Being Afraid of the Dark

The title of this post is a little deceiving, since I think it might give you the impression that I am afraid of the dark, but I am not. In fact, I quite like the dark. I like sitting in the dark by myself - not sleeping or thinking really, but just being alone in the dark. I also like going on walks by myself at night in the dark. I know, I know, right now many or you are planning on clicking the little button at the bottom of this post and leaving me a cautionary comment about doing that - but you can stop. I know the danger and I have heard all the warnings, but I still love the dark.

The main reason for this post is that I have seen many movies recently, and in the past, that seem to encourage this sort of unprecedented fear of the dark. I saw the movie "30 Days of Night" and I liked it a lot. I liked for one that it didn't encourage the whole vampires are beautiful mentality that our culture is heading towards. In fact, after seeing the vampires in that movie, I don't think anyone would really WANT to become a vampire. But it still seems to be a cautionary tale of being in the dark ... at all ... ever. And another recent movie I saw was "I Am Legend" - which I thought was great. But still, the 'zombies' (for lack of a better word) only really seem to come out at night, and during the daylight hours they hang out in the dark.

All this leads me to wonder why, as humans, we are so afraid of the dark. I know that we can't see in the dark so that adds a little bit of unknown to many situations. But still, I don't think it is the dark we should be afraid of as much as what people (and other creatures) do in the dark. And mostly what they are willing to do because it is dark.

I guess being from a small town where everyone knows everyone and if you get in trouble your parents know before you get home made me feel safe in the dark. There were many times when my best friend, at the end of the night, would say, "'Oh, I have to walk her halfway home because she can't walk by herself in the dark." (As a side note here I will add that we lived maybe three blocks from each other.) But that was more so we could get more time together, and not really because either of us were afraid of the dark. But even now when I go home, and it is not too cold, I relish being able to go on a long walk in the dark by myself out to the stop-sign and back where there are almost no street lights and the view of the stars is amazing. So I maintain that it is healthy for me not to be afraid of the dark. I am still careful, especially when I am not at home in my town of 250 people but am instead in my current residential town of about 40,000, but that doesn't mean I don't do it. I am just smarter about it. In fact, I think I will go for a walk right now.

Flabby, Fat and Lazy

That is the way I get when I am at home. I don't do a whole lot of anything (I haven't even changed out of my PJ's today) and I eat a lot of junky food. It is so great. But crappy at times, because I get rumbly's in my tumbly and I feel like all I want to do is go for a run. Which, for me, is pretty crazy since I HATE running. And even though I slept way in this morning and it is only 10:30 I feel like it is about time to go to bed. So I will soon - right after this movie ends and if nothing else good is on TV afterwards (since my life is completely dictated by the schedule of the three TV channels we get here in Carmangay). Anyway, that is about all ... since I have been doing nothing, I really have nothing to write about. I hope I can be a bit more productive tomorrow. Maybe I will at least shower ... depending on what's on TV.

Excitorated!

That's right - excitorated. That is what I am. For I am leaving tomorrow for an entire week. I am so happy. Not that I don't love being here in Oregon and working my job and hanging out with my friends and all that - because I do - but I am way excited to get away from all of it and chillax for a week. Maybe figure out my life. Probably not, but I might actually have time to think for a few seconds. I have so much to do though, so very much. So little time. Blech. Anyway, that is the extent of my blogging power tonight because even though it is only 11:24 (early in the eyes of my roommate) I am dead tired! Work was tiring and so was life after work. It is time to rest up for my hectic day tomorrow. My next post will be from Canada! (fingers crossed)

Sorry

So today was one of those feel sorry for myself days. I don't know why, but I just felt 'blah'. Do you ever feel blah? Where it feels like you are too fat and too ugly and too mean and too nice and too stupid and too smart and no one will ever love you even though you know darn well that lots of people love you. I felt really alone even though I was surrounded by people. The thing was that I felt fine at work when I actually was by myself and then I got home and was around people and I felt like crap. And then this friend of mine - this sweet nice great friend of mine - called to see if I was okay. I hadn't told him I had to work today so he was wondering why I wasn't at church and wanted to know if I was okay. And that made it better in one way and worse in another. It was nice to know that right when I was feeling like no one cared, someone called and obviously did care. But at the same time, he is one of my friends and he is dating this girl, and that is the way it seems all my friends are (well not all, but many). And if they aren't dating someone then they at least have in the past ... but I haven't. And I feel weird about that. I feel like maybe I am going to meet this great guy someday who I really like and he will really like me until he finds that out and then he will assume that there is something wrong with me that he just didn't know about so he won't like me anymore. That is stupid and irrational, but there it is.

The title of this is really an apology to anyone who ends up stumbling across this horrid mushiness of my thought goo and actually reads it. Sorry that you read it. That is all. I won't feel like this tomorrow and I will post something normal. Maybe.

Hectic Week!

So, the concert was a great start to a crazy week. The day of the concert the friend I went with had her cell phone die and the charging post on the inside broke so it is now unusable. Then, my car on the way to the concert seemed like it was smoking or steaming, but since it was totally pouring we thought it was steam. The next day my roommate asked me to drive her to the airport and as we were going my car was still 'steaming' only, it was no longer raining. Uh oh right? So luckily when we were on the freeway it was okay because it stayed cool and didn't overheat, but just as we are about to get home there is a huge traffic backup on the freeway from an accident and we are stuck sitting there for a long time. We get back into town and the temp gauge is on the border between the red and the white, it even tips into the red slightly a few times. So I blast the heat and hurry home. As soon as I get there we pop the hood and green goop sprays everywhere and there is smoke rising from my poor engine.

To make a long story short, I finally got the stupid thing to the mechanic and he tells me that it is the water pump which made me lose all the water, so it overheated and then it blew the thermostat, the thermostat housing and it was so hot it even melted this gasket which made it so that air got into the fuel line and it wouldn't stay running. So, $668 later my car runs again. I am so broke. Poor me. But on the plus side, the car is running again. :)

Jingle Ball!

So my friend Jasmine and I went to this awesome concert where we saw:

Jordin Sparks

One Republic

Colbie Callait

and Avril Lavigne.
It was a way awesome concert - even though we stood on our feet for about 4 stinkin' hours! It was a long time! Anyway, my car overheated and freaked out on me afterwards so now I have to go deal with that, but I thought I would post some pics so you could all see the awesomeness! I bet you are jealous!

Good News!!!

So, today I finally got up the guts or the courage or the gumption or the ... whatever ... and I finished moving! Well, not totally finished, but it was actually not raining so I moved my bed, which was the reason I was holding back from moving the rest of my stuff. So tomorrow I will hopefully be moving the last of the things in my apartment! Yay. It is nice to know that I can sleep where most of my clothes and books and things are. It is way cool. Farewell apartment, we had some good times together. I will miss you. Sniffle.

I Wanna Be Like You

I really do. I want to walk like you, talk like you too.
It's true.
Because you are awesome, and although I may seem just as awesome (at times) I am really not. You think you know what I am like, but you don't. I am who I think you want me to be. I fill the roll I think you need filled in your life, but when I am alone I am void - I am nothing. I'm sorry if this makes you sad, but it is true. What do you want me to be today?
Oh how I wish I could quit my day-job and go jetting around the world and take as much time as I wanted for knitting and writing. But I can't. Sad.


(Some sleepy ramblings and an attempt at creative almost poetry)

Stalling ...

So I have been stalling on the finishing of the moving. The problem is that I am waiting for the weather to cooperate with the moving of my bed, and until I move my bed I don't want to move my TV or the rest of my food and dishes and stuff. So I am stalling. But it is hard to live halfway in two places - whatever I want always seems to be at the house I am not currently at.

As for other things, I had a really good talk with my co-worker during lunch today and it is great. The subject wasn't great, but it was great that he seemed to understand things I was talking about and didn't judge me for things I said that were a little ... hard to hear. He is a great guy who is very similar to me in a lot of important ways and that makes him a great person to work with. It was one of the best lunch breaks I have had in a long long time. Anyway, I guess it is bed time - tomorrow is going to be a crazy day -but that's all for now, folks!

Rejection

Well, a friend and I were talking about all the sinlge guys we know and I have come to a conclusion. I don't feel sorry for them. Well, a few of them ... maybe ... but seriously, if you aren't asking girls out and you know a lot of girls then it is your own darn fault. You can't expect to fall in love at first sight. It is okay to go out with someone a few times and then decide if you like them. And if you are worried about rejection then think about this boys ... you may get rejected when you ask out that girl and she says no, but I am getting rejected every time you ask out someone who is not me. Seriously. Every time a guy I like asks out a roommate or a friend or some girl I don't know, that is rejection. Even if my interest in him is only minimal, it is still a rejection. So now that you know I get rejected so often maybe you will feel less hurt when one or two girls say no to a date.

Phones = Awesome

I love phones. I know that many of my blog posts are about things I love, but I love lots of things and I want everyone to know all about it. So, to continue, I love phones. They are so super high tech now. It used to be that everyone just had home phones but now cell phones are so good you pretty much don't even need a home phone. Phones nowadays even have camcorders in them. I remember the first camcorder I ever saw belonged to my grandparents and it was huge. And now you can get them in cell phones. They even have video awards for people who film stuff on their phones (which I can't find a link to right now). And Chantal Kraviazuk even filmed the entire video for the song "Wonderful" on a Nokia N93. Crazy, I know. Maybe I can go into film-making with less cost than I thought!

Jon Schmidt

So first I have to say that I have not went to bed yet so technically it is still the 24th to me. So tonight I went to a Jon Schmidt concert and it was quite interesting. Not totally my type of music, but still good. He plays the piano amazingly! He made it look so effortless and easy. Made me jealous. Oh well. He was also quite a showman and very goofy which was fun. Some of his songs did sound quite similar to others though which kinda sucks, but there were a few I really liked. The funniest part about all of it was that he had played at BYU when I was there several times, and I never went, and now that I am not in BYU anymore, I went to see him. So funny.

Black Friday

So, I only left my house a few times since it is black Friday and I was afraid of the crowds. But I did enjoy some guitar hero party. Woo! Guitar Hero!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, it is finally Turkey Day! Nice. And even though I did have to work today it is a short day at the ole' office (although where I work really isn't an office, but you get it) so it isn't too bad. Also, I finally finished my hair last night. Yay! It is no longer orange, and we added a little bit of red for some kicks. Here's a pic.

Anyway, I am going to go and relax for a time before I stuff myself. I hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving (or if you are from Canada then have a good Thursday). Love ya!

Rick Mercer I Love You

I am from Canada but I have lived in the United States for the last five years going to school and working and whatnot. Everytime someone finds out I am from Canada they proceed to make Canada jokes (how did Canada get its name? hyuk hyuk) All I can think of in those times of frustration on my part was Rick Mercer. He is so awesome and has improved my life so much. Thank you Rick. Thank you very much.

Sadness ...

So I am moving to save money. I am moving in with my friend and I am going to be paying less than half of what I pay in rent now. I still still have all the amenities, but the bathroom is way smaller and so is the bedroom, but the closet is bigger and the money I am saving will be so worth it. I started packing today and already my apartment looks so sad and empty. I have taken the few things I had up off of the walls and packed up everything that was on all my bookcases and stuff. I even took most of my closet. I figure I will go and unpack as I am going so that when I move the bed in, which should be almost last, then I won't have tons of boxes everywhere. I hope it goes the way that I plan. I am going to miss my apartment so much though, I really do love it. Oh well, I can have a nice apartment again later in life. I guess. Or a nice house or whatever. I will keep you updated on how smoothly it goes with everything. :)

Longest Day Ever!

Okay, maybe not EVER, but it was a long day. I found out that my bosses dad died yesterday so I have to work on Thanksgiving. And then there was an emergency at like 2:45 and I ended up staying until almost 5 o'clock. Now I am tired. But, on the plus side, since I am working t-day I am going to have tomorrow and wed off, then fri through sun as well. Which is kinda nice since I am planning on moving soon and so I can take that time to start packing things up and moving some things over. Also, I think I found someone to take over my lease already! Yay! Well, I have to go shower since I am tired of smelling like monkey. Sigh.

Working Girl

I hate working the weekends. I like staying up late and playing with my friends (namely Guitar Hero, but sometimes other games like Rook) but then it makes getting up for work really really suck! Blech! I think it would be awesome to be an author, then I could sleep in every day and still earn enough money to live. I think I will work on that. Mind you, I decided to work on that at the beginning of Nov when I started NaNoWriMo and I haven't even written 1000 words yet (but I am just under). Unfortunately that is nowhere near the 50,000 I was aiming for. I still have a week right? I can still make it ..... or not, but I can get closer.

Also, I finished my knitting project and I have pics, but I forgot to ask Skyla if I could post pics of her daughter on here and I don't want to do it without her permission. Maybe I could do some editing of the head and then post them. We'll see.

Day Off

So, I get the day off today, which is way nice. This was the first time I got even close to enough sleep during the night. I still set my alarm though, because I really like waking up when my alarm goes off and then just turning it off and getting to go back to sleep! Muahahaha! It is great. But I think I have been almost on the verge of getting sick for the last few days and today since I let myself sleep in it was like the sickness kicked in and my throat was all scratchy and my head was half clogged. It was crazy. But I feel better now. I hope that will be the sickest I get.

So I totally have made the decision to move. My friend has a house and she will let me move in to a private bedroom for less than half of what I pay for my apartment now. I know I will be giving up my apartment, which I love (it is super cute) but I really need to save money. I have some bills that I am getting sick of owing and I want to start paying more on my student loan. So, the decision has been made, I listed my apartment on Craig's list, and I am going to move at the end of this month/the beginning of next month. Wish me luck!

I Have Failed Again!

Dang it! I failed at this whole blogging every day thing. I missed once, and now I have missed twice. I totally didn't even think about it last night until about 12:30 when I was half asleep. Stink! It is because life is so crazy. I finally finished the baby dress/jumper thing I was making, but I didn't get a chance to take a pic before giving it to my co-worker for whom I was making it (well her daughter) because she wanted it for pics and a trip she is going on. Anyway, she got some really cute pics of her daughter in it though so she is going to give me some and then I will post them.

Anyway, so I finished that on Tues night at like 2 am, then I worked Wed. Work took a long time on Wed and so I was supposed to stay late, but I had to get my hair recolored (it was a bit orange) so I got that done, then I went to Fry's with some friends, not realizing how long we would be there. Then we left and were starving so we went to get food. I didn't get home 'til midnight (and I didn't go back to work) so I tried to get up and go in early this morning, but it wasn't as early as I had planned and it took longer to do what I had to. Anyway, we eventually did everything we had to, but it still took forever. Then I was supposed to go to someone's place after work and I totally got lost! I am glad I have tomorrow off so I can catch up on my sleep.

Also, I think I am going to move soon. I will keep you updated on that. But now I am going to go and veg out and not think.

Blonde! Oh how I love being a blonde! Well ... at least I am getting used to being a blonde. I took a few pics last night. It is weird how having a different hair color, even though I don't see it that often, has made me act differently. I think that I am more outgoing and stuff because ... I guess I think that people won't recognize me or something. Whatever. Anyway, I like this pic better.

Oh and sad story, right after I took these photos I went to take out my earrings and I dropped one. And they are the glass. And it broke. So sad :( They were like my favourite pair. I guess I am going to have to go to Saturday's market and pick up some more. I hope I can find some awesome ones.

Psychic Radio

So, the craziest thing happened today. After bleaching my hair on Friday a friend and I at work were talking about how Gwen Stefani must have people to bleach her hair every day! Then we started talking about Gwen and how my friend used to think she was freaky looking, but then as she gets more and more famous he keeps finding her more and more attractive. As he was in the middle of saying "I didn't like her back during her more Ska days..." and right at that moment "Just a Girl" started playing on the radio. Freaky? We both sat there for like 2 minutes after that going "What the crap! How did that just happen?" It was so weird. It was like the radio knew what we were talking about. Wow! Insane.

Stuff

So I am not really up for a big post today ... so I am just going to put a short one up. I am kinda tired. I got up and went to work this morning after staying up late last night (story of my life!) and so now I am kinda tired even though it is not that late.Well, it is later than I was planning on it being I guess, but it isn't as late as it feels. So this girl at work has been gone for a while - she was on a trip, then her daughter was sick, and now she is sick so she probably won't be in tomorrow. That means that tomorrow is going to feel a lot like a weekend day for lab presence, even though it is Monday. Anyway, I have rambled on enough I guess, so I am going to knit a few more rows and then hit the hay. Hopefully I won't be too tired at work tomorrow.

Lateness!

Well, today has been a full day. I have been knitting like a maniac trying to get a project finished in time for a friend, and at the same time I re-bleached my hair again today trying to get some of the orangeness out of it. Also, I ran a few errands and played Rook for a long time (too long) at my friend's house. Now it is late and I have to work in the morning and I am really tired, but I thought I would post a quick post. The one I posted yesterday has the wrong time on it so it says it was posted early this morning, and this one will have the same thing. I should look in to how to fix that. Hmmm. Anyway, g'night.

Mandi is Blonde!

What? That's right, you heard me, blonde! Well, I was trying to figure out something different to do with my hair, and I thought, what is more different than blonde? Not a whole lot. So I cut it and I dyed it. First, the before photo ...

That is pretty obvoius, that is what I looked like before. This is the during pic ...

Haha, we bleached it first, then we cut it, then we added a toner. It is still a little oranger than I would like, but I am not sure I can handle any more bleach tonight, so we are going to wait a few days to get the rest of the orange out. The funny thing is that there is a definite difference where my hair was dyed from before and where my roots had grown in my natural color. My roots are very bleached, and the rest is the semi-orange color. Stupid store bought dye!

Anyway, here is the finished picture...

The photo isn't my favourite, but you get the picture. It is a lot different! But I will get use to it eventually ... right? We will see. And we will also see if blonde's really do have more fun!

Today's Post

Well, today has been a weird. I totally forgot that I was working on Sunday, so I get tomorrow off. And of all people to remind me, it was my boss, who never remembers stuff like that. Crazy! But now I get a surprise day off, which is kinda cool. I have to make up for it by working Sunday, but that is okay every once in a while.

So today I was talking to my co-worker again (man he makes a lot of appearances in this here blog) and I was telling him things about myself (the way people tend to do when they are talking) and I said something that I had never really said out loud before, but that was really true, and really kinda sad. His reaction was that it was a 'strong statement'. And it was. But I can't feel bad about it, since I had never really thought about it before and I don't know any different so I am not sure I would like a different reality better.

I think that this might make more sense if I was willing to say on here what I said to him in Shari's, but I think that might be a little too revealing, but I hope that you are getting what I am trying to say. I think that it is sad how we always think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, but how do we know? What makes me think that if things had gone differently in my life I would be happier? I am actually quite happy. Maybe my life hasn't been ideal, but whose has? No one's. Everyone has unfortunate things that have happened in their lives. Everyone!

If my life had gone differently than it did than I would be a totally different person than I am today - but I happen to like the person that I am today. I sometimes wish I was braver or smarter or prettier (always prettier) but I am who I am and I can live with that. And if you can't then you can suck it! I am sorry if this is a repetitive post (I am not sure if I have written this before but I very well might have). Thanks.

Karma ... Oh How I Hate It!

Not that I hate actual karma, I just kinda hate the idea of karma. Let me explain. A co-worker and I were talking (man he is a good source of things to blog about!) and we came to the conclusion that karma is just a way for many people to feel good about themselves and to not feel compassion when something bad happens to other people. One of the only times I hear about karma at all is when something bad happens to someone who someone else doesn't like and they go "Karma's a bitch!" But seriously, how does anyone really deserve something bad to happen to them? They don't! I mean, whatever happened to 'two wrongs don't make a right'? As people we just use karma to justify being happy when something bad happens to someone else so we can say that they deserved it.

And when it really comes down to it you have to ask if karma really makes sense anyway? Sure, if you do something bad then you have bad stuff happen to you, and if you do good, good things will happen, right? So, does that mean that babies who have Down Syndrome or something like that really DESERVE it because of something they may have done in a past life that they have no idea of and can take no physical accountability for. Or what about children being disabled or something because their parents 'deserve it'? That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard! Seriously, sometimes bad thing just happen to good people, and sometimes good things happen to bad people, and sometimes bad things happen to bad people ... you get the point. That is just how things work, it is not necessarily because they deserve it or earned it in any way, it just is. Accept it. Sucker.

6Things of Me

The rules of the game should be posted at the beginning of the post. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. I dislike silence. I would love to have the radio playing or the TV on or some sort of background noise whereever I go than have to be in silence. Not that I hate silence, that is not exactly right, I just like noise. I think it stems from me thinking my house was haunted when I was little and always having the music on so I couldn't hear the strange sounds from elsewhere in the house. Or maybe I just love music. Whatever the case, I feel better when there is background noise.

2. I don't like to make decisions. Most of you who know me know that this is a very true statement. It is not that I can't make a decision, but it is just that if I don't have an opinion about where we eat dinner and someone else does than why should I deprive them for no good reason. The problem is there are a lot of things I don't have an opinion on and other people get a little annoyed. Oh well, c'est la vie.

3. I love knitting! That might be obvious from other posts on this same blog, but it is true. And maybe I am just an old lady at heart, but I don't care, I love it anyway. I took a sewing class in high school and I loved that too. I think I just like making things.

4. I love writing. I think secretly I have always wanted to be a writer, but I am afraid that if I try to do it as a career then I will start to hate it because I HAVE to do it.

5. I have low self esteem. This sounds kinda cliche I think, but it is true. I think I am okay at things, like knitting and writing, but I know I am not the best (I am not even close to the best really). I would rather not try very hard at something (like writing) than try my hardest and fail and prove to myself that I suck. I figure that if I don't try very hard and I fail then it wasn't my best anyway, so it isn't actual failure. I hate this about myself, but I can't stop it.

6. I don't have emotions. Well, obviously that one isn't true but I don't get worked up about stuff almost at all. I am very even tempered and logical - to the point that I seem to not have emotions. At my last job this was the running joke because in 2 and half years working there I never got emotional. That can be a good thing, because who wants a bunch of emotional nut jobs running around at their job? But still, I didn't get homesick even though I was about 900 miles from home, I didn't get all emotional about dating or my friends. Even when I was leaving that same job I didn't get emotional because it was just another step in life, not something to cry about. I can't decide if this is a good thing or not.

Now a note about the preceding. This list took me a bit to come up with because I didn't want it to be all stupid things or obvious things like "I have blue eyes," but I didn't want to pretend that I was being all profound or that I was deep or anything (which would be a lie after number 6 eh?) Also, it says to 'tag' 6 other bloggers but I really don't know that many people who blog (sad isn't it?) and the ones that I do know who blog I wouldn't want to tag. I did this more for my benefit (and the benefit for my two readers) than for the whole pass it on thing. Sorry, but that is just how I work. I won't forward on your emails either, no matter how many years of bad luck in love I will get for it (thinking back though ... that does explain a few things!)

Until tomorrow then!

A Little Mad .... A Little Relieved

So I never posted yesterday, but not because I didn't want to, but because my internet hates me. Well, that is not entirely true, the problem is that it was not my internet, it was just whatever I could get from a neighbor - which all day yesterday was nada! So I gave in today and signed up for my own darn internet! So I am mad I couldn't post yesterday but I am relieved that I will never have to fight with the internet again since I am paying for it so it better work well all the dang time! So I missed one post ... it is the thought that counts right?

Also, I am a little mad that I got my mail back. I tried to send the thing I had knitted for my little (future) nephew the other day and I got it back in the mail today due to not enough postage. I even went to the post office and had them weight it and stuff - but just as I was arriving the girl behind the counter was having a discussion with some random guy about her relationship with her boyfriend and why it was going to end because people knew about it at work and so I think she was a little distraught and not paying attention to what she was doing. So, I maintain that it was her fault, and not my own, that this didn't get to it's intended target. So I am going to try again ... maybe tomorrow during my lunch break. We will see.

Anyway, until my next post (tomorrow) which will be a little questionnaire that Chelsea sent to me, I bid you adieu.

That's Why I Love People ...

... they think of everything!

This is what a guy I work with said to me yesterday. He had just got a new motorcycle helmet and tail bag and we were discussing how useful they were (and how awesome the helmet was) and how nice it is that someone thought of even including a rainproof part (like a fly for a tent) to go over the tail bag for when it rains (which is a lot because we are in Oregon). And it is really nice that someone thought of that so he didn't have to suffer and ruin his laptop or something the first time it rained when he was riding. And there are lots of things that I would never have thought of until too late, and so I am always glad someone else thought of it (even if they had to learn the hard way - which sucks for them, but is great for public in general). So yeah, that is why I love people - they really do think of everything!

3D movies ...

.... and other things that I can't believe haven't caught on more in life.

I love 3D movies. They have had 3D movies at places like Disneyland and Disneyworld for a long long time. I am not sure exactly how long, but for a while I think. So why hasn't this caught on more in the mainstream? I mean, even now you have to go to a special showing of a special movie that is only playing in certain theatres before you can see a movie in 3D - but it is so cool! I want to see every movie in 3D. It would make things more realistic and maybe people wouldn't be so desensitized to violence and stuff if it was all in 3 dimensions and popping off the page every time you go to the theatre. Not to mention, the idea of going to the movies is losing steam - people are doing it less and less because you can just wait a few months and get it on DVD to watch in your house. Well, if I knew that the movie in the theatre was going to be different from the one that I just saw in my home than I would make more of an effort to go to the actual theatre!

Another thing that I am surprised hasn't caught on more in life is radio controllers for your car right on your steering wheel. I know that you can get that as a feature in certain vehicles, but for how awesome it is it is still surprisingly rare. For one thing, not having to lean over to mess with the controls every time that song you like comes on and you have to turn it up, or that song you hate comes on and you have to change the channel would be great. So much safer. And I am lazy so the lack of effort needed is nice too.

So those are two things that I think are great and should become more mainstream. And that's all that I have to say about that ... for now.

Happy November!

So my friend got me to join NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) and you just go to this website and join and then you are supposed to post a blog everyday. We will see how I do. This was my first blog that I posted on the site:

First blog of the month on this website. I actually blog all the time (well, sometimes) on another site so I guess this is not technically my first time (although my first time was great!) Anyway, I just wanted to put a quick post about how much I love the internet. I live on the west coast and I can talk to my friends in the middle and on the east coast and in other countries while looking up stupid videos of things people in China did while also learning about the local news in my parents hometown all while sitting on my butt at work. And the greatest thing, I can do it anywhere! Most shops or stores you go into nowadays will offer free WiFi which is just stellar. I know you all probably already agree with this post because many of you are bloggers yourselves (or like reading blogs - either way you know the joys of the internet) but I felt the necessity to share my love and devotion for this amazing thing. I would marry the internet if I could, but I don't think that it would stay monogamous to me and then I would get all jealous and we'd have a nasty divorce and then our children's lives would be ruined - so maybe it is better that I can't. But I still love it and will have a love affair with it anytime I want, and you should all feel free to do the same!

Knitting Projects

So I knitted a few things lately. This first one is a scarf I knitted and then felted for the first time, which was super cool. I love felting! Then the second one is a little baby sweater that I knitted for my future nephew and it turned out super cute. So awesome! I love knitting!

Bad Blogger!

Okay, so I know I am a really bad blogger, but having very unpredictable internet (and being lazy) makes for inconsistent blogging I guess. Also, I have a very boring life so I have not too much to blog about - although I thought of a good topic the other day and now I can't remember it. So instead I will write about knitting. YAY! So anyway, I knitted a cute toque for my friends birthday and I forgot to take a picture :( But I am also working on a scarf which is going to be felted and that is cool and I am trying to find a cool pattern for something to keep myself warm in the cool Oregon weather and a different pattern for my future little nephew for the baby shower.



Also, last weekend I went camping (okay, two weekends ago) out on the Oregon coast and had a ton of fun. We also went to check out the aquarium and this cool thing that OSU has where you can check out the ocean life (I got to touch an octopus!) and we went to the lighthouse. It was so cool! Although, it was really high (as you can tell by the picture of all the stairs we had to climb) but the view was totally worth it! The coast is so pretty. Anyway, I have nothing else to blog about so I am going to go for now. I am so boring. Maybe I will start working on more knitting projects so I have things to post about later.

As for this last pic, I took it from the top of the lighthouse and I thought it was really cool looking. It is of the part that helps reflect the light out onto the ocean. I rule at photography! LOL!

My New Hair

So, I was a little bored last weekend and I thought I would dye my hair. I had a dream that I did it blond and it was freaky so I decided to go darker. The only thing is that it went way darker than I thought it would.

Then I got bored again and decided to take some pictures with dark eyeliner and lipstick on and viola! Scary pics of Mandi. Anyway, I thought I would post some pics of my new hair since I realized that I haven't added new pics of myself to anything in a long time. Anyway, enjoy!

Pre-Three Day Weekend

So it is Friday and upcoming is a three day weekend - hooray! I am way excited to have a few days to relax. I was thinking about not answering my phone at all during the time off but that is a bad idea. But I will be checking my caller ID - haha. So I am over the stupid guy at work - he is a jerk. But apparently he is always a little bit unhappy so at least I know it isn't personal.

I am not really sure what else to write about - I kinda have no life. Well that is not true. I guess I have some kinda cool news - last weekend I met Mormon Royalty. On Sunday Elder Richard G. Scott came and gave a talk up near Portland somewhere to the young single adults and I met him afterwards. I even got my pic taken with him but I look really bad in it - so I will post it, but I have a little bit of photoshopping to do first. You know, red-eye removal and shiny-ness removal (it was ridiculously HOT in that building!) Other than that I have no life.

But I was thinking about something else that relates back to my Disney post. I was thinking about other movies that aren't Disney and I realized that if you really think about it almost all movies have the same effect as Disney movies. There is almost always a happy ending where things happen to work out just right, even if it is not what the characters thought they wanted, it turned out to be what the actually wanted deep down or needed. But life isn't like that. Sometimes in real life, the good guy doens't get the girl and bad guy does sometimes win. How many movies have you watched lately where things didn't turn out okay? There aren't too many! And I think that with all the hype about movies nowadays - lets face it everyone watches movies almost all the time. Honestly, if you don't know what to say to someone one of the first things you ask is "seen any good movies lately?" I just want to see a good movie where the bad guys win or everything else doesn't turn out okay.

Aaarrrggghhh!

So I am at work now and I just wanted to vent for a second. I was going about my business and I went to do something in a different part of the building and this guy had left a nasty note there about the last time we used that same thing - so he says. He said we left it a mess and it had to be us because no one else does the same thing in that area. Anyway, I am pretty sure that we haven't been over there since last Tuesday and if he didn't notice it until Friday then it probably wasn't us. But the worst part about it is that he was such a jerk, and I am so mad - mad at him for being a jerk without any real cause (even if it was us, this was the first time so get over it!) and I am mad at myself for letting him get me so worked up about basically nothing. Stupid Jerk!

How Disney ruined my life!

Basically the way that Disney ruined my life was that it ruined me for love in the rest of my life. Disney taught me that falling in love would be magical and perfect and ... well ... easy. But nothing in life is ever like that, is it? But I think that somehow I am going to meet some guy and our eyes will meet across the room and then he will sweep me off my feet and tada! LOVE! Why can't I just think that I will meet someone and we will get to know each other and then we will start to like each other and it will go from there? It has to be some perfect thing that happens and some awesome story that to tell my kids. Another thing that Disney did to me was to make me think that it is okay for women to be owned (so to speak) by men. Belle, for instance, went straight from her father to the Beast. Arielle too. And they were supposed to be the feminists! And how come all the women are beautiful, but the men are allowed to be hideous (beasts)? Grr! Stupid Disney, ruining my life ... grumble grumble grumble!

In other news, I know I haven't updated in a while, but it is cause I suck. I was told that I am not a true blogger since I don't update everyday. And although that is never going to happen, I can NOT update every day, but I can try to update more often since it has been almost a month. Work is going great - it is busy in a good way (most of the time, sometimes the days are long but ... it's work right?) I am way excited that I will be going to Utah in a few days. I only have two and a half days left at work before then! Yay! My bestest friend is getting married and I am flying in for the shortest trip ever so I can be there for it. Also, my mom will be there and my bro and his girlfriend I think, so that will be good. I won't get to see half the people I want to, but I am going to try my damndest!

I imagined that I would be happily dating someone by the time I went to the wedding so that my firned and I would have lots to girl talk about ... but still nothing. Probably because I don't make the effort to go and meet new people very often. I have went to church a few times but I keep hanging out with the BYU students that I work with so I am not really meeting any new people. I try to, but obviously not too hard. What am I going to do when they all leave? I have no friends in Oregon, and all the other people I work with (the ones who are staying) already have friends and family and lives around here so they don't want to hang out with me. Any thoughts on where and how I can meet new people?

Anyway, I have lots of things I could be doing - cleaning out my car, taking out the trash, taking out the recycling, getting groceries, working out - but I will probably go to bed instead and try to get a decent nights' sleep. Wish me luck. Maybe tomorrow I will have the energy to do the things that are on my list o' things to do. Not to mention I still need to get a few things before I leave to go to Utah that are going to come with me, but that will take a while, and I am trying to decide if I should find someone to drive me to the airport or if I should park'n'fly. Oh well, night time! Ugh, I also have to wash out my nose because I am getting phantom monkey smells! Blech!

Hard Days Night

Well, I have been quite boring lately ... well more than anything, I have been busy working all the time. Or at least that is what it feels like. It is hard because I feel like I never get to get out and meet new people or anything like that since I am always at work. Blech! But it is good because I am actually having money come in, and not just part-time custodial wages either, but actual, real money coming in! Yay! And now I can start paying off all my accrued bills!

Anyway, I am really stinky - I smell like monkey almost everyday when I come home from work! You have no idea what that means - it is bad. So anyway, I am going to shower now, I was just procrastinating. I feel really tired so I needed to do something while I got up the energy to shower. I am stupid and stayed up until like 2am last night watching 'Psych'. If you haven't seen it, it is hilarious. Luckily, I don't work until noon tomorrow so I can sleep in a little and then hopefully I won't be so tired! I am almost done my newest blankets for my friends babies - she had twins, Ryleigh and Jorja - and when I am done I will post pics on here. Well, until then!

Harry Potter and Other Updates

Well, I know I suck at updating I have gotten yelled at for this (figuratively because it was a message) and I am going to try to repent and do better. I am going to see the new Harry Potter movie tonight at 12:15 which is going to be exciting I think. I talked to my friend Chelsea who said she liked it and would recommend it. Even though she hasn't read the books and I have (several times) so she might feel different about it than I will, it is a good sign. I have liked all the movies so far, so I think this one will be enjoyable as well. Yay!

In other news (I love typing that, I feel like a newscaster!) I have been super busy at work lately. I have had a few long hard days which sucks because I come home with sore feet and stinking of monkey but I am usually too tired to try to shower. I do because I stink like monkey's but I have enjoyed less of my showers lately. Which is sad 'cause I usually enjoy showering. Oh well. Also, it sucks working for almost 12 hours in one day when I don't really get compensated for it (I am on salary). Blech!!


Other than that, work is going well. I am learning lots every day and I think they are glad to have me there. I am going to work my first weekend alone this next weekend though so we will see how it goes. But before that I get three days off which is nice.

One thing I did on my last days off was paint a picture. I will post a pic on here but it isn't going to be very good since I had to take it with my phone because my camera software is not on my new computer yet and I think it will be a while before I upload it since I am pretty sure it is in Utah. But this is the pic I took with my phone. So anyway, this is not a very good painting but since it is the first thing I have painted since I was twelve, and even then that was watercolor and this is acrylic I think it is pretty good. I am going to keep painting and hopefully improve, but that is what I did so far.

I haven't been knitting at all lately, which sucks, but I am planning on working on it soon. I have a couple of things that I want to make sure that I finish before I go to Utah in August, so I guess that means I should get working on it! I do have a few days off, so that is actually perfect.

Speaking of going to Utah in August, my best friend is getting married! Christina (there are pictures of here on here) is engaged to Matt Munyan and they are really good together. They are getting married on August 18th in the Manti temple in Utah. I am really happy for them and I am way excited to be there for it and to visit everyone in Utah. Mind you, it is going to be the shortest visit ever so I am going to have to go back some other time when I can actually take time and see everyone that I want to see. I miss all my friends in Utah :( But I am having a great time in Oregon. I love it here so far and things are going well (although lately it has been ridiculously hot and I don't have air conditioning).

Also, my brother and his girlfriend who are pregnant (which I mentioned a few posts ago) are now promised to each other too (I am not sure if that is the right terminology but whatever). Jessie's grandma gave JR a ring to give to Jessie as a sort of promise ring (I think he will want to pick out his own engagement ring for her) which is really cool. I always thought it would be better to get an heirloom ring from a guy than something he or I picked out. Anyway, that is cool news I thought. Congrats to them! I am way excited to be an Auntie and I think it is officially going to be in January sometime (I think on the 8th but I am not positive).

That is it for now. I will try to update more often .... but we will see how it goes. Maybe I will start paying for internet and then that will make it easier to update.

NEWS!!

Okay, so I have lots of little bits of news that are actually big bits of news. For one, I haven't updated in a while, and I know that, but it is because my lappy died about two weeks ago - just after I accepted a job offer in Oregon and right when I was in the middle of moving. So I had to come to Oregon, find an apartment and get all settled before I even thought about taking in my lappy. Then I finally did take it in and I find out that on top of the hinges being broken (which was an obvious thing that was wrong with it) the hard drive crashed. I decided that with all that being wrong with it that it would be more worth my money to buy a new one than it was to try to fix the old one. So, I spent a bit more than I want, but I got it for a pretty good deal. Here is a website with the specs (that isn't what I paid though - I paid less!) Here is a pic --->


In other news, I love my new apartment, even though there are some nasty lookin' spiders - blech! But I still like my apartment. It is a weird feeling to know that I live alone and there is no one else around - I am never going to have anyone walk in on me - not that I do anything that would be awkward to walk in on, but you know what I mean.

My job is okay. It is a little hectic right now since I feel a little bit lost, but I am sure that I am going to figure it out, I just need to get into the swing of things. I like it, there are just days when it is a bit overwhelming.


Lastly, I have a bit more news that is kinda in a different vein - and I am not sure if I should share but since I really don't think that many people read my blog I am going to include it anyway. I am going to be an Aunty!! My older brother JR's girlfriend Jessie is pregnant!! It is way exciting. I am planning on knitting so many little things for the baby - he/she is going to wear nothing but hand-knitted garments for the first two years of its life! Okay, that is a bit of an exaggeration, but you get it. Anyway, I am off to do more things with my new lappy. Unless something happens to this lappy (I got the warranty though so it won't) I will definitely update sooner.

(Almost) My Birthday!!

Well, the title makes it obvious, but it is almost my birthday. It is actually tomorrow, which kinda sucks since it is in the middle of the week, and who wants to do anything fun in the middle of the week? No one! Everyone is always busy with work and stuff so it makes it hard. It also sucks because my mom works nights so she never wants to go and do stuff during the day (which is understandable). But is all turns out okay because my mom's birthday is two days after mine on friday, and then my younger bro's girlfriend's (Chelsea) b-day is on saturday so I think we are all going to do something fun this weekend for our collective birthdays. So that makes up for not doing anything on my exact birthday. I already got my mom and Chelsea their presents so now all I have to do is wait. Anyway, I just wanted to tell anyone who might be reading this that they should send me a present. Or money. Money is always good. Just kidding, but that is what is on my mind right now so ... yeah. And I should soon have updates up future life moves and jobs, so stay tuned!

Lost and Confused

So, I am a little lost and confused right now (hence the title). Not in the literal sense, since if I was lost literally why would I be writing in my blog, but in the more abstract sense. I am lost in my life. I am not sure what I want to do with my future, which consequently makes making decisions very difficult. For one, I have been offered a job doing research in Oregon, but I am not sure I want to take it. There are a few reasons I am not sure about this: 1) I don't think I want to do research for the rest of my life; 2) I have heard from several of the current employees that the work environment is not always ideal (to put is kindly). But if I am not going to do that, then what the heck I am going to do?? That is where the lost thing comes in. Should I take the job until I decide, or should I try to find something else that is closer to home? The thing is that I think I want to maybe go to PA shool and so I would need some patient experience, but I am having a hard time finding a job that I actually want where I could get that. I mean, I could probably work in a long term care facility, but the problem with that is that the nearest one I would have to stay at home to work at (okay, I wouldn't have to, but I wouldn't want to get an apartment in Vulcan). But if I stayed home and did that it would be good for the pocketbook (to use an old term) but it would be crappy for my social life. I wouldn't meet anyone who I think would be worth meeting (no offense to anyone in this area, but I want to meet a good mormon boy and that is hard in this area). I just don't know what to do. And I hate having to make a decision. I HATE IT!! Any thoughts or suggestions would be great!

Knitting

Finally, I was able to upload pictures of my most recently finished knitting project. What I did was I took this pattern from Knitty and I modified it a little bit. For one, I added a zipper, and pockets at the front, then I added a collar because I don't feel like learning how to crochet around the neckline. I think it turned out okay, but I am not sure how I feel about the neckline. I will have to wear it a little more and see if I get used to it. It is really warm though - the day I took these pictures I was roasting!! Anyway, I said I would put pics on here and now I did. Yay for knitting!

Grad!

So, recently I had my graduation ceremonies from BYU and it was a lot of fun. On Thursday we had the commencement ceremony and we had to go a whole two hours early for security clearance because Dick Cheney was speaking. I was a little miffed at having to go so early and sit there forever, but I am really glad I did. It was a great time. I got to visit with my best bud Christina (in the pic with me above) and then we got to listen to a few really good speeches. The valedictorian speech was way good and then Dick Cheney was way good too (you can watch the speech here). I am so glad I went. Then on Friday we had to walking ceremony. This is when we all got to accept our little diploma holders and watch another few speakers (a little more boring than the previous day's, but still good). All in all it was a good few days in Utah. We are back now and it is over, but I enjoyed visiting as many friends and family members as I could. I have more pics I was going to post but I am having trouble loading them, so I will later. Also, my sweater is finally finished, but seeing as I am having problems loading pics I will have to post those later too. Oh well.

Mysterious ticking noise ...

My friend sent this to me on facebook and I thought it was catchy so I decided to post it here.

Time passes strangely ...

So I know I haven't updated in a while, but it is because pretty much nothing is different than the last time I posted. Well, we don't have steak and shrimp leftovers anymore, but other than that it is the same. Haha.

I haven't finished my sweater yet or the afghan I am knitting for my friend Shara. I haven't written my letter for the family newsletter (it is just what is sounds like - every person in my family writes a letter and it is put into a book by my grandma and we all get a copy). I haven't got a job yet. I am living with my parents (which is boring).

Mostly I end up watching a lot of movies (we only have three TV channels) and taking lots of trips to Vulcan or Lethbridge for things that my dad wants like gas (we live at least half an hour from a gas station and he doesn't want to go all the way there in his truck so I go in the car with a jerry can). That is pretty much it.

I went for a walk twice yesterday - once with my bro and once alone. It was nice and it helped clear my throat and lungs so I could breathe correctly which is nice since I have been having a hard time breathing since I have been home due to all the dust and smoke.

On wed we are leaving to go back to Utah so I can walk for graduation and get the rest of my stuff straightened out. Grad should be interesting for a few reasons. One is my bro JR is coming with us. Originally we were going to pick up the rest of my stuff from Utah, but since he and his girlfriend Jessie are coming I don't think it will all fit now. But he hasn't been to Utah for a long time because he didn't think he could cross the border (for reasons I won't discuss right here) so it will be good for him to be able to visit my family who are there. Another reason grad will be interesting is that Dick Cheney is speaking at our commencement. A third reason is just that I will finally get all my stuff moved and packed (even if it doesn't all come home with me yet) and then I officially won't live in Utah anymore which is weird since I have lived there for five years now. There is so much I want to do for the short period of time we will be there that I am sure I won't sleep much. Oh well, it will be good to have something to do.

Well, I am going to go for now, but I will try not to take so long next time - as long as something happens. I actually plan to work on my sweater in the next few days so I should be able to post a pic of that soon. And I will put grad pics up after that too. Just a little something to look forward to!

The deed is done ... mostly ...

Okay, so I have done it. I moved home. It was really good actually. I had my cleaning check Friday morning at 9 am (it turned out to be more like 9:45 because they had some sort of emergency) and then I left! I took a quick stop at Cabela's to say goodbye to my cousin who works there so I didn't really leave until about 10:30. Then I drove and drove and drove. I got to Great Falls around about 8:30 pm and all in all the weather was perfect for driving. It wasn't too hot nor too cold. Really nice. Then mom and I had some dinner and went to bed. The next morning we transferred all my junk from the rental car to her car. I was afraid it wouldn't fit but it actually fit great! Then we drove back to Canada. Another worry we had was that the line at the border to get into Canada would be long, but it wasn't too bad either. And I was very happy that they didn't ask for ID because I don't have my birth certificate at the moment since I applie for a passport and still haven't gotten it back. It was great. Then we got home and both my bros were here and so was Dallas' g/f Chelsea who is awesome. We said hi and then they all helped me bring my crap in the house. My room was full! But I put some in another room and now I can actually make it to the bed without killing myself.

Today, Easter, we visited again and then we made a very strange Easter dinner indeed - it was steak and shrimp and asparagus and ceasar's salad and pasta salad. Strange, but so very very good. I am still full and it has been several hours, but at the same time I can't wait until I am hungry again so I can have leftovers!

This has been good for me I think. I needed a change of scenery and I needed to do something different. It doesn't feel totally real yet, more like some kind of holiday except that I brought way more stuff than I would for holiday. I am still looking for a job, either in Calgary or Lethbridge, so I am doing the same thing I was in Utah - knitting and watching TV (only on less channels). I have to start getting things figured out tomorrow - the first thing being to get a job. After I do that I can find an apartment and get a new phone number and stuff. I don't want to unpack too many things so I am going to try to be quick about the job search so I don't have to.

That is all for now. I am almost done my next knitting project and when I am finished I will post some pictures. I do miss all my friends in Utah too - but it isn't that far away and I know this is what I needed to do. Wish me luck in the job search and if you have any leads let me know!

Alanis is hilarious!

Okay, so I have MSN messenger and it scrolls through different clips you can watch at the bottom. I like to watch the different clips that it features sometimes in case there is anything good. Well, it had this one that said "Alanis Morisette - My Humps" and I was like -WHAT?! Anyway is has the link to this video that is just really funny. It is this slow song but it has the words to Fergie's "My Humps". If the link doesn't work then you should search for it. It is totally worth it. So funny!

In other news, I am moving home. I tried staying here after college and getting a job, but nothing has come up that I have been excited about. And every job that sounds at all interested finds out I am from Canada and that I have all the international issues and they don't want me anymore. So I figure I will go work at home for a while and then maybe come back for more school or something later. It will be a nice change for me and I am way excited - even if it will be sad to leave all my friends. But this is sort of a trial seperation at first because I am coming back in a few weeks to walk in graduation and so we can pick up the rest of my junk. It will be way exciting. Wish me luck!

Fun Weekend!!

So this last weekend was really fun. First, on Friday I went with my cousin to Cabela's because they had people from bear world there and you could hold a little bear cub and get your picture taken. It was so great. So here is the picture of me with the cub. He was soooo cute and soft and I wanted to take him and make a break for it! But the problem was that there was lots of security ... blech. Also my scanner kinda sucks so my shirt really doesn't look that weird in real life (just in case you were wondering ... not that you were).

So then on Saturday a few of my friends and I went to the colorfest at the Hare Krishna temple near Salem. Then we met a few of our other friends there and we took this picture as we were waiting for them to burn the demon. What they do is that they have this little cultural program that has some dancing and then there is a little skit and then they burn a demon and throw colored flour everywhere. It was really cool! Here is a pic of us all colored. There are some pretty cool pics from above at the colorfest here.

Okay, so I have still been knitting up a storm, and the result is on this post! It was my old roommate's birthday a while ago and so I decided to make her some little slippers.

Then, I finally finished the sweater I have been working on for so long. This is the picture of my roommate in said sweater. I think it turned out really good. I took another picture as well, but Christina is making a weird face in it and I think that she might not want me to put a picture of her with a weird face on my blog, so I decided I would be nice. I might have to take more pics later to put on here with her not making a weird face.

As for the job search, which has been going on for 2 and a half months now, things are not looking good. I have another interview on this coming wed, but I am not sure how it will go. The thing is that all the places I have interviewed so far have liked me until they found out that I could only work for one year, then they seem a lot less interested. And Christina said that I don't HAVE to tell them that legally, but I feel dishonest not mentioning it. Also, this job interview is for the U of U, which is great except that I live in Provo, which is like an hours drive away and I don't even have a car. And I am not sure I want to live in SLC ... so I am just not sure what I will do, even if I do get the job. I guess I will just have to wait and see what happens. I just hate waiting an not being able to plan for my future. Grr!!

So although it has been over a month not a whole lot has changed. I am lame! I have been knitting up a storm - I am almost done a sweater for my roommate - just a little bit left. Also, I have a job interview on Tuesday that I am really nervous for. Other than that my life is the same as always. Oh wait, one other thing, I got a new phone! It is so pretty! Maybe I can include a picture ... let me figure that out. I really like it. I got it pretty cheap too, so that is nice. I really needed a new phone because mine was dying a lot and it was just crap, so now I have a new one. I love it! Not to mention the guy who helped me pick it out in the store was kinda cute, so bonus there! Woohoo. This is the phone:
Another thing that is new is that last week we did a "How to Host a Murder". Here is a pic from that:
It was a way fun time and I think it was probably the best group we have done it with. I enjoyed it immensely - Christina was the murderer (surprise surprise! haha!) and I even had it figured out. Go me. I am a genius!

Also, I am going to include a picture of the couple of things that I have knitted so far. Man I really like including pictures! Here are a few of those.

Wow! Adding pictures is so fun! Anyway, this is the scarf and the afghan (the afghan is on our new leather couch, which is really cool too!)






Well, I will update again later, hopefully I will be able to add more pics of the stuff I have knitted and done. And hopefully I will be able to tell you I got a job. Let's all cross our fingers!

Long time no post ...

Well, I suck at this blogging thing. I guess I am about as good at it as I am at writing in my journal. A lot of things have been going on lately. Where to start .... ? Um, I think I will start with Christmas.

I did end up going home for the holidays. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to because of legal issues, but I did end up going. It was good. I was home for about 3 weeks, maybe a bit less (I can't remember exactly) and it was a nice break. The only thing was that it was a little bit long. The only excitement happened on New Years - my brother was his usually annoying self. I love him a lot, but he drives me crazy. He doesn't trust his girlfriend (I guess she never gave him a good reason, but still) and so whenever we are trying to have fun and he gets a little bit of alcohol in him, he gets jealous, moody, and tries to pick a fight with everyone in the room.

On the way home I thought I was in trouble at the border. I flew, and it is the first time I have ever flown home and back for the holidays. It was fine on the way there, but the way back the guy at customs took me and put me in this little room by myself for about 20-30 minutes without telling me why. I was getting nervous thinking I was in trouble, but it turned out that it was only becuase I got a new I-20 and it had to be varified. He could have told me that was the reason before he made me wait in the room for 30 mins!!

Since then not much has happened, but a lot has happened at the same time. It is weird how that happens. Anyway, I have been job hunting, but because of legal issues I can't start working until Feb 22, so I think that makes the job hunt a little bit more difficult (stupid legal issues!!). The only upside is that in the spare time I have learned to knit - and I love it!!!

So then a few days ago my phone stopped charging. It was because the place where the cord plugged in in the bottom wouldn't make the connection. It was scary. I am up for a new free phone on Feb 15 so I didn't want to have to pay for a new one now. Luckily, there was a second hole in the bottom for a different kind of charger - so all I had to do was buy a new charger for $19.99 +tax and it is working fine. Thank goodness!!!

A few other good things that have happened include: 1) I got my diploma in the mail. Yay! I am now officially graduated! 2) It turns out that from my work this summer I was listed as a coauthor on an abstract that was submitted to a national meeting. That is so cool (I think) and it is something I can add on my resume to make me more hireable.

Well, anyway, those are all the updates for now. I will re-update again later - hopefully sooner. Maybe once I figure out what I am going to do for the rest of my life.