Sunday, August 28, 2011

Adulting.

Hold. the. phone.

Who said that could happen? Not me. I'm not an adult. I'm still 18, right?

Sadly, I think I am adulting. I'm inching my way into my mid-twenties. I realized this on my birthday. I'm twenty-old. Seriously.

Okay, so it's not so dramatic as I'm making it out to be. My nieces and nephews are probably the only people who consider me old. But I've never felt so old as I have this week.

I've gone to bed before midnight three times in one week. And I'm still tired.

So it's not a big deal. It's actually just the responsible thing to do. But isn't being an adult about being responsible? Well, here are the adult things I've done this week:

1. Went to bed before midnight (one was at 10:30 pm).
2. Got my sister settled in to her dorm and talked about college in the past tense ("When I took American Heritage..." or "They didn't have that when I was here.")
3. Almost stopped at the Alumni booth just to say I had. But I really just wanted the brownie, so this doesn't really count.
4. Woke up at 6:15 am on a Saturday (granted, I had gone to bed at 1:30 am, so that wasn't very responsible of me, especially since I was grumpy the whole day)
5. Almost went into a museum, by myself, because I wanted to.
6. Went into a clothing store that had an extra 50% off EVERYTHING and didn't buy anything--even though I really wanted to. However, if my bank transfer was complete, I'd be all over that.
7. Played chauffeur to two different people in one day. Actually, this is just mom-ish. But I did volunteer to do it, so it's kind of different. Plus, I don't have a mom car.
8. Showed up 5 minutes early to church, which hasn't happened since they moved us to a building 10 minutes away.

I really wanted to make this list an even 10, but I ran out of things. And the whole time I was typing this, I had Miss Temple in my head. Whew, it's a good thing I missed that whole 21 thing though.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Home is wherever I'm with you.

I don’t go for cutsy stuff very much. I mean, no pictures of cats or dogs. Babies should ALWAYS be clothed during a photo shoot. (Home pictures are a different story.) I don’t even like to use the word “cute.” Everything from babies to boys to buttons is described as being “cute.” Let’s be a little creative here. And I don’t care if you think your kid is the most adorable thing or so unbelievably talented; chances are they really aren’t. (But it’s good that you think so, because you have to live with them for the next 50 years or so.)

But every once in awhile there will come a good video with kids that defies the odds. I’m thinking of classics like this one. And this one is just ridiculously amusing. And if you haven’t seen this hilarious video series, where have you been living for the past five months? (And for the record, I hate the “Charlie bit my finger” video. It’s dumb.)

But this video is probably one of the most adorable things to hit YouTube. I love it and the song. Even though it’s a love song, it works very well as a father-daughter song. Watch it and you’ll see.



Friday, August 12, 2011

To the Phlebotomist

(AKA guy who took my blood today),

You were really nice. And actually pretty good looking. And when you asked that fatal question, you had no chance.

You asked what people normally ask when they find out I’m a transplant: “How do you like Utah?”

I tried to warn you.

“Are you sure you really want to know?”

You were polite and smiled and said, “It’s okay. I’m not a local.”

Well, that was your mistake. Actually, it was my mistake to not just nip the initial question in the bud and say, “Oh, it’s fine,” just like everyone does.

Instead, I gave you an earful that probably more than you ever wanted to know. And with each word that came out, I could feel the chances of you asking for my number dwindling taking a sudden swan dive into the Pit of Despair.

You graciously listened to all my mumblings and ramblings. You, as a Californian, knew how Utah culture was different. You even said that you felt the same way before you moved closer to campus. What a kind soul you are to let a girl talk your ear off like that.

I just wanted to say that I’m really not that negative. You just caught when right after a tough day at work…okay, so maybe that’s not entirely true, but I was really tired and you had just stuck an uncomfortable needle into my arm. I really don’t remember everything I said; I just rambled on about nothing. Even your questions about my book, The Princess Bride, caught me off guard, and I muddled through the answers.

I’m really a fun person. Really. I know, like, five people who think I'm hilarious. Just don’t ask me about my work, my living situation, my social life or anything of the like; those answers aren’t positive ones. But I need to learn to not be so honest so I don’t chase off nice people like you.

So, here’s to you, guy who could have made me the subject of one awesome 80s song. I’m pledging to be more positive in my conversations. And then maybe next time you take my blood, it will be a more pleasant experience for the both of us.