7th grade utopias

Today I got to grade brochures made by the 7th grade class I'm working with. They had to write a brochure about their utopia (we are starting "The Giver" next week), detailing the government, education, law enforcement, economy, etc. Enjoy.

-"If you do anything bad in this government, you get launched out of a cannon over the town fence and you don't ever come back in."
-"If your brother or sister picks on you, you get to launch them in the lake with a catapult."
-Under the heading "Problems In Our World" (the ones they propose to solve in their world)"Prepy people, know-it-all people, some school subjects, inequality, poverty." I like that poverty was on the list. At the bottom. First? Preppy people. Who wrote this? You got it, the resident goth.
-"I will be the leader. I will be treated like everyone else with slightly more respect."
-"Everybody workds on a farm and there is a set amount people can ask for their crap and everyone who lives in Utopia starts with one billion dollars to spend how they want."
 -"The reason that Yankeetown was made was because some young people were being corrupted by Red Sox fans...For girls, the coaches [for baseball school] are Megan Fox, Taylor Swift, and so on. It's the best kind of school."
-"Serenity Island-- We always take to the most peaceful of solutions. Violence is quite unneeded."
-"Stealing will not be tolerated, as all houses have an active burglar alarm."
-"I am in charge. Everyone follows my orders. We have the popo, just in case."
-"Society of Happiness! No parents allowed."
-"Everyone has whatever they want, including the best cheesecake."
-"Democrats are NOT allowed. If they enter they will be shot in the head. Same goes for Obama, Jonas Brothers, Lady Gaga, Mick Jagger, Brittnay Spears, and Justin Bieber. Others may apply."

 

this example's utopia was named, creatively, "Utah." At the bottom of the brochure it says "That's basically it." 

battle

I think that, in life, not falling behind is more than half the battle.

the solution to loneliness:

work harder.

thinking, narrating

Today I went for a run. I ran on the track for a half hour, listening to Elizabeth Gilbert narrate her spiritual journey in India as I huffed and puffed my way through two miles (not an extraordinary distance, but I haven't been running in a while, so it seemed longer than usual to me). I stretched to the sounds of my "I Woke Up In A Car" playlist, and stopped the music to do a yoga pose or two before I left the RB. As I walked out, I thought about what music I wanted to listen to next; and, as I consulted myself on the manner it whispered to me that I didn't want to listen to anything but the sounds around me. I obliged.

I started to observe the things around me. The street was fairly busy on 8th north (going past the Brick Oven), and I compared wryly the difference between 7:45 and 8:45 on a Saturday morning in Provo. The people I had seen at the track were the dedicated ones, or at least, moderately so. They weren't perhaps hardcore, but I saw nary a soul, nor a car when I walked to the track an hour earlier, so I figure to being anywhere at 8am Saturday shows dedication. I looked at other things, the people walking by me (two guys and one girl, discussing an episode of Friends). I saw that the parking lot by the tennis courts was still empty. I walked, and observed, and listened to myself, my observations being articulated flawlessly in my mind by the ever-dependable Liz Gilbert, naturally (if I had listened to The Secret Garden during my run they would have been narrated in a cockney British accent, presumably by Dickens). My mind drifted to the less immediately observable, and I thought about our western culture, and how it is so focused on achieving as opposed to accepting. I thought about how much better I feel when I eat fresh veggies and how I couldn't explain that to someone without making it sound like I just would like to lose weight.

I thought, "I wish I had someone to share all my thoughts with."

that dweem wiffin a dweem...

Eliza and I talking about dating: common.
Remarkable quote: common.
Me remembering to write it down and share it with the world: unusual.

"I think that instead of learning to put on our own oxygen masks before we jump into a marriage, we think that marrige is the oxygen mask."-Eliza

This quote precipitated by an interview with Elizabeth Gilbert.

New room

My roommates kindly switched rooms with me and Katy, so I could fall asleep. Previously my bed was against the wall next to the living room.

Legend: (top right, clockwise)
Fall trees with path
Monet - Les Barques
Picture of awesomeness at the Vegas Bowl
The Muppets
Albert Einstien
"College as America used to understand it is coming to an end." (Please discuss.) NY Times essay contest, July 2007
Print out of illustration by Dice Tsutsumi

Don Quixote - Picasso
Lucy and Ricky Ricardo (Lucille Ball)
Thanksgiving hand turkey from FHE (everyone wrote compliments on it)
Quote from one of my pals to boost my self-esteem
Brooklyn Bridge - Andy Warhol
Set of prints of Mark Louis Weinberg (saved from exhibit at BYU)
Flier from The Ease show three years ago for my 21st birthday party
(Yes that is a Doug doll on my bed. He's been with me since seventh grade.)

High School Musical 3. And we are not ashamed.
B/W picture of Andrew McMahon. To remind me that there is always someone who understands.
Against the Sky - Robert Reid
Shelly Vrooman (Fitzgerald) and I at the TCU game a few years ago
Emily and I at the Brick Oven 4 years ago
Rachel and Carter's engagement photo
John and Ashley's Disneyland pic
and lastly
The Beatles.
There is a picture of Audrey Hepburn looking indecisive on my door.

The end.

Allergies

I am stuck downtown in my parents office because I succumbed to my allergies of furry things around 12:30 am New Years Eve. So Mom packed up supplies, and we went down to the office to camp out until my runny nose subsided.

I have yet to return home because I hate runny noses, and sneezing. Mom left this morning, and brought me food today, and I've been watching movies and chillaxing in her office in the recliner. It has been a one of a kind New Years.

My sole consolation in confinement has been this awesome video. I love it.

life

Whenever I come home, I find myself planning the rest of my life in my head. Where I want to live (California) and how (off the grid, with my showering needs being met by my YMCA membership). Life back in Provo gets so much clearer when I think about what I really need and what I really want, when I'm sitting in my parents living room.

Lately I've been really concerned with being environmentally friendly. I know that green has been this year's black, but I mean in a serious way. Sometimes I wish I lived by myself, so I wouldn't have to make compromises on what kind of soap we buy, or how many ziploc bags we use. I think there are a lot of things I would change about my lifestyle, if I felt like I could, but the main issue is time. Of course it would be great to make myself some re-usable snack bags to use instead of always meeting my needs with the ever-convenient disposable kind, but that would definitely take a couple of Saturdays. I think that's how I used to think about cooking though. I used to think about cooking in terms of time and convenience (hello, pasta!), but this semester, when I started to cook my own meals, I found that I really enjoyed it. And even though I'm switching back to a (much) busier schedule this next semester, I have planned a few hours to cook each week to prepare my meals. Hopefully the lifestyle change will continue.

I am really excited for this next semester. Even though it was nice having a lot of free time, I feel like it is more important for me to be actively spending my time doing meaningful things, instead of catering to my own needs. And, truthfully, I think being engaged in a cause higher than my own interests is healthy for me. I feel like my life was meant to be dedicated to something, and the more structure I have to meet that goal, the better.

I also am thinking about where I want to get a job this summer. I'm pretty sure I don't want to hang out in Provo. I'm seriously thinking about working at a Disney resort, or just writing my favorite companies, and seeing if any of them need a happy, hardworking, capable almost-college grad for the summer. I figure there's always more coffee to be gofered, right?

I'm listening.

Someone told me that today. Here's to all you listeners out there; you don't even know, most days, how badly you are needed.

Schedule

My plans for winter break:
17-21 Laze about the house.
22 Wisdom teeth appt (boo).
23 Getting wisdom teeth out (Double boo. Any shakes brought by the house would be appreciated)
24 Getting over wisdom teeth (see note above).
25 MERRY CHRISTMAS!
26 Lazing again.
27 Religion.
28 Twiddling thumbs.
29 Going to Champaign IL for a friend's wedding!!! Woot!
30 Marvel at the snow and how much I miss it in Utah. The amount of snow they get there is ridiculous. Much less.
31 No New Years plans yet, but if I were to go somewhere I'd want to sleep over there on account of drunk drivers and all.
1 Recover from NY partying
2 Definitely going to Kroll's for a burger. Even though I've turned vegetarian. I figure once a year won't kill me.
3 Fly back to college.

looking

Do you ever catch a glimpse of yourself in a window, and realize you don't look like who you think you do? Today I felt like I didn't recognize my reflection, when I saw it in an unguarded moment. I stopped and actually looked, and I noticed my hair actually looks kind of good when I don't do anything to it; its' not the frizzy mess I remember from high school. My coat is doesn't fit me, and I don't stand straight.  I also can look pretty hostile while mentally evaluating my own reflection. Or scrutinizing someone I don't think I  know. 

The Ball

So Becca decided that we needed to be properly attired in masks for the formal dance this week, and we took some pictures of the process. We went and got paint at the local costume shop, and I let Becca have at it (meaning my face). I think it turned out really well, one boy at the dance didn't even recognize me!

Just the outline of a mask in silver pencil, with some gold dust on the inside:

Becca hard at work:

Closer to the final product:

We have some more pictures of all the roommates with the final product (Becca changed my hair eventually too) which I will post later.
 Finally, all the glitter I peeled off my face at the end of the night:

It was a really fun dance. There were quite a few girls dressed up like us, and the actual dancing was great as well. All I have to say is that I'm going to have to work on my skills to make it in this ward. Overall, it was definitely worth it, and definitely a great experience.