I've Got the World on a String, or, Rather, a Shower Curtain

Confession: I sometimes fall prey to silly and irrational fears. Today's example: the possibility of a killer hiding behind my shower curtain. I'm sure most of you have heard people joking about checking behind the shower curtain before going to the bathroom to avoid being surprised by a crazed lunatic with a knife (it could happen!). Yes, I sometimes do this. Anyway, I was in the shower yesterday and the thought occurred to me, as it sometimes does, that someone could sneak into my bathroom and kill me in the shower (Psycho, anyone?).  As usually happens when this thought arises, I cursed my shower curtain for its opacity (is that a word? It should be).

This thought connected with the fact that I've been thinking about redecorating my bathroom for a while. I haven't been able to find a shower curtain that I really liked (granted, I'd only looked on walmart.com and in the store...). I decided that a clear-ish curtain might be a good choice, and then I remembered the world map.

When I visited my brother in Nashville a few months back, I discovered that his apartment featured a shower curtain with a colorful map of the world printed on it. I thought this was pretty awesome, plus educational. In addition, my brother told me that, occasionally, when discussing a particular place and becoming mystified as to its location, either he or his roommate would shout out "To the Map Room!", at which point the two men would enter the bathroom to ascertain the location of the place in question. I just think that's awesome.

And so my journey began. It ended up being an incredibly short journey, as I went to the Target website first and discovered the shower curtain in question on the first page of shower curtains. I placed the curtain in my virtual shopping cart, selected some new curtain rings (my old ones are getting...well, you know), and ordered! I now await the arrival of this beauty:

Isn't is awesome? (This image, of course, belongs to Target.)

And don't worry; I know that this is potentially kind of cheesy. I have plans to keep it classy, or as classy as a world map shower curtain can be... Either way, I'm super excited and looking forward to the day that I can call out "To the Map Room!"

Buckle Up For Another Effect

Confession: I sometimes get distracted by other things and this blog gets nudged down a little lower on my list of priorities. There, I said it. I tend to post somewhat sporadically due to the other things going on in my life. I have a couple of personal projects (not to be confused with Personal Progress, haha) that I'm really excited about and that tend to get attention before this blog. I apologize to all of you who may or (more likely) may not hang on my every blogged word. Moving on...

As readers of this blog know, I like to expound on various "effects" that I notice in everyday life. The effect I would like to discuss today is the Audrey Hepburn effect. I love Audrey Hepburn. Sabrina, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Paris When It Sizzles, Roman Holiday...the list goes on. Every time I watch a movie with Audrey Hepburn in it, I'm struck by her incredible class. She's impeccably dressed and carries herself with such grace that I'm instantly jealous every time. It makes me want to redo my wardrobe in sixties shifts and do my hair in fancy, perfect updos. She's just so fancy I can't stand it!

What I also love about Audrey Hepburn is that she was also beautiful inside. Her work with UNICEF in later life is truly something to admire (even more than her fabulous looks). In short, she is fabulous in many, many ways.

I guess this post is a little short, but oh well. Now you can all run off and watch your favorite Audrey Hepburn movie, knowing I won't judge you if you're suddenly inspired to copy Sabrina's pixie cut or run off to Rome in hopes of meeting Gregory Peck.

Have fun with that :)

Snapshot

Confession: I am a bit of a blog stalker. Don't judge; we all do it! Well, most of us, anyway. I enjoy reading people's blogs because I feel that what a person writes is, as the title of this post suggests, a snapshot of their life and personality.

I especially like the personality aspect. This is part of why I enjoy blogging about random things, rather than the mundane events of my everyday life. I feel that anyone reading this blog will get a pretty good idea of who I am: a nerdy, big-word-using, hopeless romantic who likes to turn amusing anecdotes into dramatic tales, suffers from an odd set of fears, and, on a more serious note, has a strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Anyway, I was reading the blog of a recent acquaintance earlier this evening, and was pleased that this blog included a good mix experiences in this person's life as well as a generous smattering of opinions and commentary on various life...things. It really made me feel like I'd been given a look at who that person is and what they're like on a day-to-day basis.

Don't get me wrong; I love reading about what's going on in the lives of my family and friends. All I'm saying is that I especially love reading about who the writer of the blog is, rather than simply what they do.

Moderation in all things, eh?

Back to School, Back to School...

Confession: I love school. There, I said it. All teenagers reading this blog (if there are any, and I don't think there are) may now scream and groan aloud. I love many things about school, specifically college; more specifically, my alma mater: Utah State University.

I could say that these musings came about as a result of the upcoming beginning of the school year. I could say that, as the second year of my not being in school comes upon me, I'm growing nostalgic. This is not the case, though I am feeling a tad nostalgic.

Actually, these ponderings came about as a result...of a food craving. I was at work the other day and thought to myself, "Gee, I'd really love a Marv 'n' Joe right about now". For those who don't know, a Marv 'n' Joe is a Utah State specialty, made at Hazel's in the Hub. It involves provolone cheese, tomato, garlic spread, salt, and pepper (though I always got it without the pepper) toasted on the bread of your choice (I always got white). It is delicious.

Food is one thing that I miss about being on campus. In addition to the fabulous Marv 'n' Joe, there's also the Scotsman dog (cheese filled hamburger in the shape of the hot dog) and asiago cheese bagels (okay, I know you can get these other places, but the ones are campus are really good).

I also miss the feel of being on campus: being able to sit for hours doing homework without anyone bothering you, taking naps on the leather couches without the fear of being judged, taking in the gorgeous views of the mountain and the valley. The Utah State campus is lovely year round.

But I don't just miss campus; I do miss being a student. Don't mistake me; I'm extremely glad that I've got my English degree, complete with official diploma. I just miss a few things. I miss structured learning. I loved every one of my English classes. I loved being in a room of people who are just a little bit crazy, taking apart texts and sharing insights with each other. I miss laughing at jokes that only English majors get.

I miss buying books, and slowly letting the desire to buy all new books fade away into the reality of needing to buy used to save money, then trying to decide the level of quality you want when surfing for the books on amazon. Ah, school.

Now, to make it fair, I should mention a few things that I don't miss about school.
-I don't miss homework. I liked most of the reading I had, and I even enjoyed paper writing, but I didn't enjoy having to do those things. I now love the fact that at any given moment, I don't have any pressing business. I mean, I still have things I need to do, but I can generally rearrange things if something comes up.
-I don't miss being on campus in the winter. During this cold, incredibly long season, the canyon winds get going strong enough to literally take your breath away. I spent one especially frigid winter with the hood of my very thick coat up and my scarf covering my mouth so just my eyes were showing. Very, very cold.

I'm sure there's more on either side of the list, but there they are. Thanks for indulging in this moment of remembrance with me :)

The Pot in the Potty

Confession: I am just a little bit pure and innocent and have no idea what pot smells like, or at least I didn't up until a couple of days ago. (Side confession: the title of this post is slightly Bones inspired.)

Enter Saturday. I went to Hogle Zoo with my parents and my brother and his family. Near the end of our tour of the zoo, we ladies stopped off for a restroom break, as ladies often do. The stalls were all full, so I had to wait for a bit, a little impatient due to the loudly screaming child somewhere in the facility (I'm sure you're all loving this part of the story, but it's related, I promise). Soon enough, however, a door opened and a woman about my age came out. She had a weird look on her face, but I just dismissed that because there are weird people all over the place, so why not the zoo? Anyway, I walked over to the stall she had recently vacated, only it wasn't vacated! I opened the door and accidentally bumped it into another woman's back. I apologized and left to find another stall, noticing a small puff of odd smelling smoke suddenly in front of my face. Not knowing what it was (remember the part where I'm pure and innocent? Please allow yourself a moment to chuckle at my expense. Really, it's okay.), I walked away, wondering if perhaps the women were tag-teaming in an effort to get the mysterious screaming child to calm down (I didn't see anything other than the woman's back, so it could have happened).

Of course, I was soon informed, by way of my sister in-law, that the mysterious puff of smoke had been from the women smoking pot in the bathroom stall (it was at this point that I understood why the first woman had been smiling so strangely). I looked around for the women in the area surrounding the restroom, but they were nowhere to be found.

Anyway, there's the story. Pot-smoking in the zoo bathroom. And with hundreds of children around! Ugh. That's not cool in my book.

Here's a Fun Fact...

Confession: I am a major nerd (also a dork - yes, there's a difference), and I'm proud of it.

I've always been relatively nerdy/dorky, but I've been especially letting my nerd flag fly lately. I suppose it started one day when I was contemplating a couple of nerdy tee shirts that I own and my general love for that sort of thing. As it often does (or use to, anyway) a little voice in my head pushed through and reminded me that I'm nearly 26 years old and need to act my age. I usually try to be somewhat mature in the presence of people I don't know well, and for some reason I've had this idea that being 25 is somehow beyond the reach of being young and crazy. Yes, in many ways, 25 is a ripe age for being adult and self reliant, but here's the thing: only in Utah is 25 considered an age to fully grow up. It's really easy to get caught up in the fact that the majority of my graduating (high school) class is married with multiple children and consider myself an old maid who needs to start planning the rest of her life.

Anyway, I realized that I'm still really young, and that means that I can very much get away with being a nerd, including the wearing of crazy tee shirts. This is my official "nerdclaration": I am a nerd. I love anything related to old school NES and Star Wars (the originals - not much for the new ones). I watch Bones, Castle, and Chuck. I pick apart grammar and punctuation (I guess we always knew I was that kind of nerd). I analyze things in TV shows, and I'm a 'shipper. I'm constantly quoting movies and TV shows, and I have an appreciation for all things 80's pop culture. I know enough random facts to do pretty decently while watching Jeopardy! I bought a pair of big nerd glasses, just for fun. I even have a nerdy twitter name: nerdcissistic (follow me if you like). This is a big part of my personality that I've been hiding from a lot of people because I was afraid they would think I was a weirdo, but I don't so much care anymore.

So now you all know. My nerdiness has been exposed to the world :)

Update

It occurs to me that it's been nearly two months since I last blogged, and so here I am, type-typing away, to rectify that.

I can't quite say that I've been busy, per se, though I have recently taken part in such activities as going to Nashville for my brother's law school graduation and having a job interview where I waited on a bench that I was too short for (feet, high heels and all, dangled in the tense pre-interview air). Also exciting: I'll soon be heading for Missouri to attend my friend's wedding (in the Nauvoo temple!). I'm really looking forward to seeing Suzanne after so long, and also to go on this exciting adventure with my friend, Nikki.

At the same time, I've been a little bit less busy than usual. For nearly eight years, I've been the girl who dutifully attended every single ward prayer, Family Home Evening, and any other activity that my ward at the time happened to plan (not that anyone was forcing me to attend; I really did enjoy ward activities). After starting at a new ward a few months ago, however, I realized that I was a little burned out of the whole ward social scene. I've changed wards twice in the past year, each time leaving behind a group of friends and a boy or two with whom I had been attempting to build at least a friendly relationship in hopes that it would go somewhere. I was tired of having to start over again, tired of trying to make and keep everyone in the ward as friends, tired of trying to build up the courage to talk to guys in an attempt to get a date, and tired of trying to keep up with all the ward gossip of who was dating whom. So this time, I opted out.

Now, I know what you're thinking: "Michelle, this isn't healthy! You're missing out on so much, and you'll never get yourself married off this way!" I am aware of these things. I'm not planning on sitting on the sidelines forever; I just need a break. I need some time to go to church for the sole sake of going to church.

I discovered that I had a friend in the ward from a previous ward, who introduced me to her friends in the ward, and that's all the social business that I need for now. I go to church to feel the Spirit, take the Sacrament, and learn about the gospel. The end. And I like it.

Now, lest you all band together to stage some sort of intervention, I assure you that this isn't a forever decision. If all goes well, I'll soon get a new job and move again into my own apartment, and I fully intend to socialize in whichever ward I end up. Conversely, if I still don't have a new job by the time school is back in and my current ward is no longer combined with another for the summer, I'll make an effort to reach out and be more social.

So there you have it. There's no need to worry for me; I just need a break.