? Like really. None of us know when we’re going to go. It’s not like there will be an email in our morning inbox….

Dear (insert your name here),

This email is just to inform you that you will die tomorrow. A chorus of angels will arrive to pick you up at 11:05am. Please inform your loved ones and make all necessary arrangements.

Have a great last day,

Sincerely,

The Heaven Welcoming Committee.

I mean really now! That doesn’t happen, though if someone paid me enough, I would set up a fake account and people could pay me to prank their friends. I can see the infomercial for it now. (You can prank your friends for the low price of $4.99, but WAIT if you call in the next two minutes you can prank 2 friends for the price of one. Can we bring Billie Mayes down to host it??) For reals though, none of us know when we’re going to go, so stop saying they died unexpectedly! It’s like saying its cold in January!

Happy Wednesday!

It's Here.

The cold is here. (Please note the punctuation. That’s how excited I am.) The weather is definitely my least favorite part of living in Logan. My freshman year was the worst on the cold front. I remember there were days that with the wind chill and humidity the “feels like” temp was in the negatives. None of my professors canceled class and walking across campus was HARD!

I’m hoping we don’t get that cold this year, but in case we do, here are some thoughts on how to keep from turning blue on your way to class.

*Fashion is not as important as staying warm! While rocking that cute skirt or dress may make you feel great and look amazing, having blue legs does not. There are cute sweaters and jeans out there that go great with adorable boots. Invest in them! You can look cute, but stay warm and avoid getting sick (which is really the important thing, especially with finals just around the corner.)

*No one is really looking at what brand your coat is. Find one that you like and is warm and wear it. Trying to be brave and just wearing a sweatshirt makes you look kinda stupid. If it’s genuinely cold (likein the 30’s), grab the snowboard/ski coat and embrace it. Everyone is going to be doing the same thing.

*Leggings can be your best friend. If you have to walk across campus or up the hill, especially when it’s dark, put leggings under your pants. Not only will they help tuck everything in (and who doesn’t want that) they provide an extra layer to protect you from the harsh chill.

*Mittens can save your hands! If you’re like me, your skin takes a beating during the winter. Moisturizing lotion and a good pair of gloves can spare you the painful cracks. They even make some with fingers just for touch screens so that everything you own can still be used.

Just remember, everyone is trying to stay warm too. Find what works for you and rock it. It’s easy to modify beanies with flower clips and everyone loves scarves. Just try to stay warm. It’s going to be a long time before the tank tops can be unpacked.

They Always Have a Stupid Grin

I’ve known about Dragonette for about two or three years now. I think she’s an under-rated artist, but everyone should listen to her. The song for today is called “Stupid Grin.” It’s all about how she plans to say goodbye to this guy, end the relationship and move on, but then he smiles and she crumbles. Kind of the story of my freshman year. I won’t grace him with blog infamy, but our relationship was kind of toxic. I swore up and down that I was done, but then he’d come back, half apologize (after I asked if he was sorry) and then grin and I was right back in the cycle. If Hollywood hasn’t totally lied to me, though I’m skeptical because Disney fueled a lot of my princess career plans, I feel like this one is honest. Maybe it hasn’t been something super bad, or ended up with a happy ending, but I think everyone can relate to our men and their stupid grins.

Happy Friday everyone.

It's Over!!

Can I just say I am really glad the election is over? Finally life can go back to normal. Now when people ask who you’re voting for, they are probably talking about the latest faux talent show. I don’t have to avoid Pandora and Youtube videos with ads anymore, either. Throughout the last few weeks I have learned some things though.

• ·         Utah has 6 Electoral College votes- that’s more than I thought, but still seems so petty. In many states these votes are decided way before the even public votes.
• ·         There are 100 seats in Senate and 345 in House- There are a lot of people trying to wear the bossypants. No wonder it takes so long for bills and acts to go anywhere. This is just a thought, but maybe if we limited how many people were there and how old they were (since humans stop being as open to others around age 35-learned that little gem in psychology), we could get something done in the legal system.
• ·         This election, America put the 1^st disabled woman, the 1^st openly lesbian woman and the first Asian woman in Senate. Yay ovaries!!
• ·         If I ever go to Colorado, I’m not going to eat any brownies. I may want more, and French fries, and cupcakes….munchies
• ·         During election season, even the most innocent comment can be turned into a political debate.
• ·         High school never ends-even for the boys.
• ·         No matter who wins, there will be a lot of angry and happy people, which makes Facebook a very scary place.

Now that the elections are over, we as a nation can focus on more important issues including:

• ·         I can watch Ellen without having to guess how long the commercial breaks will be to avoid the mud-slinging ads. If you have a DVR, this isn’t a problem for you, but I’m a poor college student.
• ·         Thanksgiving is in 2 weeks! Time to start on my tummy stretching exercises. Turkey coma here I come!
• ·         Rachael get’s to graduate 1 year from now! I can pick up my graduation packet at the start of Spring Semester! This is great news because it ultimately means I’m going to have more money (once I get a big girl job of course.)
• ·         The crazies of society (no not those ones) can get back to finishing their novels! Writing a novel is kind of like giving birth. You sweat and push and scream a bit and then it’s out and you’re like “that’s it?” Okay, so most parents probably don’t say that since they’re too busy proclaiming to the world how adorable their kid is, but I’m sure someone has been a bit disappointed. There’s always one somewhere. As of last night I was at 11,810. I’m not as far in the plot as I wanted to be, but at least my word count is steady. I figure if I get all my homework done during the day, then while I’m at work, I can write and not feel bad. It’s my reward system and this one won’t make my pants shrink.

So this is getting a little deep and a bit awkward, but not as awkward as today’s law class. Poor professor. Here’s a bit of laughter and love, but mainly laughter. They’re the cure for everything. The last 3 are my personal favs.

Countdown

This might be my favorite time of the semester; tests, research papers and projects aside. I feel like the start of November signals the time when it is acceptable to start counting down. So let’s look at the numbers, since numbers don’t lie.

15 weeks=a semester

6 weeks until the semester is completely over. You can do it!

7 weeks until Christmas

2.5 weeks until Thanksgiving

4.5 days until the weekend.

It’s almost over, yet this is when the stress starts to hit. I think every professor has decided a paper, project or test needs to be due during the month of November. That’s all fine and dandy, but I WANT TO WRITE A NOVEL!! So yeah, we’ll see how that goes.

Nano Update: I finished Chapter 2 last night and am sitting at 7184 as of now. I am a lot more behind than I anticipated being. I have not written a single word today, which makes me monumentally angry. I’m trying to catch up on some stuff so that I don’t fail my classes. I’ve decided that writing is going to be my reward. If I get everything done, I can write at work. Writing is a much better option than coloring, even if my coloring book is super cute. Hopefully I’ll be able to knock out a huge writing chunk while I sit at work for 5 hours. I am determined to finish this novel in time even if it means I loss some sleep. 

I Almost Do

I’m not normally a Taylor Swift fan, but her new album Red is my current obsession. Track 7, “I Almost Do” is hands down my favorite song. “Dear John” is my all time favorite Taylor Swift song, but this is a close second. The lyrics tell the story of wanting to call or talk to someone, but knowing that you can’t. I think we’ve all experienced this at some point.

Katy Perry once said “The best lyrics are the ones that give you goosebumps or make you cry in public or help you realize the answers.” That’s what this song is for me. So many things that I’ve been dealing with since the summer and decisions I have made seem to have the answers written in the lyrics of “I Almost Do.” These are the types of songs I LOVE to share!

Does anyone have stories about when they “almost did?” I’d love to hear them.

I'm Going to Apologize Right Now

Nanowrimo started today! So far it’s going well, but I’m going to apologize right now. If you follow me on any social network-Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr-any of them, my posts are about to be taken over by numbers. Not just random numbers, but word counts. That’s just part of nano.

What’s nano you ask? Nano is short for National Novel Writing Month. I have all of November to write a 50,000 word novel. Crazy? Maybe. Stressful? Yes. Worth it? Completely. I did it in August and completed my book in 2 ½ weeks. Of course, I wasn’t working or going to school then, but I’m pretty sure I can finish it in a month. I really like my idea this year and can’t wait to start writing. There really isn’t a prize or physical incentive to participating in nano. It’s more about the challenge and proving to yourself that you can accomplish it. At least that’s why I do it.

Consider yourself warned, my updates are going to be filled with plot struggles, character break throughs and word counts. Though maybe not so many word counts this November since I’m writing by hand and typing at night. I figure it will cut down on my screen time and the amount of headaches I’m positive I’ll have. I’ll post a share link once I get it done and hope you’ll check it out. If any of you are doing the competition I wish you the best of luck. It’s going to be a great month!