It's 3 degrees outside right now!

I am a "Gilmore Girls" addict.  I have done the first step in breaking the addiction: recognition of the problem.  The reality of me ditching three classes though helped me recognize my issue.  Yesterday, I thought that I could write my paper while watching the show.  Not only was that an extremely pathetic idea because I watched it on a 4-inch screen, but low and behold it didn't work.  I was up so late last night doing homework.  I had five days to actually do the assignment, but did I take advantage of that time?  No!  I was up so late last night that when my alarm woke me up at 6:30 a.m. I had just fallen into a deep sleep.  I spent 25 to 30 minutes debating within myself the pros and cons of getting out of bed and going to class.  "My teacher wouldn't be coherent....  Maybe I have a quiz (Well he's dropping out lowest quiz score).... I can learn just as good through the book on my own.... I can sleep for a few more minutes because I don't have to take a shower because my hair is not a complete mess!... etc"  Wow!!  I decided to stay in bed and wake up an hour later for my next class: institute.  When my alarm woke me up at 7:45, I once again began the debate in my head.  "I'll wear my glasses.... I still don't have to shower....  It's institute....  One of my new years resolutions was to go to institute everyday if I'm not dying.... Sleep!!!!"  As you could probably guess, my desire and need for sleep overpowered all other thoughts.

Finally, I had to wake up to turn in my paper for English that I had stayed up late last night writing.  I took a shower.  I even walked up the 150 steps to campus instead of catching the shuttle (a punishment for myself for skipping out on two of my classes this morning).  I realized that I do indeed have a problem that I definitely need to figure out.  What a waste of time!! I am at school to learn not to watch the 7 seasons of the "Gilmore Girls".  Skipping class is not like me, and skipping 3 classes is undoubtedly unlike me.  I don't know what got into me, but I am going to change.

I found out later today that there might have been other forces keeping me in bed this morning.  If I had left my apartment at 7 a.m.  like I should have there might have been a chance that I could be dead; permanently frozen on the sidewalk outside of my apartment.  It was -13 degrees at 7 in the morning today!  No one should be out at that temperature!! It's not normal. The sun is shining but it's not warming up very well.  My cheeks are still frozen.  My headphone cords froze as well and they wouldn't stay in my ears.

I have recognized my addiction and I will no longer be a complete idiot.  I am actually grounding myself:  one of the things that I can't do to pay for my stupidity of the last couple days is go country dancing today!!!  I will do better!!!!

Offending People

To Offend: to create anger, resentment, or annoyance

I noticed in the last 4 hours that we all are excellent masters of the art of offending each other; and yet we do not realize it.  We choose to become offended by something someone did to us. Then when you talk to the one who "offended" you, they get offended because we thought they were offending us.  (So both of us are offended even though we both never planned on being offended.)  The thing is that none of us actually wake up in the morning and plan on offending. I have realized that friendships can break due to becoming offended.  Today I had an experience where something happened to me, and I reacted to it and became offended.  It wasn't long before I realized that the only thing I can control is my reaction to situations.  The person had not done the action to offend me. A friend of mine also had an experience like mine this morning.  

Throughout church, I was shown that we all tend to get offended easily.  We think that everyone is out to get us, and we react to every little thing.  When in reality, few people really choose to offend others.  I don't think that offending is something someone does to us, but rather something we do to ourselves because of the way we choose to see reality.  We choose to get annoyed, angry, and feel resentment.  I think we also have to realize that things we do can seem offensive. Knowing that, we must act accordingly - either through kindness, love and reaching out to others. 

It reminds me of an interaction between Inspector Javert and Val Jean in Les Miserables. Javert thinks he has wrongfully accused Monsieur la Mayor of being a convict and he tells Val Jean to punish him, to dismiss him from his post because of this offensive action.  The knowledge that a man had denounced and accused another man would seem offensive to anyone, but Val Jean does not dismiss Javert.  He forgives him.  Javert is astounded by this turn of events, because any "normal" person would be greatly offended and wish to take make the offender pay.  We have to be like Jean Val Jean though and take no offense.  We cannot dwell on how we all are human and are inescapable of doing things we don't know we are doing.

It just amazed me today while sitting in church how easily we as fellowcitizens of this world can break ties, ruin friendships, and create rifts just because we misunderstand each other and choose to be easily offended.  It has taught me an extremely valuable lesson.

the Twist

Last night I was a social queen.  I went to Cafe Sabor with some friends for dinner where I officially stuffed myself silly.  Then I headed to an Institute Activity.  The activity was a dance but soon turned into a mosh-pit like assembly.  It was loud and chaotic.  Young adults let down all their walls and acted as if they were still in Kindergarten.  It was highly amusing to observe.  Jumping up and down is not good to do while you are stuffed to the brim with cheese, beef, salsa and chips.  But I was there.  Then they started playing "the Twist," which listening to without doing the twist is an absolute impossibility.   After the Institute/Most Pit activity, my friends and I went and saw "P.S.  I love you"  (which was okay, but not worth paying to see it again.  I did cry, and did enjoy watching Gerard Butler throughout the movie, but not worth two more hours of my time.) 

This morning I woke up, got out of bed, and felt like I had done excessive weight exercises last night (Darn "Twist").   I am still exhausted.  I was planning on going to a basketball game tonight, but opted out of it due to the fact that all I want to do is close my eyes and go to bed.  We'll see if my friends listen to or ignore my request of gracefully forgetting to pick me up.

Gilbert Blythe

I just finished "Anne of Green Gables," and "Anne of Green Gables: the Sequel" for the hundredth time.  I have to say that Gilbert Blythe is one of the greatest fictional men ever written.  He's so kind, loving, charming, and amazing.  Throughout everything he still loved Anne.  Those movies are simply heart-warming.  I love Gilbert Blythe.  

Those movies are just good.  They will one day be part of my personal collection.  Not for awhile though for I do not have money to spend on movies at the moment. But someday!!  One day I plan on marrying my very own Gilbert Blythe.  "I don't want sunbursts, or marble halls... I just want you." What a great last line!!  Beautiful.  Throughout the sequel you just have to be flabbergasted with Anne for her choice to not accept Gilbert's proposal.  Throughout the hours of movie you wonder how she could ever do such a thing.  I guess her first action makes the last few minutes of the movie that much more lovely.  

Sure Morgan Harris seemed like an okay catch, but nothing can best Mr. Blythe!

Country Dancing

Last night I went country dancing with two of the coolest people in the world: Hailey and Jessie.  It was one of the funnest things I have done in a long time.  I was kind of skeptical at first because I had no idea how to country dance.  When I got there though, and heard the country music blaring, I was in heaven.  It was the time of my life.  Moving on!  

There was a guy there who had to be at least 40 year old.  He excessively creeped Hailey, Jessie and myself out.  We came up with a nickname for him, Geez, so whenever any of us saw him we said the name and we all turned around.  We decided that if he asked anyone of us to dance we would all get up and vacate.  It was highly disturbing.

Also I didn't realize that there were so many different country line dances.  I knew about the Boot Scootin' Boogie, but there must have been 5-8 different country line dances.  It blew me away.  

One of the greatest things to see were all these guys dressed up in cowboy gear.  There were a couple who looked mighty genuine and divine in their get-up, but then there were some who should have left somethings at home!  It was great.  I was asked to dance a few times- by people I already knew.  It was fun!  

I met a ton of people in the few hours we were there.  I interacted with people I knew from school and my ward.  Country dancing is one of the greatest things since sliced bread.  The best thing about it is that, if the guy knows how to dance, the girl doesn't really need to know what she is doing because the guy will lead her!  It was great to be swung, and twirled around.  It was awesome.  The cuddle position was perhaps the greatest move I was introduced to last night.

Well it was an excellent evening, no matter how cold it was as we were leaving.  I will most definitely be doing it again.  I probably should grasp a little more of the basics of it all before then.  

The Beginning

Well I finally did it!  I created my own blog.  This really will be just a random collection of my thoughts, ideas and dreams because there really is no other reason for the blog's existence other than I have always wanted to create one!  Like it says in "About Me," I love the sun!  I miss it terribly right now because it has been overcast for a few days, and dumping snow all over everything.  Winter has got to be the most depressing season of the year.  It's cold, gray, wet, and cold!  Did I say cold twice...  well it is freezing!  The sun is so warm and inviting. When it is sunny, I want to spend as much time outside as I possibly can and absorb as many UV rays as possible.  When it is grey and wet all I ever want to do is stay cuddled in bed with my robe on and my space heater cranked up.  I want to be a hibernating bear when winter rolls its ugly face into existence every year!  It's been snowing ever since I arrived back to school a few days ago, and my car is officially buried.  I just received a phone call telling me my contacts arrived at the eye doctor's office but I have no desire to go pick them up.  The sun is glorious and I wish that it would rush on out, come say hello, and stay out!!  (I'll stay inside until all the snow is melted and evaporated.)  

School is a very interesting use of one's time.  The first day of a new semester is always the worst because your imagination gets the better of you.  Your syllabus is handed out and you start thinking about how you'll never be able to figure it all out, and how you will fail miserably.  Then the next day isn't that bad, because you realize that just like the "little engine that could" you can also reach the top of the hill with just a little bit of faith in yourself.  If I don't believe in myself there really is no hope for myself.  If I don't believe in myself, who will? 

But when you think you have got everything sorted out for the long haul through the semester, your math teacher throws a curve ball at you.  He announces that your math final is at the same exact time as your stats final.  His attractiveness just went down a notch (just a notch of course), because of the bucket load of confusion he just dumped into your almost-put-together-life.  There are sometimes I wished that I could just press a button and speed through school, so that I didn't have to deal with the insanity of it all.  But then I guess I wouldn't be growing from all the interesting lessons life throws at one who is going through a college education.  

I think I will call it quits for now.  The talk of college reminded me that I am indeed at college, and procrastinating homework which is never good to do at the beginning of a semester!  Au revoir until later.