My Personal Super Heroes!

It's a bird!!!

It's a plane!!!

It's...It's.... MY MOM & DAD!


Growing up I was not particularly close to my parents. In fact, I often felt like a stranger in their house. They were so much older and I felt the age difference. Things were very different then than they are now. They are still my parents... but they are more like friends. I suppose I have always been as independent as I am now. Not self sufficient, but independent. I have always wanted to grow up and have my own house and pay my own bills. This led to a strained relationship with my parents. I hated doing things THEIR way.... I wanted to do it my way! It wasn't until I actually MOVED OUT that I came to have a REAL relationship with my parents. And oh.... what a relationship!! There are times I regret not being as close to them as I am now my whole life. And there are parts of me that could care less....because I am here NOW.

My mom and dad mean the world to me. So much so that my eyes are misty right now writing this. They are quite possibly two of the coolest people I know!

John...PAPA John... is so hilarious! And not like stand up comedy funny...but witty funny. Dry humor funny. IF you EVER wonder where I get my humor from... half of it comes from him...the other half from my mom. I think it is funny that so many of my friends growing up who only ever saw him in passing are still to this day intimidated by him because he hardly talks and he is a big guy. Anyone who actually KNOWS my dad knows how silly that is. My dad has one of the softest hearts of anyone I know. He doesn't put up with crap but he cares a ton. Anytime I need a blessing my dad is there! Anytime I need to vent my dad is there. Anytime I need ANYTHING my dad is there. Anytime I call him crying with a concern he does anything and everything in his power to fix it. Sometimes I feel so frustrated at his wanting to fix EVERYTHING. Sometimes I want to scream and shout "that's MY problem...not YOURS.... let ME fix it... " and then I Realize how LUCKY I am that I have a dad who wants to do it for me. Who is so protective of me...even at 23 and I suppose even at 53 and until the day he dies... he will be my dad. He will be my protector and until the day I die he will be one half of a team that is my hero.

Mirtia... mersha... the other half to the dynamic duo. My mom is the SILLY one! I would say having us kids would keep her young....but I think she keeps US young. Yet ...at the same time she knows when to act her age. She is the perfect mixture of everything! Strength, passiveness, worker, homemaker, student, teacher, role model, fashion model....I really aspire to be like her! When I grew up I didn't want to be anything like her... (don't ask me why because I have no clue) and now I aspire to be as much like her as possible! When people tell me I am funny or cool my automatic response (and yes I realize I am probably a dork for it but it just comes naturally) is "you should meet my mom!! she is me times [insert large random number here]!!" My mom is so much fun to talk to and I call her more than I call anyone in my phonebook. If I am not calling her I am calling one of my siblings which are just mini me versions of her. Like my dad, she is there whenever I need it. Actually, I think she is tougher on me than my dad. Ha Ha. I love her.

I love my parents so much and words could not describe how much I owe my life to them. They are my heroes!

Goodbyes

The first week of my last semester as an undergrad is officially over. Ironically enough the most interesting things that happened this week are completely unrelated to school.

Today sucked slightly because it is starting to sink in that Jade won't be back for another 18 months. At first I felt like she was just on vacation or whatever, but slowly it is sinking in. I believe I am getting too good at saying goodbye. My first best friend Matthias moved to San Diego just a few months after our friendship started to become concrete. He has been there for the past 8 years but we are still great friends. Candice moved to Dallas- still best friends. I moved to Salt Lake and left behind so many valued friendships.... and now Jade is bound for Taiwan. I still feel like she is just going to come back and tell us all she played a very big joke... but I called the MTC (Missionary Training Center for those of you non mormons who don't know the lingo)for her box number today and they gave it to me. Is the MTC allowed to participate in a "punk'd"? I dunno...

I am just glad I have had the opportunity to have such amazing friends in the course of my life! Be grateful for what you have right?

I am in LOVE

with the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and the Colbert Report (silent t's) with Steven Colbert. Seriously... I used to watch it all the time but then the stupid writer's strike happened (well I don't think it is stupid but I miss my shows). I have been devoid of their wit since November 1, 2007! Alas! They are back! Even though they don't have writers they are still just as funny! Steven Colbert left a lot of stuff out. He made an obvious point that the writers were missed. Even without the writers though, he interviews people and he is so on top of his game! The man is so witty it is unreal! He can take anything someone says and turn it around! He will comment on your dialog and take it so literally. I LOVE IT! I love smart, informed, and witty people! If you have cable (comedy central) then you NEED to watch these shows! It is all about political humor but it is seriously funny stuff! I don't even watch TV very much but if it is, it is to see these two men. I heart them! And if you haven't bought/checked out Stephen Colbert's book ," I Am America, and So Can You" you need to! Hilarious! Even if you don't want to read the whole thing you should definitely just read a chapter. It will make you smile.

Also on the list of men I love--Anderson Cooper.

A Few observations

One of my all time favorite hobbies is people watching. With the start of the semester today came many observations. Here are just a few of my favorites.

Diet Coke- Why is it that every single last one of my teachers is addicted to diet coke? I almost jumped out of my seat with pointer finger ready and screamed IMPOSTOR to the teacher of my last class of the day. For the past year and a half that I have been here at the U almost 100 % of my teachers constantly drink diet coke during class. I wonder if they have some sort of endorsement deal with the company...(there was one exception with one teacher who was addicted to coffee...) so you must understand my confusedness when I walked into class and there was no diet coke. I figured he must be a new guy- he doesn't know the rules about teaching here at the University of Utah-but no, he has been teaching here since 1993. I then concluded that this endorsement deal wasn't around back then... so he was exempt. Phew- that was a close one. I almost embarrassed myself in front of the class.

BYU Guy- So... there are a lot of people that go to my school. It is not uncommon to see a sea of red with people supporting our school with the apparel they choose to wear. Every once in a while you will find a sweatshirt sporting a professional sports team or even the occasional NYU shirt or Georgia Tech or some RANDOM place of the sort. This is OK because they obviously have some sort of affinity for the area, the person that gave them the item, or whatever. However, today as I walked into my economics & law class I stopped dead in my tracks and gave the DIRTIEST look to this guy who was wearing a BYU beanie. First off, C'MON MAN!! Show some respect! Do NOT sport the apparel of the school from Satan here on this holy ground! OK so BYU isn't the school of Satan but that is our rival. Do you understand how STUPID you look by wearing that on campus? People just give you dirty looks and think, " sucks to be you. you couldn't get into the school of your dreams," and I am sure the gangsta football players perceive it as a neon sign saying you want to get jumped. Also, if you are going to wear the beanie, for the LOVE, please wear it right! He had it pulled down past his eyebrows. Hmm....maybe he lost a bet and was trying to conceal his identity while wearing the beanie. My last comment about BYU beanie guy is that he was VERY RUDE during class.... originally I concluded he was bitter about going not being at BYU but now I think maybe he did lose a bet. I would be mad if I had to wear BYU apparel too! OK BYU beanie guy, you are pardoned for now... but if I catch you doing it again I will be forced to give you a wedgie.

My last comment for the night ( I was much more long winded than I thought I would be) is about the quirkiness of people, especially at night. As I got out of class at 8pm I was walking towards my car that was parked across campus a bit. This is always a good time to see funny people. There was one lady who was probably late 30's wearing very frumpy kahkis ( you know the type- the ones with the saggy butt-) and those weird thick rebok shoes. Well... I guess she was trying to get her exercise in for the day? As she left the building about the same time as me, she probably got to her car five minutes sooner. Part of this is because we all know I am the slowest walker to ...er...walk the face of the planet. However, saggy butt decided to run in spurts. Yes, I said it. Spurts. 5 second spurts to be exact, ( I know because I timed it) She would walk and then run for five seconds, walk for 3 seconds, and then run again. It was really odd to watch. She turned around a couple of times to see if anyone was watching her, and kept at it.

There are a lot more things I could comment about for today but honestly ? I have been ready for bed for hours.

My Grandma

I love this woman more than I love a lot of things. She is amazing.

Blog

Someone once told me that I should blog everyday because I had the most interesting things to say. I know I won't be able to post everyday but I am going to put forth a conscious effort to post a lot more. Often times I think about posting a blog but then I don't.

My thought for today is about Texas First Bank. I have a lot of feelings towards that bank. It was there behind the teller line that I realized what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. It was there that I gained many of my most cherished friendships...

My life has been changed since the first day I walked in there.

My Love Affair With Books....

is sad. I read as much as I can while I am out of school and then for four months I read nothing but textbooks and then the ravishing of reading books for pleasure continues for just a few weeks. Rinse and repeat. In the week and a half of being off of school (not counting the week and a half I was in Texas) I read the following books:

The Giver (read again)
Why Men Earn More (not a classic but definitely interesting)
The Great Gatsby ( read again)
Pride & Prejudice ( I love the movie and just started it today. I am not yet done.)

My list of Books to read when I graudate ( just to clarify I graduate in May so that is the next time I will be able to read for pleasure again) are:

The Hobit followed by
All Three Lord of the Rings ( a Christmas gift a few years back that was never used)
Les Miserables
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Persuasion

And I will continue from there.

I have a dream of one day owning a library full of books I have read. I find it a shame I have not read in its entirety a list of classics. While I enjoy such authors as J.K. Rowling and Janet Evanovich I believe I must read Mark Twain, Jane Austen and many others to really be a well rounded girl.

Please, if you have read a book that changed your life, or effected your soul and you believe to be a must read (beside scriptures) please let me know. I would love to read it!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year. For the new year I would like to give you all the gift of my ramblings. I do apologize but I could not post for the 11 days I was in Texas and now I am catching up.

I really have a hard time leaving.

I have never really enjoyed New Years Eve. As much as I honestly love my life, I don't believe that I have done enough. New Years Eve is hard because I feel like I am leaving so much behind. I feel as if there was so much I could have done that I didn't do and wonder if the new year will bring about the same disappointments. I wonder what will be different at the end of 2008. At least one accomplishment I will be able to boast is my degree at the end of this year. Other than that, I don't know what else. Same job, still not married ( that might be an accomplishment in itself) these are all things I perceive will still be the same in 12 months.

Leaving Houston was surprisingly easy for me this time. I was in quiet awe that I did not feel any emotion leaving. In the past I have been excited to leave, but when the time came it literally broke my heart to leave so much of the unknown behind. (What if I stayed in Houston... how would life be different? Is going back the right thing? I am so sad to leave.... ) These are all thoughts that usually run through my mind.

Last night, as I sat in my window seat (7D of Sky West - a Delta connection) leaving George Bush Intercontinental at 6:45, half an hour past scheduled due to heavy traffic leaving -surprising because there was NO ONE in the airport- I got excited for take off. I love taking off & I love turbulence. Without these things it would not be any different than a bus ride. So the plane heads down the runway and I see tons of blue lights that turn into a blur because we are not going faster and faster and then whoosh, with a single moment we are lifted into the air and as we rise higher and higher above Houston I looked down with utter disgust. I had no feeling but bitter feelings. "I hope you choke in your nasty polluted air sleep Houston." " I hope you realize I don't miss you." Why such hate? This to a beautiful metropolitan city who has housed me for 22 years. Who kept my secrets, who embarked on journeys with me. Who filled me with joy by providing entertainment of the highest quality. Who loved me unconditionally and let me call it home. Now I feel I have betrayed it. Salt Lake is now the keeper of my secrets. I have better adventures, and funnier journeys. I call Salt Lake Home... because I feel Houston no longer has a place in it's heart for me.

While visiting friends and family was nice... it was obvious I don't belong there anymore. Salt Lake took me in as a refuge, and now calls me family. This is where I belong.

Music & Lyrics ( and much much more)

Alex Fletcher: It doesn't have to be perfect. Just spit it out. They're just lyrics.
Sophie Fisher: "Just lyrics"?
Alex Fletcher: Lyrics are important. They're just not as important as melody.
Sophie Fisher: I really don't think you get it.
Alex Fletcher: Oh. You look angry. Click your pen.
Sophie Fisher: A melody is like seeing someone for the first time. The physical attraction. Sex.
Alex Fletcher: I so get that.
Sophie Fisher: But then, as you get to know the person, that's the lyrics. Their story. Who they are underneath. It's the combination of the two that makes it magical.

So this is a quote from the actual movie music & lyrics but today I would like to discuss some stuff that I feel I always talk about. And it's not just lyrics... I believe it is just words. Written words.

My freshman English teacher, Coach Cochran ( or cap'n- the only alternative to calling him coach) was quite memorable and it wasn't just because we could ONLY go to the bathroom if we asked to go to "the potty." No one ever got away with asking to be excused to go to the powder room, the ladies room, or any other tactful way of saying it. NO. We had to ask to go potty. It was also because he taught us -or at least me- valuable lessons through his incessant ranting. Though he never set out to have a life changing class , or at least I don't think he did, he has affected my life and I think about him often.

The man was an odd man. He used to sit there staring into outer space, chewing gum, with one of those large industrial yellow rubber bands squeezing tight against the flesh of his forehead. He would just sit there, with a rubber band around his forehead as if it were a sweatband, and as if it were normal. He has said a few things that I think about often and I would like to now pass on his wisdom to you, my readers.

1) Don't touch railings while going down stairs. Do you have any idea how many people touch that who have not washed their hands, who have just coughed, or have done who knows what with it. Gross. Just don't do it. And I am proud to report that since my freshman year of high school in 1999 it has been a rare occasion that I touch the railing and I like to think of myself for being healthy for doing so.

2) Pay attention to the lyrics in the songs you are listening to. If you form a band, please do not write stupid lyrics such as " slowly walking down the hall, faster than a cannon ball, where were you while we were getting high?" ( Oasis- Champagne Super Nova) I remember him ranting that we will silly for listening to that. We needed to listen to something with meaning, or a coherent message at the least.

This ties into my Freshman year of College English class. Dr. Fox, one of the perviest teachers I have had in my college career, used to tell us that words were sometimes taken advantage of when spoken but they must never be perverted when written. What we write must be true, and to the best of our ability. I do believe this is when I started my love affair with words. I have always had an obsession with it, but my obsession was never fully formed until 2002 there in Alvin, Texas (home of Nolan Ryan). After that day I started having trouble writing essays. I wanted everything to be fully articulate and eloquently describe every fluttering thought, every deep turmoil, every pondering thought I had on the subject. I came to realize that it would never happen, but that I needed to write it down anyway.

And now as I get older I obsess over every passage in a book, every lyric in songs. Why did they write that. How beautifully they portrayed that scene.... I am obsessed. I guess what I am trying to say is this. " How do you describe so adequately those things that cannot be spoken?"

My book of choice for the plane ride back home was The Great Gatsby. An oldie, but a goody. Gatsby has this quiet love affair for Daisy, and has for YEARS. Instead of just coming out and doing something about it he shapes his life around it. FOR FIVE YEARS. When they finally meet again Gatsby shows her the clippings from the news he has kept of her for years. He tells her how he bought the house because it looks across to hers, and she always has a green light lit. Somewhere, you can sense the desperation in his voice. You sense the need to be loved, the need to be validated that he wasn't just crazy, he didn't do all of this for nothing... and yet the author never mentions this. She just writes.

I would love to discuss this one scenario in greater depth but perhaps this will be saved for another day. Too bad things that work out in books don't always work out in real life.

I wish life always seemed as beautiful as it does in books ( and songs).