Halloween

Halloween isn't my favorite holiday. I dread it every year. But this year I was pleasantly surprised by how much fun I had with the holiday.

I had a costume this year. I wore my Dorothy costume from when I was in the play when I was 11. Still fit okay, surprisingly. My roommate, Melissa, was a doll and Hannah was a zombie. We got ready on Friday to go to the ward Halloween party. So much fun! We danced and listened to a band in our ward. By the time the party ended, I was exhausted!

The next day I woke up sore and tired, but there was another day of fun ahead of me. Hannah and I went to WalMart were I bought my second costume. And some hair dye! So I dyed my hair (I love it!). First time I had ever done it on my own.

My second costume was Bella Swan. I bought a t-shirt at WalMart that said "My boyfriend's a pain in the neck," and I changed my name tag at work (because I had to work the closing shift) to read "Bella Swan, Forks, WA." I thought it was clever and so did at least two other people. I saw lots of fun costumes as people came through the Creamery.

So, all in all, this Halloween wasn't so bad.

Growing Up

The past four or so months I have slowly started to come a realization--I'm growing up. I have realized that I have to put away my teenage way of dressing and approaching life . . . especially since I haven't been a teenager for almost 4 years!

I have made some efforts to start being more grown-up. I got a grown-up purse, and am working on getting a more grown-up watch. And you know what? Being grown-up doesn't mean you have to be boring! You can still be fun!

Today I did something that was very grown-up. I had my first grown-up interview. About a month ago I applied for an internship at the Church magazines. Going to my interview in my grown-up suit, I was very nervous. My hands were cold, and my tummy felt a little sick. But I looked good, and I was going to do this thing. I had prepared, but I could hear some of the questions they were asking the previous candidate and they didn't ask any of the questions I had prepared for! But there wasn't anything else I could do but go in and do my best with what I had.

For the most part, I think I did pretty well. There is one question that looking back on, I realize that I think I misunderstood it. But something great came out of this interview. Janet Thomas, who works with the New Era, said that she loved two of my pieces that I had submitted in my portfolio and would like to publish them! She gave me her e-mail address--not the magazine's, but hers--and asked me to send them to her. So if nothing else comes out of this experience, that is more than I could have asked for.

Sometimes, when I'm being a grown-up, I feel great and so comfortable in the role. But I still have those moments when I feel like a little girl playing dress up.

Weekend Update

For those of you familiar with SNL, this is kind of like the Weekend Update with Seth Meyers, just not as funny.

Monday:

Went to work, nothing exciting there.

Went to class, nothing exciting there.

Went to the Mac Lab to work on my big project, again. My phone buzzed, telling me that I had two voicemails. Once I listened to them, my whole day was turned around! I had been chosen for an interview for the internship at the Church Magazines! Wow. I'm a little nervous, but pretty excited because I didn't think I would even get to the interview stage.

That night for FHE we tie-dyed t-shirts! That was the first time I'd ever done that. Very fun.

Tuesday:

Had a work meeting, nothing exciting there.

Had class, nothing exciting there.

Had the longest closing shift at work, nothing exciting there.

Wednesday:

Had work, nothing . . . well, you know.

Had class. We had critiques on our designs and my TA liked mine! Maybe I'll get a better score on this project than my last . . . especially with the amount of work I've had to put in.

Made Chicken Noodle Soup for dinner. Mmmmmm.

Won $5200 playing Jeopardy! that night. (Yes, sometimes I keep score)

Stayed up late reading Birth Marked. It was good, you should read it.

Thursday:

Did homework.

Worked on my design project while listening to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Went to class.

Wrote in my novel.

Friday:

Went to work.

Thought I was going to have to go work on my project, but my TA sent out an e-mail pushing back the printing date by a week. Yay!

Took a nap.

Watched How to Train Your Dragon.

Wrote in my novel.

Went to bed.

That night I had the creepiest dream that I was living with a homicidal maniac who was trying to kill me and my roommates.

That's it. Nothing too exciting. :)

Double Feature

I promised in my last post that I would review of fun book; well, here's a treat, TWO fun books!

Book #1:

Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson. On Alcatraz's 13th birthday, he receives a bag of sand. And that bag of sand leads to an adventure that changes everything he thought of the world. He fights librarians of the worst kind, and gets an awesome pair of glasses.

If you like dry, sarcastic humor, this is the book for you! I loved Alcatraz's narrative. Read it, you'll like it.

Book #2:

The Wide Awake Princess by E.D. Baker. When her family and the rest of the castle falls asleep, Princess Annie stays wide awake. She takes it on herself to find a prince that can break the spell that has taken a hold of her older sister. Meeting all kinds of people on the her way, and being guarded by the handsome Liam, Annie learns that there is more to life than being the younger and less beautiful, princess.

If you like someone taking a twist on a fairy tale, this is a great book. It is fun and inventive. And you might find yourself falling in love with Liam. I did. ;)

Review: Thirteen Reasons Why

The last book I just read is a book that takes a look into how all of our lives are interconnected with everyone else's. This is Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.

When Clay Jensen finds a package on his bed after school, he's excited. What he doesn't expect is the package to contain seven audio tapes from Hannah Baker--who killed herself two weeks before.

These are the thirteen reasons why Hannah was driven to do what she did. And Clay is one of them.

This book is an interesting insight to how one action can lead to another completely unknown consequence and how anyone could stop the snowball effect if they tried. I am sad that Hannah felt that this was the only way out, but I also feel sympathetic to some (emphasis on some) of the thirteen people she talks about on her tapes. If someone is pushing you away, if someone won't talk to you, how can you help her? Do you keep pushing, or will that make it worse? Or do you do what you think she wants you to do and just leave? And, when she does do something drastic, can you truly blame yourself in retrospect?

It is a bit depressing, so the next book I'm reading is a fluff book and I'll make sure to review it.

What's For Dinner?

Garlic Lemon Pasta! Here's how you make it!

Take a pat of butter and melt in a frying pan. Then mince one clove of garlic and add to butter with a pinch dried onion. When the garlic is slightly brown, add a dollop or two of sour cream, a splash of milk and a squeeze of lemon juice. Mix together. Add one generous shake of lemon pepper, and a few shakes of parmesan cheese. A dash of salt and some parsley. Mix together and stir until thick. Put on top of your favorite pasta. Toss and sprinkle with more parmesan cheese and parsley.

This makes a tangy and slightly sour pasta sauce (the cheese lessens the tang and sour just enough). So good!

Enjoy!

Memories

So I was looking through my highschool yearbooks today and I realized something: it's kind of amazing how looking at highschool yearbooks can make you feel both happy and sad at the same time. Happy to see that people you are still friends with, sad to see the people you've lost.

How bad is it that out of all the people I went to school with for 3 (or 6 or 12) years, I can't even remember half of them that signed my yearbook?

The past is past and I guess I can't dwell on the what-ifs and missed opportunities. Just got to keep going through this life one day at a time.

Banned Book Review: The Giver

I decided that since I promote the reading of a banned book during Banned Books Week, I should myself read a banned/challenged book. For my banned book I read The Giver by Lois Lowry.

The Giver has been on the 100 most challenged/banned books for several years, though it is one of Lowry's most loved books. The reason parents gave to banning it was that they said it promoted infanticide, abortion, and euthanasia.

To which Lowry responds, "They obviously haven't read it . . . it's really a moral book."

And I agree with her. It doesn't promote any of that. True, infanticide and euthanasia do take place in the book, but the main character, Jonas, realizes how horrible it is and wants to change it.

This is what I think of the book. It isn't entertaining--it isn't supposed to be. But it is interesting and moral. It is a book that celebrates our agency, and individuality. The people in the community presented in the book think they are happy, or have emotions, but they don't know because they have never known true happiness, or sadness. As a Mormon, this just intensified what we have learned about needing opposition in all things--that is how we know when we are truly happy and blessed. Life is hard, and it's painful at times, but isn't it worth going through those small moments so we can understand love and happiness?

I think that anyone who has ever read this book will see that Lowry is not promoting euthanasia, but instead, letting us know that not having any memory of the past is going to make our present and future insignificant.

Anyone else read a banned book this week?