Stupid, ugly word

I really, really, really, super hate it when people use the "F" swear word on Facebook. It's an ugly word and it's never necessary. There are so many other ways to get your message across. I realize it's just a word and it's my choice to be offended, but people use it because they know that it has a shocking effect on people. They know it's a swear word and they're trying to get attention. Or they're just lazy...that's always a possibility.

Yes, I have been known to ask people to refrain from using it when I'm around. There are those that are jerks and keep using it afterward BECAUSE they know for sure that I won't like it. To those people I want to say (with extreme sarcasm): "Oooh! Look how cool and edgy you are, using a word that no one else in the whole world has ever used to display their dissonance with the rest of the world. Wow. You really put me in my place."

Even worse is when the offender uses the word because they are angry about something, and when someone says something to them about the swearing the offender gets defensive and starts berrating me for focusing on the word instead of the very valid difficulties they are going through. Guess what? I care about you and will help in any way I can, but when you use language you KNOW is going to offend people, you distract them from the important issue and push them away. Nobody wants to hang out with someone who is so self-involved they don't show any respect even to people who love them.

Sometimes the WAY you say something is just as important as the actual message you are trying to convey.

Happily, once in awhile someone says that they respect that I was brave enough to stick up for myself. Then they are careful to use more respectful language around me. I know can't control whether they do or not, and if they slip up afterward I don't get offended because I know they're trying, but I'm glad that I did what I could. Sometimes people just don't realize I am offended, and if I'm nice they'll be nice back.

I hate the "F" word. I've never needed to use it, and I hope I never do. Its yucky connotation pains me every time I hear it.

Now to try to remember how to block those people's posts from showing up on my feed, and to decide if it's even worth doing. Sigh...

Pre-Halloween Weekend

For the last couple of years, Halloween has been my favorite holiday. This year, though, I'm just not feeling it. This did not stop me from buying multiple bags of candy. I justified the bag of Hershey's plain chocolate bars by reasoning that I could use them for s'mores, but then I bought a bag of marshmallows which means I'm actually going to make s'mores which are probably more fattening than a couple of peanut butter cups. Seriously, though. Doesn't making s'mores in a toaster oven in the comfort of my own cozy home on a snowy day sound heavenly? Heavenly!

But, in consequence of my Halloween-apathy, I didn't put much thought into a costume until last Saturday, and that was because I was invited to a costume party. My Sleeping Beauty costume doesn't fit me quite right anymore and I wanted to try something else anyway. The theme for the party was "come as your favorite literary character." I don't know that I have a favorite, but as mentioned a few posts again I LOVE Harry Potter, but I didn't want to be Harry himself, so I came up with the brilliant idea to break out the blue hair goo Steph gave me for my birthday a few years ago (thank goodness I have a bit left!) and go as Tonks! Sure, pink hair was more in character, but I had blue and I wanted to wear it! I threw on my Hogwarts t-shirt, Gryffindor scarf, turqouise chucks, and grabbed a chopstick and I was set!

I was halfway to the friend's house when I noticed on the party invitation that the party was on Friday. As in, the day before Saturday, which was the current day. I had missed the party by an entire day!

Boy did I feel dumb. I went to my parents' house instead. I figured they might be baby-sitting and I thought my nephew would get a kick out of my hair. Well, no kids, but fortunately my parents were there and oohed and ahhed enough for me to feel less silly.

(My hair looked bluer in person than it does in this photo)

At least I had a costume! And I was started to get excited about Halloween!

Friday (instead of going to the party) I went to Frightmares with my friend Carrie. She and I took advantage of the 2 for 1 offer that night to support our Kiss Me Kate friends who were performing in the shows. Geez, our friends are talented! I love that they can be, like, party planners by day and then dress up as Dracula and dance and sing all night long. Not professional actors, but with their level of skill they could be. (Wait, maybe they are part-time professional since they are paid...?) Carrie was nice enough not to make me go to a haunted house. Instead, we rode all the awesome rides I didn't get to do when I went in the summer. I do love a good roller coaster!

above: Carrie and I. I'm still not sure if a genie and a pirate go together! (Update: I get it! It's a sheik and not a pirate! The stupid jacket was throwing me off!)
below: Carrie and I with Gray after the Vampire show. Loved hearing him sing "Smooth Criminal." He is so fun to watch!

below: Carrie and I with the monsters after their show, particularly Aaron (Frankenstein) and Trevor (Dracula). We were glad we watched both shows because they had different solos in each.

I've got to do another show with these people!

Reasons girls like winter

I'm not even going to pretend this is not true:


Apparently some crazy people are claiming that there was snow yesterday. I didn't see it, but I DID see snow today, so I am stating now that we have officially had the first snowfall!

And now that it's over with, we'll get another warm spell and have another four or five weeks of fall before winter officially arrives.

Utah weather sure is bizzarre. Thank goodness for the Weather channel, otherwise I'd never know when to start wearing a coat...

"Next summer, last film, Edinburgh..."

Once upon a time, my brother David introduced me to Harry Potter and I was smitten. I was smitten with the characters, the details of the story, the Britishness of the descriptions and dialogue, and the delightful world of magic and wonder that J.K. Rowling dreamed up. I was also inspired by the fact that it was so popular among young children. How many writers can honestly say that they inspired such a huge chunk of our rising generation to put down their video games and read? This was one of the main reasons I studied English: I wanted to be a part of something like this that could change how so many people experienced the world.

Fast-forward two years when I found the official Warner Brothers web site and the Harry Potter chat rooms. I started writing fanfiction, reading fanfiction, and getting to know people from all around the world (contrary to the condescending beliefs of those who think they are cooler than Harry Potter, it was not just little 13 year olds... and would that have been so sneer-worthy if it had been?)

My core group of friends were known as the Harry Potter Prats. There were twelve of us and we chatted under "Pratty" pseudonyms; mine was "Dizzy." The eldest Prat was maybe in her fifties and the youngest was about fifteen. Some of us lived in the States and some were in Ireland or England or Germany. But we cared about each other and supported each other (they were so proud when I graduated from University) and had a lot of fun talking about whatever came to our minds.

When I left school I didn't have as much access to the internet -- at least at home -- and slowly and sadly my association with my beloved Prats disintigrated. I had a succession of jobs, did a bajillion plays, saw every HP movie that came out multiple times, and once in awhile remembered who I had been during my Pratty days and how much I grew as a writer and a person with their influence.

Fast-forward to last year when I found a bunch of them on Facebook. Yay! I was so glad to "see" them again! Plenty of things had changed for us all, but our love for Harry Potter and our interest in each other hadn't changed a bit. I've had so much fun getting reacquainted.

Yesterday, Nutty Prat posted the following on our Group wall:

"Hey Prats... next summer, last film, Edinburgh... yay or nay?"

Oh. My. Freaking. Goodness.



My brain exploded just a little. I love, love, love this idea! To see the final Harry Potter film in Scotland would be almost cooler than seeing the third Star Wars film in London (yes, I did get to do that, and I understand if you hate me now)! I mean, isn't that where Hogwarts is supposed to be located? Not to mention that I've always wanted to go to Scotland and here is the perfect excuse. PLUS I'd finally get to meet the Prats! I love the idea of my Harry Potter obsession coming full circle by seeing the movie in Scotland with people that I know love the series as much as I do.

I looked up flights yesterday, and some of the others are looking up lodging information.

This is something to think about. "What's to think about?!" you might be saying. Well, first, I just can't do anything impulsively. It's not in my nature. Second, I'm not sure I'll have the vacation time from work. I'm tentatively planning a trip to Italy and Greece which would already carve a lot out of my alotted three weeks, and Scotland is too far to go for just a few days (since I've never been there I'd want to look around a little). However, we all know I like to save my money, so if I'm allowed to take non-paid time off I might do that; I wouldn't starve, although my third concern is that financing two trips to Europe in one year might decimate my savings a bit much for my comfort. Fourth, I'm worried that I don't actually know these people. Of course, Facebook has made it harder for most people to hide their identities, and I've gotten pretty good at spotting the freaks and weirdos and none of my Prats fall into either of those descriptions (if you happen to think Harry Potter fans are weird, you might disagree with my assessment). Am I brave enough to have a crazy-awesome time with a bunch of relative strangers? Is that a good enough reason not to go?

There will always be reasons not to go, but I really, really want to go anyway. I think this is something that I'll talk with a bunch of people about and ultimately decide to do because, really, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. For most of the Prats this would be a little weekend jaunt -- similar to travelling from Salt Lake to Cedar City in Utah -- I think I would be coming from the furthest away!
How many people can say they have friends on another continent that they can go visit? And how much would I regret not going?

(I would be lying if I were to say that I haven't thought that I might meet a handsome, kind Scottish man who would fall passionately in love with me and me with him a la Maid of Honor...although *SPOILER ALERT* in my story my Scottish man and I would live happily ever after together.)

Oh...this idea has been planted in my mind. It makes me happy just to think about it. How can I ever feel sorry for myself when opportunities like this make up the reality of my life?

Hooray for my Prats! I'm so glad we've found each other again!!!!

Doing a Christmas Play!

Four weeks ago when a seeming large percentage of my theatre friends reported that they were cast in A Christmas Carol at either Rodgers Memorial or Hale Centre Theatre, I felt like I was the only person left in the world who wasn't in a Christmas play. I was actually more sad about that than the fact that I wasn't cast in a show. There's just something lovely about singing Christmas carols (yes, I like listening to them starting November 1st, though some complain that's too early). Christmas/holiday songs are full of optimism and kindness and joy and cheesiness and contentment; they just make me feel happy. Getting to start singing them in September because I'm in a Christmas show is AWESOME! But when I'm not in a show, and it isn't snowing yet, and I can't get excited about Halloween for some unknown reason, and my birthday is another ten-and-a-half months away, I feel a little sad.

Hmmm... that paragraph took a different direction than I thought it would.

Anyway, I had wanted to audition for West Jordan Arts/Sugar Factory Playhouse's production of The 1940's Radio Hour. It was a busy and stressful day, but I grabbed some sheet music the day before and practiced a bunch. I was hoping there wouldn't be a huge line because I had some other things I wanted to do that night. And then, on my way, I checked my music and realized I didn't have the pages I needed (I have not been able to find them, either. Grr!) So, I had a mini-tantrum in my head, drove home, and decided it was a sign not to audition. I struggled a bit with that choice, especially when I discovered a bunch of my friends were cast and I thought about the terrific songs in the script, but I made peace with it because there were several other shows I wanted to audition for.

However, I was starting to feel restless. If I didn't do a play, I needed to do something. I've been busy and I've had a lot of fun, but I have a difficult time with weeks where I don't have plans. Last week when I was sick I didn't see anybody all week and I didn't like it! I like the structure of a rehearsal schedule and having something to count on.

Wednesday, a friend from Seven Brides who is now in the Radio Hour sent me an e-mail. He said that one of the lead females had quit and that he thought I'd be great in the role. He suggested that if I was interested I should call the director, Rosalie. I was and I did! I felt a little foolish leaving the message, but she called me back yesterday and asked if I could come and audition with another girl before rehearsal.

So, I frantically pulled out a couple of different sheet music options. Rosalie had mentioned the pianist might not be there that night, so I had an "if there's a pianist" option and a "gonna sing this a capella" option. I was actually glad when there wasn't a pianist and I got to sing "Young and Healthy" from 42nd Street (I need to find some sheet music for it). I felt really good about my performance. The other girl was good, and I love the song "Gimme Gimme" from Thoroughly Modern Millie, but when she started at the beginning of the song I thought, "Oh, no! The ending would have been a much stronger choice and would have shown off your voice so much better!"

I was really excited when I discovered that the part they needed filled was Ann Collier. She sings "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" which is one of my favorite songs! As Rosalie described the character and had us read a few things, I realized how like me the character is. And my hopes grew a little stronger.

After the audition I ran over to some friends to say "Hi," and that was when the director offered me the part and asked me to stay for the rest of the rehearsal! Hooray! So I said, "yes" and met everyone and now we have about the first third of the show blocked.

So, I'm in a play! A Christmas play! And I get to sing a couple of terrific songs and work with terrific people and be a little busy again. I am thrilled! My first rehearsal is done and we'll perform during selected dates in December. It's going to be fun!

Another reason to hate Tuesdays

Today, I heated up a lean cuisine meal for lunch, waited a minute or two, grabbed the meal from the microwave, and walked it to my desk. Everything was hunky-dory until I tried to remove the plastic cover.

That's when the dish flipped over onto my hand and arm.

Apparently I screamed because several people came running. I must have been in shock because I thought they just happened to walk by (also, I'm not normally a screamer). I was standing over the trash can and I immediately dropped the whole thing into it. I could feel my hand burning so I ripped off my brace and (slowly) reached over and grabbed my full water bottle, complete with ice, and dumped about half of the water onto my hand which washed off a lot of but not all of the scalding sauce. Then I calmly walked to the break room where I poured some more of my bottle on my hand while I waited for a coworker to finish washing his dishes.

By the time I thoroughly washed my hand it had already started to blister. Laura helped me clean up and then washed my sweater and brace while Greg found an ice pack and some burn ointment.

Then, since I'd dumped my lunch in the garbage, I walked to McDonald's and bought myself some chicken nuggets. On the way back to work I finally started to feel my hand again. The ice started to feel cold -- hooray! I knew I'd be feeling pain soon -- not hooray! But at least I wasn't so badly burned I completely fried my nerves!

I stayed at work for awhile but didn't accomplish much. When I finally decided to go home I asked Laura to tape the ice pack to my hand so I could drive home! This is what she came up with (and it worked great):


I've been soaking the hand in cold water and it has helped keep the pain at bay... with additional help from Tylenol and aspirin. Hopefully I'll be able to sleep tonight!

However, I am counting my blessings. My old sprain has been healing nicely and I considered leaving the brace home today. I also almost wore a short-sleeved cardigan. The brace and long-sleeved sweater both protected my arm and kept me from getting a much worse injury! This 2x3 burn is bad enough without it running halfway down my arm! I feel lucky.

(Note: These are the first photos I've taken since early September. *Sigh*)

October Tybbling

- I haven't taken any new photos since the beginning of September. It's been bugging me. On Saturday I went to lunch with my besty and thought "I should take my camera" but I didn't. When I got there I discovered we were both wearing purple. Then her sister joined us and she was also wearing purple. Then I went to a play that night by myself and happened to run into (figuratively) two of my favorite people and we realized we all had red or pink on (I had a red jacket on over my purple shirt). Crazy, right? I KNEW I should have carried my camera around that day!

- My family hasn't taken a vacation together since... well, it's been a couple of years. (Now I'm trying to remember the last trip. Was it 2007? Wow.) We have one scheduled and I am so, so excited!! We're going on a cruise to Mexico! Hooray for sunshine in the winter with my favorite people!

- My only sadness about the trip being so late in the year is that it will be past the deadline for adding photos to the 2011 family calendar...unless I want to get them back late. I hate missing half of January's display time! Feels like such a waste of a cute photo. I'll have to discuss this with my mom (since the calendar is usually her Christmas gift). After all, we do have a couple of good photos of the family from Peter's wedding :) But will the vacation photos be too out-of-date for the 2012 calendar? Oh, Megan. You're thinking about this way to much -- and you love it!

- Thinking of winter-time dry air makes me want to cut my hair short. It's always so dry and broken and staticky and sad by the time spring rolls around. And yet, we all know that I won't actually go through with such a drastic hair cut; I like my hair long. I might wear a lot of buns and braids, though... if only I didn't feel so unattractive when I do that.

- Last year, I posted the fewest posts of the year during September. This year -- so far -- September was the month I posted the most. Just wanted to point that out.

- I'm gearing up for some auditions and though I'm hopeful I'm also terrified. I'm out of practice, I've become lazy (and I have enjoyed it), and I don't remember how to be busy. When do I clean my house and grocery shop when I'm doing a play? If I don't get cast after auditions 3 and 4 will it hurt my self-esteem? (I hope not, especially since I'm not expecting to be cast in either. It would be cool if I were, but my goal this time is to be seen and show off what I can do!) Why do both auditions have to be the same day and why didn't I space them further apart? Will I be ready? Funny, in typing all of those questions I just got even more excited. Heehee! Please send good vibes my way! I need them!

- This is called a CAPTCHA = "Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart."

Basically, a computer cannot read the image, so this prevents spammers from automatically posting a bunch of junk on the site. I have been working on a captcha feature at work and know waaaay more about it than anyone needs to. Did you know if you click on the wheelchair image it will play an audio version of the captcha? It's nice the programmers thought to include the color blind and such :)

C'est tout!

Just the Way You Are

Just the Way You Are
by Bruno Mars

Oh her eyes, her eyes
Make the stars look like they're not shining
Her hair, her hair
Falls perfectly without her trying

She's so beautiful
And I tell her every day

Yeah I know, I know
When I compliment her
She wont believe me
And its so, its so
Sad to think she don't see what I see

But every time she asks me do I look okay
I say

When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change
Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are
And when you smile,
The whole world stops and stares for awhile
Cause girl you're amazing
Just the way you are

Her lips, her lips
I could kiss them all day if she'd let me
Her laugh, her laugh
She hates but I think its so sexy

She's so beautiful
And I tell her every day

Oh you know, you know, you know
I'd never ask you to change
If perfect's what you're searching for
Then just stay the same

So don't even bother asking
If you look okay
You know I'll say

When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change
Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are
And when you smile,
The whole world stops and stares for awhile
Cause girl you're amazing
Just the way you are

The way you are
The way you are
Girl you're amazing
Just the way you are

When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change
Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are
And when you smile,
The whole world stops and stares for awhile
Cause girl you're amazing
Just the way you are

Listen to the full song here. You won't regret it.

When I'm sick...

When I'm sick...

I keep the shades drawn, and consequently have no idea how nice or bad the weather is.

I sleep so much during the day that I don't sleep well at night, which is not condusive to a successful work day when I start to feel better.

I feel guilty calling in sick to work.

I call in sick to work... unless there's something really important going on... like today's Wellness Fair at work that is about a week too late for me. But at least I got free stuff!

I can't pretend I'm not sick. At least not up close. My friend Golnar used to say I have eyes like a baby because they get all red and watery and sad.

My mom's chicken soup is always welcome.

I start to miss people after a few days. But I don't want anyone to see me when I haven't showered or washed my hair.

I'm jealous that men can put a ball cap over their hair without looking like a total scrounge -- when I put a cap on I look like a scrounge.

Pigtails are my best friend.

Documentaries are even more boring than when I'm well. Even if I care about the subject matter.

I am grateful for pajamas. I bought some cute and comfy ones for my birthday and LOVE them.

One blanket is not enough when I'm laying on the couch.

I drink less water than I do when I'm well, even though I know it should be the other way around.

I am grateful I have no children or anyone else to take care of. I don't remember my mom or dad ever being sick. I'm sure they were, but they just had to power through. I'm enjoying the "revelling in illness" for as long as I can.

It takes me a few days to remember which medication I should probably be taking.

Blog posts sound more clever and interesting in my head than they actually turn out to be.

I am grateful when I finally notice that I feel well again.

Chocolate still tastes good.

Letters to people

Dear landing outside of my front door,
Why are you suddenly smelling so odd? And what is that smell? It's like some dentist-office/pulpotomy paste hybrid... I hope you dissipate SOOOON!


Dear Glee,
Thank you for your episode this week. It was timely and wonderful and sensitively handled. Wish all of your episodes were so tasteful.
p.s. Please consider making this a true ensemble show. Less Rachel would be appreciated.



Dear Total Player,
If you want to have a conversation, please call me. I'm bored with the cryptic and "cutesy" texts. I don't get unlimited texting, and I find that a conversation of more than 4 texts is stupid and frustrating. I believe I've told you as much at least twice. Oh, and ask me out. "Hanging out" is not a date; it's just lazy. I've only met you in person one time and I'm not comfortable with hanging out at your place with your roommates that I have never met. You may all be stand-up guys...but you might not. Better safe than sorry, and the old social norms were good for a lot of reasons.


Dear Grey's Anatomy,
Re this week's episode:
1) I understand why for narrative's sake why we needed the comic relief of Callie and Arizona stressing out about Owen and Cristina moving out. But, from a logical standpoint I spent the ENTIRE episode wondering why they don't just move into Arizona's apartment?
2) I am thirty-two and a virgin, and I plan to remain so until after marriage. I don't think that makes me a "loser" or "weird" or "pathetic." I think it makes me smart to avoid STDs and unplanned pregnancy. Thanks for treating my valid life choice like it's somehow "wrong."
3) Love that April finally said to her whiney coworkers what the rest of us were thinking. I'm liking her more and more.
4) Please don't have Cristina quit the program! I love her and don't want her to leave!!!!


Dear Besty,
Remember when I said I miss getting to see you every day, and you said "remember when we took it for granted?" I do remember, and I think we need to plan a way to make it happen again. I completely adore you.


Dear Marian in Sam's Club's photo department,
Thanks for remembering me today, and for saying I look like my mom. It's nice we've become so close this week while I've taken all of my negatives to you. You did a great job, and I'll be a customer for years to come.


Dear 1940s Radio Hour,
I'm back and forth, but I think ultimately I'm glad I didn't audition for you. The cast that I know of is brilliantly talented, and I think I'm still enjoying my "free time" a bit too much to give it up just yet. Meanwhile, auditions for two other shows I want to audition for are just a few short weeks away...


Dear weather outside,
Thank you for finally acting like October. I'm thrilled to wear my sweaters and cute boots. Three days of rain was a bit much, though. Especially since I seem to get sick every time the weather changes. Oh, well.

p.s. If any of you out there decide you don't want your pumpkin seeds after you carve your pumpkins, please give them to me. With my hand still out of commission I can't de-seed my own :(


Dear place where I work,
Boy, you sure know how to throw a party! Thanks again for the pizza, the chance to get to know my coworkers a bit better, and the bajillion arcade tokens. Nice to know I'm still good at skee-ball and Dance Dance Revolution, that I'm too short for most competitive car-racing games, I'm unlucky at Deal or No Deal, and I'm #1 at Wacky Gator. Such a lovely way to spend the better part of Friday afternoon!


Dear people who choose to look at their cell phones/palm pilots/other electronics that light up even after someone has asked them to shut them off for the duration of the play or movie,
Guess what? If you're at a play, the actors can see when a previously dark audience suddenly lights up, even if you hold it down near your feet. If you're at a movie, make sure you're the only person there, because otherwise you're going to bother someone. Turn the phone OFF and then keep it in your purse or pocket for the duration of the production. And if someone (me) does have to tell you to put it away, be polite and just do it. I am not trying to pick on you and I'm usually very nice. Obviously it bugged me enough that I just interrupted my theatre enjoyment and missed something onscreen/onstage to talk to you. I did not spend my money just to have you distract me every 10 minutes. Don't make it worse by further acting like a jerk.


Dear Sassyjose,
I stand by what I said: I think you're a better Sue Sylvester than Jane Lynch. I want you to go on Glee and play a character that's exactly like Sue, and everyone can see it but her (I don't care how overdone that plot device is). Also, I hope that you get an awesome grade on your paper. Otherwise, I'll have to send some hit men up to Montana on your behalf.


Dear cheaper-than-cheap cell phone,
I've said some unflattering, but really I am grateful that you have worked so well for the last six months. You send and receive phone calls with no problems, people hear me, I get my text messages, and it doesn't get stuck. Even though I'll be replacing you soon, I am glad you've been so good to me. I need that after the drama from the previous phone.

C'est tout!

Sincerely,
Miss Megan

Love this

(I got this image from Dustin & Becky but though I searched and searched I couldn't figure out the original creator. If I find that person I will give them credit!)
(Aaaand of course the image is too big for my page. Sigh. Sorry folks!)

I miss reading

I've been trying to read Jane Eyre since July. I like it a lot. I like that it's told from Jane's point of view and that she is so aware that she probably isn't acting like "other" people do. I love that Mr. Rochester has finally shown up and that he's also kind of an odd duck... and a total sweetheart.

But I've been working on this book since July. That's weird for me. I used to read all the time, but somehow I'm out of practice. Even though I love this book... it's just not part of my routine anymore. I don't read at traffic lights anymore. I don't generally take a break for lunch unless I have plans with someone. When I finally get to bed I'm so exhausted I just want to sleep. Instead, I'm up late getting my stories from TV or theatre or talking with a friend.

I've been listening to Stuff you missed in history class while driving to work and even during work if whatever I'm doing doesn't require a lot of thought (hooray for busywork!). It's fascinating. I'm learning a lot about historical people and events I've always been curious about. I'm even considering sending Sarah and Katie a postcard and asking them to do a podcast on something; I don't know what, yet. It's sad to me that all of that fascinating learning contributed to the near-obliteration of my reading habits. I have a hard time going back and forth from the podcast to the printed page.

I recently borrowed A Tale of Two Cities from Rach and received a couple more books for my birthday that I am really excited to read, but I want to finish Jane Eyre first because, like I said, I am enjoying the book. It's not a matter of it being too dense or long or anything, because it isn't. Whenever I sit to read it goes by really fast. It's just a matter of actually doing it.

Lately I've become more aware of some of my habits; habits I don't like and habits I used to be good at but have somehow lost over time. I'm trying to be better about the foods I eat and actually making the time to excercise, and now I'm adding making time for reading to my unofficial "Habits that are necessary to cultivate RIGHT NOW." Not going to set aside an amount of time, but I think I will set aside a period of time dedicated to reading the scriptures and other things I want to read.

Then I have to stick to it. That's the hard part. And the easy part. Just gotta do it and remind myself to keep doing it every day.

Oh books. I've been neglecting you and I'm sorry. I'll do better. Starting right now.

Turning off my computer and TV, getting ready for bed, and spending some time with Miss Eyre and Mr. Rochester.

Good night!

Photo projects

Well, I'm about five plays behind in my theatre scrapbook (not including three shows that are done except for captions), and with my arm still out of commission I won't be making any headway on them in the very near future. I haven't even printed out photos from my last two plays.

So, I've been working on some other photo projects. Have you ever noticed that there are dozens of ways to store and display old photos? Film negatives, scrapbooks, photo albums, cork boards, frames, memory cards, photo-sharing sites, digital files... I will probably be working on these projects for the rest of my life. That's okay. I'm having fun!

Now that my scanner works again, I spent quite some time last week scanning photos from junior high and high school. Fun fact: I remember more names of junior high people than high school. I love the memories! I was so fresh-faced and scrawny back then.

above: First day of seventh grade
below: Summer after Senior year

Also, this weekend I finally got around to going through all of my film negatives and sorting them. Today I took a test batch to Sam's Club and had them scan them onto a CD for me. I shopped around a bit and decided on Sam's Club because they actually had time to answer all of my questions and their prices are reasonable. Looking at the CD the resolution is great! And the photos are adorable, if I say so myself (no, they are not all of me). Here are a few. I'm so excited!



Now that I know how well it works, I'll be taking more negatives in later this week. I've been meaning to do this for at least a year. It's nice to actually be doing it.

Now to finish organizing all of my digital photos and videos and burn them onto DVDs... oh man.

Never ending.

And I don't plan to stop taking new ones any time soon.

Yaaaaaaaaaay!