Ah, Nostalgia

The other day while walking through the Wilk I happened to pass a boy wearing perhaps the most unusual pants I have ever witnessed adorning a human body. I was giggling to myself until I saw his face and realized that it was a boy I had a giant crush on freshman year for about a week (well, the crush was about as giant as a weeklong crush could possibly be). He is British (sigh...love the accent) with brown skin and green eyes (man, I am a sucker for a boy with pretty eyes. Tell you what. It's like a curse). Yikes, that boy is smokin. I met him Friday September 1, 2006 (I checked my journal from freshman year for verification on that one. (Um, let me explain: I am a little bit of a nut about journaling. I can pretty much tell you what I was doing on any given night for the past decade. I have filled 9 journals with my crazy ramblings. And that is not an exaggeration, though I almost wish it was because there is a lot of embarrassing stuff in those volumes. Anyway, back to the story...)) at a women's volleyball game. I had to ask him what his name was literally four times because of the accent as well as the noise in the fieldhouse. And guess what. I never actually figured out what it was. I just gave up asking because I felt like an idiot screaming "WHAT!?" into his ear five times. Four was okay, but five was pushing the limits of social decorum. Anyway, I like to think that we loved each other for the duration of the volleyball game, after which the differences of class (him living in DT and me in Helaman) drove us apart. It would have been asking far too much for us to have bridged the socioeconomic gap. Alas, we were merely two star-crossed lovers for an hour or so.

What is the point of this story, you ask? Men: don't ever buy pants with flanel sewn into the inner thighs and elastic around the bottoms of the legs. Ew. Pretty eyes, but where in the world did he get those horrible pants? Maybe they're all the rage in Europe, but here in the states they just make girls like me laugh to themselves as they pass.

My Nutty Roommate Audrey (and other things)

This is going to be a long post... :)

1.
These first few weeks at BYU have been so.much.fun. My anticipation that Audrey and Rachelle would be great roommates has definitely been met, as they are two very cool girls. Since Rachelle has a boyfriend and hence is not around all of the time, me and Audrey have been spending quite a lot of time together, which has led me to one fascinating conclusion: she is certifiably crazy. I shall expound. Audrey is a self-proclaimed creature of habit. We have twice gone to the grocery store together and she always buys the exact same things. Every time. She eats a nightly bowl of cereal at 10:00. She presses the snooze button twice on her alarm clock every day before getting up. I don't understand it. Also, she is obsessed with Michael Jackson, something that I don't relate to. At all. It has, however, been highly entertaining to observe.
This is us at the pep rally on Thursday before the game. It was actually really cool to be in the stadium at night when it was almost completely empty.

2. As mentioned in the first part of this post, Rachelle has a boyfriend. His name is Tyler. Because of this, Rachelle, Tyler, Audrey and I have frequently found ourselves hanging out together. Rachelle, wanting to increase our social circle (and also looking out for her roommates), asked Tyler to find men for Audrey and I so that we don't always feel like the respective third and fourth wheels of their relationships. Charity boys, essentially. So Tyler goes directly to Andrew Smith, one of my friends from freshman year, and asks him to hang out with us on the weekends. He meant to be nice, but it only had the effect of making us feel slightly pathetic. Thanks for the thought though, Tyler!

3. You know what feels great? Turning in a paper that you know you aced. It's AWESOME!

4. Daniel C. Richards. In case you're just tuning in, read this post to see what I'm talking about. Anyway, after 3 long years of having this boy's phone number in my contacts list in my cell phone, I texted him: "Um hello. Are you married?" to which he responded: "Yes. Who is this?" So ends the saga.

5. I love tv. A lot. So much, in fact that I build my work schedule around my tv schedule. The catch to all of this is that my apartment doesn't actually have a tv... So how do I solve this dilemma? Gold's Gym. It is the best thing ever. I just go to the gym and work out during my shows! It solves the problem I have been having ever since getting here of when to work out because I could never find the time. Do you see the implications of this? There are some days when I am working out for HOURS because of my dedication to primetime television. I am now going to take this opportunity to share with the world my television lineup:
Mon: Gossip Girl (1 hour)
Tues: The Biggest Loser (2 hours)
Wed: Glee, SYTYCD (2 hours)
Thurs: The Office, Grey's Anatomy (1-2 hours depending on the week)

6. Twilight. I hate. So so much. I have read them all though, sadly and seen the movie. I always try to find ways to justify this to myself, but there really is no good excuse. It is unpardonable. Rachelle and Audrey feel the exact same way about this situation. So the other day, I come home from work and they show me the trailer that just came out for the new movie. Here it is: Again I feel like I have to say: I HATE TWILIGHT! But...this movie...actually looks okay. Not to mention Dakota Fanning, who looks amazing. I am cautiously intrigued by it. What does everybody think??

7. As promised, for Beth Price :) Last Saturday night, after BYU beat Tulane, me, Audrey, Rachelle and Tyler (ha) went out to the airport again to meet the team coming into the Provo airport. There were only a few hundred people this time though. After he got off the plane, Bronco said to the crowd: "Last week was one thing, but you guys are the real fans." Also I got a high five from Max Hall. It was magical.

8. On the flip side, BYU lost yesterday :( Sad sad sad sad day. Seriously though, Florida State kicked our butts hardcore. As turnover after turnover was made, I began to hear a series of Mormon curses coming from the crowd around me. "Freak!", "Goshdangit!", and "What the heck!?" were some of my favorites. Haha I love BYU and our clean language even under extreme duress. Very inspiring. Our defense's playing on the other hand: not quite so much. Despite this, I remain a loyal BYU football fan.

9. I got my bangs cut the other day and they look absolutely horrible. Embarrassingly so. Hence, for the next month I will be wearing my bangs clipped back just like in the picture at the beginning of this way long post.

And thus I close mine epistle.

wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow

Yes, that just happened. I'm giddy. I just got back from the Provo airport where the football team flew in from Dallas, TX just a few short hours after handily beating No. 3 ranked University of Oklahoma. Mmmm what a great night. Well done, boys. Well done.

And it's all thanks to this man.

I love you, BYU :)

i seriously love byu

BYU is the best place in the world, I'm convinced of it. On Saturday after returning to Provo, I walked up to the bookstore to get my textbooks for the upcoming semester and it felt amazing. I know, weird right? Just walking up rape hill, past the testing center, Eyring science center, and library (where I will be spending a sick amount of time this year) and into the bookstore was Grrrreat! (To quote Tony the Tiger). I know that come midterms I'll have a different take on it, but for the honeymoon week of the fall 2009 semester, I am still completely and naively in love with BYU.

Why? You ask...

Well. Because of my rad rad friends who I now will attempt to name (in order of appearance since my return to Provo):

-Audrey S.
-Rachelle D.
-Jon L. (we need to hang out. soon.)
-Brandon B. (see the above)
-Whitney E. (see the above +we are going to dominate in volleyball. hardcore.)
-Lauren P.
-Crystal B./M.
-Rachel L.
-Ann R.
-Hannah S.
-Kaitlin A./M.
-Ashley V./G.
(funnn girl reunion)
-Adam D.
-Jordan E./C. (I am SO glad you are in my humanities class!)
-Pretty much everybody at the Tfund. I like that place way too much for it to be a job.
-BOYS FROM FRESHMAN YEAR!!
-Brad Tilley
-Shae McPhee
-Andrew Smith
-Stephen Tew
-Sam Parkinson
After tirelessly scanning the faces of everyone I pass on campus for the past 3 days, I have only seen these 5 boys. Sad sad sad. But don't worry ex-freshmen boys, I will find the rest of you... Wait and see.

Just as I suspected, this year has been supafly. I wish I had more to report, but this is it for now.

Oh and one more thing: bonfire on Friday night? I may or may not have been spreading the news abroad... Yes? No? Yes? Yes? Let's do it!

I love you all!

Today

Today was my last day of work. My last shift at the Bistro was given to another girl (which I am a little angry about), and my last two shifts at the old folks' home were given to another girl (which I am even more angry and pretty sad about). Altogether that is $200 that I would have made. Sad sad sad. But the good news? I am completely done with work!! Yay! I am getting ridiculously excited to go back to Provo. And I'm excited to live with Rachelle and Audrey. Those girls=cool. Hence, I strongly suspect that this year will=cool.

4 days until BYU!!

i love love

Today I went to a wedding. It was very cool. This might be hard to believe, but I have never actually seen one before. With Mormon culture being the [awesome] way it is, I have sat in waiting rooms in temples during weddings, but have never actually been present for the wedding part of the wedding. I am not close with either the bride or the groom from today, but it was so cool to actually see! Maybe it's because I am a girl and hard-wired to do this kind of stuff, but I got a tiny bit emotional during the 'I do's'. What? I know, it was weird. But seriously, isn't it cool to think that there are people who love each other and want to be with each other for the rest of their lives? I loved it and want to become a wedding-attending enthusiast from this point onward. Actually, now that I think about it, I got a little teary when Crystal came out of the Denver temple with Scott. I think 21.5 years of life has turned me into a softie. The only downside of the whole thing was that I was wearing these:
and had to hike for about a mile through the rocky, hilly, dusty wilderness to get to the wedding location. That part was not fun.

New Obesssion

Prior to just recently, I had never read Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. After finishing it, I can say that it completely, 100% lives up to its reputation. That book is good. After finishing it, I went straight to movie gallery and rented the Focus Feature version of it. I have watched it an alarming number of times and don't plan on returning it any time soon despite the two messages I have received from Movie Gallery asking me to bring it back. Bad idea, I know, but I just want to keep watching it! I have decided that when I am a high school English teacher, I am going to make my students read it and then, for the fun of it (and the boys), I will have them read this:

While perusing Borders, I happened upon this lovely little contribution to American literature. Can you imagine the essay prompts for that experiment? I am excited. Here's an excerpt if you aren't intrigued yet:

“Come, Darcy,” said Mr. Bingley, “I hate to see you standing by yourself in this stupid manner. You had much better dance.”

“I certainly shall not. You know how I detest it.”

“I would not be as fastidious as you are for a kingdom! I never met with so many pleasant girls in my life as I have this evening; and several of them are uncommonly pretty.”

Before Mr. Darcy could respond, a chorus of screams filled the assembly hall, immediately joined by the shattering of window panes. Unmentionables scrambled in, their movements clumsy yet swift; their burial clothing in a range of untidiness.

Guests who had the misfortune of standing near the windows were seized and feasted on at once. Elizabeth watched Mrs. Long struggle to free herself as two female dreadfuls bit into her head, cracking her skull like a walnut, and sending a shower of dark blood spouting as high as the chandeliers."

Ew ew ew.

Okay, I'm going to go watch my stolen movie again... Everybody have a good night!

Not to post twice in one day or anything...

But. I am going to just do it. Today during my usual facebook perusal/stalking session, I saw some pictures on someone's page from Y mountain overlooking Provo and I felt a little pang in my heart. I miss that place! If you would have asked me about it a few years ago, I would have died if I would have known how much I have come to love 'Happy Valley'. Over the past 3 years though, Provo really has become my home. Not really my home because my family doesn't live there, but my home because that is where my life is. Make sense? When I come home (to Oregon), I feel like I'm on vacation from my life. It always feels good, but by the end of it, I am definitely ready to go back. Like now for example. . . Sigh, one week left.


There are a few obstacles left before takeoff though, and I am not looking forward to all of them (some I am though).
- 2 more days at Baker Bistro
- 3 more days at Meadowbrook
- 1 sacrament meeting talk (still haven't started preparing it. . . )
- 1 Sunday school lesson (still haven't even looked at it. . . )
- finish reading Letters to a Young Poet and Oliver Twist
and perhaps the most challenging of all:
- packing

How I am going to get everything down to school in my little car is another puzzle that I'm gonna need to figure out. In the meantime, everybody get ready to party! We are going to have so. much. fun. this year!

case study: the elderly

The other day as I was walking through Barnes & Noble (one of my two favorite stores on this planet (the other being Sephora)), I happened to catch the tail-end of an exchange between a man who could not be a year younger than 75 and a Barnes & Noble worker. I don't remember what it is that she asked him, but his reply to her question was, "I always try everything once." Bad grammar aside, his response made me laugh. More accurately, this particular response coming from a dentured mouth made me laugh. I can only hope that when I am in my 70's I possess the same sense of adventure.

Hello hello hello!

Well errabody, I have been holding out on you a bit. I have a new blog :) feel free to peruse if you wish. I have become completely obsessed with running and created it to document said obsession. Anyway, have a look if you wish. If not, that's cool too. But just in case you're curious... here it is.

UPdate!

Hellooo everyone! It's been awhile since I last blogged, so I figured that I should let y'all know some of the things going on in Baker, Oregon. Btw, I have been hardcore stalking you all via blog. It's pretty sweet.

Okay, first things first. I am not going on a mission. That one is a little hard to announce because it makes me sad. Pretty much what happened was that I got everything done and taken care of and immediately after my stake president interview, I didn't feel right about it and went to talk to him about it the next day. He told me that he was going to transfer my papers to my bishop in Oregon, but about a week later, I decided that the mission is off for sure. Meaning: I'll be in Provo in the fall. Ready to party.

As for right now, I've been hanging out with people named Velma, Thelma, Myrtle, Erma, Harry, Virgil, and Betty. Yep, I party with the elderly. It's a bit sad to me that my social life has been reduced to this. Technically it's for my job (I'm a caregiver at an assisted living home), but I don't like that I spend more time with people fifty years older than me than with my friends. And I have seen them all naked. It's not cool.

On the bright side, there are only 15 days until I will be experiencing this:


THE CARIBBEAN!

And I'm planning on looking like this girl by the end of it:

It's Official

After watching the midnight showing of 17 Again with my besties, I am now a fan.




(this picture is my laptop background)

Going going going...

Alright people, game’s up. I know what everyone is thinking. During this time when we are all waiting with bated breath to find out where in the world I will be serving my soon-to-be illustrious and soul-saving mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you all want to know what to get me as a going away present. Well. Here I am with your answer! All I want from you, yes you, is stationary. ‘Why?’ You ask. The answer is simple: so that I will be able to write letters to you whilst on the afore-mentioned mission. Please, please, no grandiose shows of affection and/or admiration. All I desire is stationary. With your address attached :)

My New Favorite Thing:

Tumblr.

Loraina Binning: My Little Asian Muse

As of five minutes ago, I have a secret blog. Below is my first secret post (I thought I'd share, so as not to be rude. And yes, I am aware that this makes me look a little obsessed with Loraina.):

I would like to say that Loraina Binning is a genius. Apparently she has 2 secret blogs that she has not invited any of us to read. As a result of this, I am equally offended and impressed. I want a secret blog! And THIS is the product of my envy, a copycat version of Loraina's brainchild. I don't understand how that girl's mind works. Seriously, I wish I had her creativity. I tell her all the time that her blog is my favorite to read. She probably thinks I am just joking or something, but I am constantly impressed with that girl. I want her brain. I covet her brain. I've always thought that mine possessed moderate amounts of creativity, but I've got nothing on that girl. So here I am, copying Loraina with my very own secret blog. Too bad she won't be able to read it. Turnabout's fair play! Muwahahaha.

Recluse

I think that I am secretly a really private person. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love to socialize just as much as the next girl, but more and more frequently I find myself indulging in a weekend spent with a book rather than friends. During these nights, I usually turn my phone on silent and feel horribly guilty every time the screen lights up. Not guilty enough, however, to check and see who is calling or texting. Usually when this happens, I pause briefly as the moral dilemma unfolds in my mind. Do I answer and try to come up with a socially acceptable reason for not wanting to hang out or do I just ignore it and pretend like I never saw anyone calling? This conflict usually lasts as long as it takes for my phone to direct the caller to voicemail, at which point my mental argument resolves itself. Sighing with relief at not having to have made the decision, I dive back into the pages, my feelings of guilt dissipating as quickly as the plot of my book thickens.

I think I'm reverting back to the time period immediately following my family's move to Oregon (read: I had no friends. It was pretty cool.) or something. I remember staying in during recesses so that I could read rather than try to make new friends. Life for 10-year-old Dani Richards was not easy, take my word for it. My anti-social behavior got so bad that my teachers organized a parent-teacher conference for the sole purpose of limiting the amount of time I could spend avoiding my peers. Ironically, the next (and last) emergency parent-teacher conference held during my educational career took place during middle school when both Mrs. Raley (my evil English teacher) and Mr. Blankenship (my evil Science teacher) became annoyed at the amount of socializing I tried to get away with in the middle of their classes...

Looking back, I can't decide which part of me is more 'me'. Is it possible to be equal amounts of both? And we're talking about being antisocial and supersocial btw. I guess it ultimately doesn't matter as long as you are doing what makes you happy, right?

On a completely different note, is this post a little emo? I have a sneaking suspicion and horror that I'm slowly becoming one of THEM. But on the other hand, I have recently decided to do whatever I want and say what I am thinking about saying regardless of the social ramifications. So you know what? Judge me however you want. I do not care.

Okay those last few sentences were definitely emo. Maybe I should just embrace it...

On Creeping

I am a bit creepy. I have always been aware of it, but I have decided that today is the day to air my creepy laundry, so to speak.

Two examples:

1. Some girl I have neither met nor seen named Dani who lives in Texas somewhere. How do I know about this girl? Well, it all started back last year when Hannah and I decided to join the world of blogs (you all are welcome, by the way). When prompted to choose a blog address, my initial thought was to use danosaur.blogspot.com. Turns out, someone already was using it. Heinous, I know. After much deliberation, I finally settled on danidanosaur.blogspot.com (which, by the way, I am still not the biggest fan of...). Some three months later (I'm surprised it took me that long to do this), I typed danosaur.blogspot.com into the address bar, curious to see what kind of person was utilizing my preferred blog address. I was shocked to find a scripture from Alma in the Book of Mormon on her page. I couldn't believe it! Turns out the author is LDS too! Becoming more and more curious, I read all of her posts. Her blog is hilarious! I love it. I think that if I knew her in real life, we would be friends. Maybe. She might be creeped out by how much I know about her though...

2. Daniel C. Richards. I'm sorry for those of you who have heard this story multiple times. I can't help myself. I will go to my grave laughing about it...
Our story begins in the Fall of 2006. I was a bright-eyed freshman ready to explore all of the amenities that BYU had to offer (read: attractive men). When a copy of the student directory appeared outside of my door one night, I eagerly looked up every person I knew (which was like 4 at the time). Then I looked myself up. I don't know what prompted me to do this, but eventually I found the name of several Daniel Richardses. My full name is Danielle Christine Richards, so I was thoroughly thrilled to discover a boy by the name of Daniel C. Richards. In the directory. That had magically appeared outside of my door. Waiting for me to take action. So I did. I added his number to my contacts on my cell phone while I deliberated what exactly I should do with it. Months down the road (almost a year, actually), I went to call my friend, Daniel Quick. Imagine my surprise when my friend suddenly confesses that he has no recollection of me. I thought this was unusual and glanced down at my phone only to realize that I had accidentally called Daniel C. Richards. Yikes. When it came out that we had the exact same name (apparently he goes by Danny), he asked all kinds of probing questions like, "Why did you call me?", "Who are you?", and "How did you get this number?" It was awkward, to say the least. After coming up with the most convincing lie that I was capable of on the spot, we agreed to meet on campus during Fall semester of the next year (I was at home in Oregon at the time). I still have that number, but have never contacted him again. I'm thinking about texting him sometime though.

Jordie

I couldn't help but think of you when I finished making this background. I wish it was still summer and we still had fun with cemetery and canyon adventures! At least we still have John... I love you!


ps: I hear he's making a new album. Meaning...John Mayer concert part II. Yes?