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.