Jittery

I just did something that terrified me, but not as much as it might've a few years ago because I've learned how to be assertive in my wise old age. Now I want to go and bake cupcake #28 and rejoice. And then read my book. And buy a new lamp for the office/piano room. And i really hope i didn't get a parking ticket today because i'm parked in a 2-hour parking spot and it's going on 4 hours. In fact, I better go check on that. Good bye, for now.

Michiganiversary

August already...which means we've been living here in michigan for a year now. An important year- filled with discovery and thinking, working and reading, saving and planning, and, we earned it right? a bit of fun and frivolity!  Frivolity forever or what is the point. 

What else should i say today? Well, occasionally, i sit and think of updating my facebook status. But then i become completely stumped. How do i write a status update that sounds neither bragging, complaining, or boring? Too hard...i usually give up. However, because me and aaron just watched 'nacho libre', if i were to update my status currently it would be filled with quotes from the movie, because it is hilarious. such as:

  ‘I was wondering if you would like to join me in my quarters this night... for some toast.' 

  'My life is good! Really good! I get to wake up every morning, at 5AM, and make some soup! It's the best. I love it. I get to lay in a bed, all by myself, all of my life! That's fantastic!' 

  'Chancho. When you are a man, sometimes you wear stretchy pants in your room. It's for fun.' 

 --- 

 Anywho, good bye. And here's a photo aaron took of a baby longhorn cow. Apparently, after he took this, the mother started to charge toward him and he had to run away. Also, it was a color photo, but the green of the grass clashed with my blog background. God is in the details!

 

This blog was private for the past few weeks...and it felt weird. I'm a private person, and yet i'm not a fan of privacy. So that's all over with.

 

--- Last week, aaron and i ate dinner at Panda Express. I opened my fortune cookie at the end to read this: "Be assertive and you will win." That slip of paper, obviously meant to be mine, is now in my wallet, to act as a sort of CTR ring. "Choose the assertiveness." I take my fortune cookies seriously.

 --- I really appreciate the summer months. I wish i could say autumn or spring are my favorite seasons, but they are far too short. But summer lasts exactly long enough. And it is delicious to the taste.

 --- I really have nothing left to say for this post, and i racked my brain trying to think of more. Except here is another video that is awesome. My mom laughed, aaron laughed, we all laughed. Rideo, ridere, risum. ---

Thirteen Thoughts

Just a few things: 

 1) I just pre-ordered the 3rd Hunger Games book...i signed up for an AmazonPrime free trial (my 2nd..) so i could get the free 2-day shipping.  (note: must remember to cancel within a month to avoid the $79 charge...yikes! if I forget than it’s fine, I will just order extra books to make it worth it. Wink!) 

2) Sea salt chocolate  is my favorite thing at the moment 

3) A year ago today, i was sunburnt from Lake Powell. Today, i am sunburnt from Crooked Lake. Both were worth the burn. 

4) My personal topic of research lately has been North Korea- I had never read much about it before, so i've learned quite a bit. Especially interesting to read about the experiences of people who have visited or lived there: (see here, here, here, here, and here). 

5)  We saw all 10 of the 2009 best picture nominated Oscar films...my favorites were 'An Education' and 'Inglorious Basterds' (least favorites: 'District 9' & 'Hurt Locker') 

6) I really don't like the saying, "life is short". seriously? do we need reminding? Really, any time-related reminders i don't like. (e.g. someone checking the clock before bed and saying, 'you have to wake up in 5 hours', or,  hearing that 'summer is halfway over', etc., etc. 

7) So, another thing i don't like...being obligated to say "bless you" when someone sneezes. Truly a terrible tradition from the Middle Ages.  But some people act offended when you don't bless them. (e.g."ah-choo!"...pause....awkward silence..."well, bless me") Perhaps everyone could go on a sneeze blessing strike? Can we try it? When i sneeze, ignore me! (and i'll return the favor) 

8) I also don't like pennies...i used to throw them away. They're useless. Then i graduated college and found out that a penny saved is a penny earned. 

9) The italian side of my family is having a reunion in a few weeks...i made tshirts with the family coat of arms. 

10) we’ve caught up on watching all of the Big Love series.  On the whole i would say two thumbs up.  And it helped with Utah withdrawals ;)

11) Very delighted for my dear old roommate and friend monica who is engaged! Now i just need to meet this guy. someday, somehow?! 

12) When aaron was working late into the night during his winter busy season, i would sit at the piano and belt out this song. really dramatic. 

13) Speaking of aaron, he found the most hilarious video ever today...i hope he posts it on his blog or something. If not i'll link to it later. *later: here it is. please watch it. 

*Edit: this makes me sad. i have no books to pick-up.

[kids playing soccer on the street in naples, italy, from when i went with my mom...this is my tribute to the world cup, despite that italy was eliminated so early]

Personal Preferences

Hello, my people. (figuatively speaking- i don't own anyone) I created this incomplete list today whilst feeling nitpicky:

 i like: soy milk.

 i dislike: high heels 

i like: neti pots 

i dislike: when a story on cnn.com is a video, not text 

i like: making the bed 

i dislike: checking voicemails 

i like: beans and rice, forever and ever amen 

i dislike: the way tupperware retains smells 

i like: sleeping in but not past 9:00

i dislike: talking on the phone, i can't not be awkward on the phone 

i like: aaron's patience when we play tennis 

i dislike: cubicles. death to cubicles? 

i like: watching birth videos on youtube. 

i dislike: watching episiotomies on birth videos. seriously. 

i like: reading on the bus, or, reading anywhere 

i dislike: odors- such as perfumes, or food that's not mine 

i like: being alone 

 i dislike: people touching me when i'm sweating. do not touch. 

i like: pilates 

i dislike: restaurant items that i could cook myself for 1/3 the price 

i like: when i remember to respond to an e-mail within 48 hours (or a text within 24). this makes me feel on top of things. 

i dislike: naps 

i like: asians. i kinda really do. 

i dislike: canker sores- i'm plagued. 

i like: vegetables- kale, zucchini, broccoli, asparagus

i dislike: my two biggest fears- car accidents and infertility 

i like: showering at night and falling asleep clean 

i dislike: how my hands continually smell like garlic. note to self: buy kitchen gloves. 

i like: honey nut cheerios & cinnimon toast crunch 

i dislike: raisins in cookies. what's the point? 

i like: crushing an egg shell and feeling the jagged edges in the palm of my hand 

  *Note: Originally, these were "i love" & "i hate", but it made me sound extremist. no really, try it: i hate raisins, i love asians, i hate voicemails, i love being alone, i hate naps....those are the rantings of a nut! funny how that works.

Contractions, Bacchae, and the Notorious BIG

So...Google has this feature called web history where you can see everything you've ever searched for on google, by date-- as well as how many searches. (As long as you were logged in to google when you searched for it...and I'm always logged into gmail, so this was a freaky, embarrassing, thrilling discovery.)

Since June 2008 (when I got gmail) I have performed 13,924 google searches. Yes, that's amost 14,000. Which means nearly 7,000 per year which translates to 19 searches per day. Oh my! I should be the smartest person in the world by now, right? Well, not actually. You'll see below some of the things I've googled in the past 2 years:

"what do contractions feel like?" (Answer: "They feel like someone taking all of your insides and squeezing them, while tearing them out, and at the same time lighting all of those insides on fire, literally.")
"beaver island"
"Salvatore Polichetti" (the singer in this favorite video of mine)
"why are asians so smart??"
"why do women live longer than men?"
"how to calculate percent increase"
"is the world ending or what?"
"jennifer larose"
"camorra italy"
"havasupai falls"
"notorious BIG"
"merry wives cafe"
"bacchae"
"lawsuit PWC overtime"
"can i skip my period on the pill?"
"pros and cons of homeschooling"
"how to combine graphs in stata?"
"how to speak with a transatlantic accent" (heard in this neat video, 21 Accents)
"canker sores due to vitamin deficiency?"
"humans who harbor an infectious organism"
"can quadriplegics give birth?"
"head transplant"
"moralistic therapeutic deism"
"red bumpy rash on elbow"
"cheap flights from allentown to detroit" (from july '08)
"breastfeeding artwork"

Now isn't that fun?

The Ides of May

It wasn't our scene, the devotionals. Yet we went that day anyhow.

When I reminisce, I remember vividly what I was thinking. It was 10:55 a.m on a Tuesday and I really had nowhere else to go (I had to be honest with myself). I had awoken that May morning around 9:30-- showered, read the news while eating a bowl of cheerios, and rode my bike up to campus. Up the hill. I was sweating. I sought air conditioning. My bike led me to the Harris Fine Arts Center, where I was enrolled in piano lessons for the spring term.

As I turned to walk towards the stairs that led to the practice rooms, a steady stream of students rushed past me into the De Jong, where the devotionals took place. Not quite ready to lock myself in the windowless basement piano room I thought, 'How nice it sounds to just sit and be spoken to.' I joined the people and found a seat somewhere towards the back of the auditorium. A minute later, a boy (man? what are students anyway?) walked down my row and sat next to me. (But he doesn't matter in my story.)

Three minutes later another boy walked down the row, crossed over me, and sat on the other side, but two seats away. I sat and let my mind go blank, waiting. Five more minutes until it would begin, someone announced, "Would everyone move to the centers of their rows to allow more room?"

And so I did. I moved closer to the center. Closer to the boy who sat two seats away. He smiled a hello. I asked him his name. He asked where I was from. We discussed matters of politics. And the lights dimmed.

---

Afterwards, we stood and exited the row, chatting about things we didn't care about. I hesitated near the exit, "I'm headed down this hallway." Cautiously he asked, "Could I have your phone number? Maybe we could go out sometime."

"I think so," I responded.

---

Seconds before drifting off to sleep the other night, I sent a facebook status text from my phone, announcing the unrealized significance of the day. "Thank heaven for May 15th", I typed. I tossed the phone somewhere onto the floor and rested my head on Aaron's chest, my familiar spot. "May 15th brought me to you."
Yikes, I'm cheesy, I realized. But there it was, and it was truth.

Three years later and we're just getting started.

[3rd date at the orem fireworks, 6/9/07]

Joyness

I found fresh corn-on-the-cob at the grocery store the other day, and cooked it tonight (in a pot of boiling water with 1/4 cup of sugar; the true way). Summer is here for me. hooray!

---

(aaron: "is that all you're writing?" ... me: "well, i like corn.")

---

 that is all.

Decisions, decisions...

I am aware that it is time for a new blog post. It's way past december, near past january. Now the question is, what should I say?

Should i blog about how mexican coke is better than regular coke? Well, it is...the difference lies in the 2nd ingredient: natural cane sugar (vs. high fructose corn syrup)
(mexico wins).

How about clean sheets. I love crisp, white, clean sheets. They are heaven.

---

Years and years ago i read this post about 'how to blog'. i linked it somewhere on an old blog and re-read it the other day. i realize i don't do most of those things...do any of us? some of my favorite gems:
"1. write every day. (ha, easier said than done...maybe if i was immobile on bedrest or something)
15. dont be afraid if you think something has been said before. it has. and better. big whoop. say it anyway using your own words as honestly as you can. just let it out.
17. people like pictures. use them. (i forget to take pictures)
19. push the envelope in what youre writing about and how youre saying it. be more and more honest. get to the root of things. start at the root of things and get deeper. dig. think out loud. keep typing. keep going. eventually you'll find a little treasure chest. every time you blog this can happen if you let it. (i can't write honestly on a blog that everyone i know reads...darned shame)
25. dont use your real name. (oops...too late)
29. dont apologize about not blogging. nobody cares. just start blogging again." (noted)

---

Well, I hate to end just yet so maybe now I'll share the contents of my purse. just for fun. it's sitting right here!
Presenting, in the order that I reach in and pull an item out:
*unopened pack of gum (orbit, wintermint)
*glasses-case
*80 gb hard drive (what i would take with me in a fire) (well helk i guess i'd just grab the whole purse!) (helk is my special word combo...i start to say: what the hel-- and then i'm all -- kkkk. helk. heck. yeah!)
*wallet ($21 cash, 3 library cards, 1 credit card, driver's license, BYU ID, U of M card, aaron's mini-diploma- he was going to throw it away)
*keys (car, mail, condo, and two others to who knows where)
*brush
*moisturizer
*dramamine (for car sickness)
*mini moleskine notebook
*old boarding pass from detroit to slc
*U of M id badge
*floss! (x2)
*Excedrin
*chapstick
*undereye concealer, for the ubiquitous dark circles. it depuffs & brightens!
*nail file
*3 pens
*1 pencil (with my name engraved on the side-- fancy)
*3 paperclips
*SLC Hyatt room key
*old grocery list (bananas, basil, cake mix, cornmeal, tortillas)

No day like today to clean out my purse anyhow.

---

Welp, sorry for the scattered writings that didn't mean much whatsoever. but i blogged! Til next time, paz afuera.

Thoughts on myself

Remember how blogging is inherently narcissistic? Well, I will now lean into that. I found this self-analysis, written by my 16 year old self back in December 2003-- and it's freakishly accurate 6 years later, according to aaron.

"I am: Pensive. Kind. Cynical.

Thoughtful. Humorous.

Shy. Clever. Calm. Private.

Mature. Creative. Empathetic. 

Passive. Critical. Sentimental. 

Gentle. Independent.

I am not: 

Outgoing. Talkative. Affectionate.

Trusting. Insincere. Demanding. 

Assertive. Brave. Competitive. 

Cheerful. Organized. Naive. 

Argumentative. Excitable."

I really like digging through my old blogs (and when i log in, i discover all the private posts that i never published) and laughing.. Mostly, because i sounded so similar to the way i do now. It's amazing how much who i am as a person has not changed, ever. One of my earliest memories is being 3 years old sitting in a grocery carriage. My mom walked down the aisle to grab something, and a person walked up to me, leaned their face close to mine, and said something like, 'look how cute you are, what's your name little girl?" I covered my face with my hands and twisted away, upset that this strange person was talking to me, and, where was my mom?

Such remained my personality for many years; to this day i'd prefer not to talk to random strangers. If someone on the bus or airplane were to attempt some friendly conversation, they just might receive a death stare. I would be tempted to say, "i'm sorry you forgot to bring a book to occupy yourself, but I didn't forget, so leave me be so i can read in peace." Except, the thing is i'm still kind and I know deep down I would love them after 5 minutes of conversing, so i would never say that. But I just don’t wish to converse.

I secretly love people a lot, shocking as that may seem. Nothing makes me happier than seeing other people reaching out to someone who looks sad or lonely. Last week on the bus a man boarded in his wheelchair. I noticed he couldn't move his fingers. At a bumpy part in the road, he dropped his glasses and they slid across the floor. A woman got up from her seat, put them back on his face, and sat next to him for the duration of the ride, chatting and helping him as necessary. "Happy Holidays to you!" she sang as she departed. That made my whole day. 

Another time on the bus, I noticed a woman board and in her hand she carried a large, silver 'happy birthday!' balloon. She sat by herself, the balloon string clutched tightly in her hands. She had that look of loneliness, it's a look i can't explain but i see it a lot and it makes me want to cry. I wondered who at work had known it was her birthday, who had brought that balloon in to her. I wondered if it was a tradition in her department, where everyone got balloons on their birthday. Or if someone had singled her out, made an extra effort to celebrate. As i sat there noticing her out of the corner of my eye, a part of me wanted to fold the page over in my book, and go chat with her- ask her about the balloon. (That's what my dad would do.) 

But I'm not like my dad in that way. Instead, i remained where i sat and did what i do.

Will that aspect of myself ever change? Maybe, if i tried really hard. My reticence is deeply ingrained. As of now, i'm ok with it; I am who I am.

 

- - -

Speaking of old blogs, i found this post my little brother Matt wrote back in 2004. He had hacked onto my xanga site and written a fake post pretending to be me. It was too hilarious so instead of getting mad, i just made it private. Five years later it is still funny to me. And for the record, I hated math, studying, and 'personal progress'.

"I am a, how do you say, a geek. My hobbies include reading 1,000 page books and studying math in a corner while everybody else is out on dates. I don't have many friends, but I do hang out with my little brothers sometimes if my doctor orders me to. My skin complexion is very pale because I spend so much time inside studying. Some call it unhealthy, but I call it dedication! Some of my other hobbies include making bread, sewing, going to church, working on my personal progress for young women's, seminary, and watching G-rated movies. You may think that just because I spend so much time studying that I dont have time for the opposite sex, but I have been "romantically involved" with the seminary president! To add variety, I had a brief fling with a non-Mormon.  It was wicked and vile, but very exciting. It taught me the evils of necking and petting. I was born to a couple of ex-sinners, now converts to the word of God, who raised me very well. They taught me that sticks and stones may break your bones, but names will never hurt you. This was probably the most important piece of advice I have ever recieved on account of the tauntings I received for not fitting in with the wicked and adulterous students of my school." - Jennifer L. LaRose Matthew E. LaRose

- - -

To conclude: Some photos from the great era of high school. (Thanks to webshots)

graduation...a devious little brother of mine

2004...me and my 3 best high school friends

Us children with sweet Tootsie, RIP

10th grade bio: Mrs. Thatcher and the "Brain Trust".  She willingly held up this sign despite our mediocrity. 

One of my favorite all-time photos: Bones's funeral gathering (Bones was the giant green talking macaw)

end of 10th grade Don pablos celebration with some favorite people

prom...i loved my dress. (i wore that same necklace when i got married)

The...End

The Sunday Evening Post

I have a few scattered things to say about this or that.

• Aaron and I got new glasses. I feel like a real grownup now. I've never picked out eyeglasses without my mom before. (which ones did i pick? it's a mystery)

• Pomegranates are a beautiful fruit. I was transfixed by the seeds tonight- those garnet gems of goodness.
• I love getting random letters from my mom in the mail...they make my day. (she is the master of the lost art of letter-writing)
• Kneading bread can be mildly therapeutic.
• The library-- like a squirrel forages nuts for the wintertime, so do i forage books for aaron's busy season. I have 2 books out and 8 books on reserve (I'm number 1, 2, 2, 4, 6, 9, 29, and 187 respectively.) I will keep a running list of the books i read from now through March, it may be lengthy.
• Speaking of squirrels. There are a lot of squirrels here in michigan. U of M even has a squirrel club. The other day, temperatures dipped below freezing and i became concerned about their plight. I googled, "where do squirrels go in the winter?" (1,250,000 results, it's a common concern you see) and i found out they don't go anywhere. Rather, they snuggle in the trees with their family members to keep warm. I decided that this is how I would like to spend my winter as well.
• Aaron: "Are you almost done with your blog? I want to love with you." (e.g. cuddle and eat oreos, very PG)
• "Almost, my dear. Almost. Just a few more bullets."
• We still have our mattress in the living room; we are thinking of leaving it throughout the winter. It's warmer down there. It's cozy. It's right next to our christmas plant. And every night feels like a slumber party.
• christmas plant:

• Something that is great: i started my christmas shopping, a week earlier than average.
• Number of weddings i am not attending next week but was invited to: 3
• Number of people i currently miss: ~14
• A person i admire.
• a t-shirt i like
• *Edit: I forgot to add, we redboxed "Paper Heart" over the weekend. I liked it, until i fell asleep 3/4 of the way through. So i don't know how it ends.
• Clicking publish: in 4 seconds

Most sincerely,

Jennifer Lee LaRose-Adams

Gracias Giving!

A recent Thanksgiving history re-cap:

• 2004 was the last thanksgiving i spent at home in PA with my family, holy cow still in high school...
• 2005 was with monica's relatives in herriman; 1st college thanksgiving
• 2006 was monica and I cooking together for people in the ward without nearby relatives
• 2007 was cooking with my roommates for a billion people//roadtripping with aaron to visit aubrey and her family in las vegas
• 2008 was with aaron's family in draper (and my brother matt came too)
• 2009 will be in maine with (finally!) my family (and aaron, because duh- we don't separate)
• 2010 will be...no idea yet. I'd love to host it myself and make the people come to us...but that won't happen til we have kids!

(For the record, this year I'm giving thanks for diplomas, fridays, libraries, family near and far, warmth, cake, airplanes, money, and above all love, because love is all you need...all you need is love)

Now we're running off to the airport, adios and happy thanksgiving!
(and please bless that we don't miss our flight due to a blog post)

It is not good for man to be alone

As i sip my first hot chocolate of the season and watch an old agatha christie film (death on the nile), I realize i don't mind as much that aaron sometimes works until 9 p.m.

I choose not to cook on days like today, and instead dined once again on turkish delights.

(It is sometimes, but just barely, good for woman to be alone.)

a cliche ode to weekends

I post often on saturdays--because saturdays are special days. (To quote the primary song).  But truly, weekends- especially since we began working fulltime- are scrumtrelescent. Today, for example, a saturday, was costco; a beautiful drive; a hazy nap; a turkish restaurant; a new movie; exercise. Last weekend may have been something like barnes and noble; a new recipe; a hot tub on a cold night; staying under covers until 10 a.m.; buying gallons of various juices at the store because we were thirsty. But it doesn't matter what it is; any combination of those livens my soul. 

On monday mornings we wake up slowly, reluctantly; holding each other as we stubbornly try to squeeze the last few remaining drops out of the weekend, as it fades into another week.

happy templeversary

I finally got a library card at the ann arbor library. There's a branch right down the street, and i really like the building- kind of perched on a hill, wood floors and wood ceilings, and desks occupied by smart-looking people working on their macs. I brought home a stack of books a foot high. 

 I got asked about 6 times yesterday if me and aaron were planning to dress up for halloween. (that was 6 no's.) I suppose i could dress up- last time I was home I found my old gypsy costume from when I was like 8 or 9. It actually fits now. But i haven't washed it so it still smells like the basement storage. I also have a few of my mom's old dresses from the 70's that are really awesome and they fit, so i could be a disco queen. Plus i have my grandmother's wedding dress from the early 50's (it doesn't look like a wedding dress & it's blue) and an antique white apron so i could be a 50's housewife. But i think i'll wear normal things because it is cold outside. 

 In other exciting news, when we don't make it to the gym, i do this pilates dvd. It's mildly addicting. I love the instructor- she's very mellow, has lots of freckles, and doesn't say too many cheesy things. If you'd like to attempt to ‘master the art of muscle control’, i'd recommend it. 

 I can't believe it's almost november. did october even exist? Strange. I am super boring today...this blogging action is putting me to sleep. So i'm going to paz afuera. That's how my brother matt signs his emails...separately each word means 'peace' and 'out' but they don't actually make sense in espanol. but i think it's funny. Kind of reminds me of a joke..."que hora es cuando necesitas ir al dentista?" "dos y media!" jaja. It's an english joke that doesn't translate. what time is it when you need to go to the dentist? 2:30! (TOOTH HURTY!) 

 paz afuera. and happy halloween.

Saturday afternoon, or, post #87

This condo is really starting pull itself together. I think it's the plants. One of the things that i thought was funny and liked about aaron was his love of plants. He had the coolest plants in his apartment at byu and it reminded me of my dad, who also loves house plants. he tenderly waters them each saturday. And now that we have visited the home depot nursery and returned with 3 large plants, this place feels like a home. of course, home is a state of mind. i've found home in the most unlikely of places. 

It's rained a lot lately; i like lying in bed listening to the rain against the window. Now what would be good would be a massive thunder and lightning storm. i would like one. 

This week i ate a lot of cake and guac. both homemade, so that's not as bad i hope. I had never made guacamole before but it was so freaking delicious. avocados, cilantro, onion, serrano, lime juice, salt. I knew the basic ingredients and just kind of made it up as i went along. It was mexican week, and let me say that I love homemade tacos so deeply. They are healthy, fresh, & so abundant in flavor. The tortilla, some chicken for Aaron, avocado, cilantro, onion, tomato, and lime. [with rice and black beans, por supuesto.] Sweet sister lizzy sing me a sweet song of joy! 

 My brother is stationed in a little village near the border in new mexico on his mission...it sounds so different and I’m fascinated.  i have a not-so-secret desire to live in new mexico or arizona someday- have my own chile farm, or that sort of thing. Of course, i have a multitude of desires so i'm curious to see where life leads. 

 Sometimes at work I think i am the only person there without career goals/passions. everyone is so very ambitious. (in fact, i may be one of only a couple people in the entire unit who has only one degree. I'll be talking to someone and then later look them up on the website and find, 'oh so they're a MD/PhD/MPH' (yes all three). People are crazy!! I mean, brilliant, but crazy. (it's like that country song, "god is great, beer is good, and people are crazy").    

I will forever be plagued by my 'type B' personality but it has its perks. I am really skilled at relaxing, for example. 

Well, there’s only so much I can say on a Saturday afternoon.  I now take my leave! 

Week Links

("You ah the weakest link, g'bye!")

These are some things I found on the internet this week that I enjoyed, and you may enjoy: (i may or may not have been distracted at work)

• 1 in 8 million: New York Times profile of a Chinese lds sister missionary serving in NYC, who converted while studying at BYU. It's really sweet and worth listening to.
  
• Blog of unnecessary quotation marks: I laughed and laughed at this, but maybe that's just because i'm "into" grammar, and I thought Eats, Shoots and Leaves was "funny".
  
• Young mormon marrieds at BYU-I: a senior BFA photo exhibit from a couple years ago done as a subculture documentary. some of the couples look totally normal, some look...well, a little creepy. i like how real it is.
  
• Vinto: new pizza place in SLC. wish i was there, so check it out for me! Pizza here in A2 (the local jargon for ann arbor; i am hip) is coming up short so far. poor little me and my humble quest.
  
• Orson Scott Card's weekly column; this was about expectations and the work force, regarding women. I love him and his writing and his thoughts.
  
• Washington Post article about the benefits of marrying young(er). how nice to be validated!

That's all for now. Don't even ask how i find such random things. i am the master of the internet. (mistress?)

3 p.m. on September 16th, 2009:

I have showered at night the past few evenings, rather than at 6 a.m. I like it. I didn't like when today i had to have my picture taken for the hallway staff board. it was atrocious. I look like i really do just roll out of bed into work. shoot. In other vanity news, i am refusing to wear my hair down (i.e. not in a ponytail) until it has grown about 4 more inches. (so not until next spring basically) I got it cut in june but it just does not look normal. It could be that when i got it cut in november 2008 the hairlady used scissors and thinned it out. at the time, i really didn't know what to say. Although in the back of my mind i logistically realized that while it would be good and thin for about 4 months, eventually the new hair would grow in. So I think the top half of my hair is thicker than the bottom half. problems. as you can see i have a really hard life.

Lunch break

I love free food as much as the next person, but yet I am supremely suspicious of free unlabeled mystery springroll-ish wraps. I poke and prod at them, never quite brave enough to assume they are vegetarian. Then i pull out the plastic knife, dig around, and next thing you know i have a plate of mangled food. But now i know and life can commence as usual: eggplant.
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Just yesterday I discovered that I work about 3 blocks away from the following: borders, panera, starbucks, silvio's, the theatre, CHIPOTLE, rocky mountain chocolate factory, the U of M bookstore, and more. For some reason i thought I was in some remote part of town. hmm. i told you i get disoriented without the mountains.
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My main point i wanted to mention in this blog is that I managed to read each book on my summer reading list, and then some more- at least 15 in total. I would recommend each book on that linked list, particularly the top two. I even plan on reading the sequel to 'the hunger games'. It was that good. Of course throughout the summer I read a book or two that definitely does not fall under my top favorite 250 books list. I would mention them, but i also wouldn't. So i won't.

But! Also! (Transition!) let it be known that being a college graduate is a dream come true for my inner book worm. I read all the time now. Nothing holds me back. Did i ever tell you about the time (i think i did, come to think of it) when i re-entered public school in 4th grade and made it a point to read each book in the prolific classroom library by the end of the schoolyear? I read books at recess (alternating with playing the flute.) I read books at lunch. And the funny thing is i haven't changed. I always prefer reading to socializing in large amorphous groups. I have no shame in hiding from the world. Books and pianos: my safe havens. My husband is my safe haven as well. He and i are socially similar, and that is reason #761 why i like him quite a bit, you could say. QUITE a bit.

Why, this post is all over the place! Thus, the end.

A few greats, as of late:

(or, 'I miss bullets')

• peach-pear italian soda from target
• free books on aaron's kindle
• new $20 jeans!
• sunset bike rides around the lake
• the bus, which i will soon ride
• the stack of old photos i borrowed from bunna's house, i need a scanner, please and thank you.
• 10:30 bedtimes...uh...10:30-ish
• 8 am to 4 pm workdays
• watching aaron listen to boyzIImen videos
• GPS. not only is she a great navigator, but a great companion. my 'little lady'.

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So i stumbled on a blog of a friend of a friend of a friend who recently got married. This is what she wrote in her first post: "I feel like only married people should have blogs, because the single life just isn't that interesting. Don't get me wrong, if you have a blog right now and you're single... you're obviously cooler than me, because your life is obviously interesting enough to blog about. But my single life consisted of the same thing every day.... aka boring. BUT now that I'm married I can join the blogging crew! Yay me!" Wow good thing i'm married, how embarrassing that i blogged when i was single. ack!

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Lastly, i first saw this video like a year ago, and she melted my heart and made me want french babies. Although i wanted spanish-speaking babies first. Can't you hear the little "hola's!" already? Anyway, here is Capucine telling a story- i love the way she says the animals.