Sunday, February 21, 2010

I don't mean for it to slip my mind

Something else that happened Friday night at the party was I kept saying all these really funny things. For some reason when I get into social situations I just have to be funny. I have to make comments in a serious deadpan voice that are just hysterical. Apparently.

Thank goodness they all laughed -- though maybe not, since laughter is encouraging to my little comedienne tendency.

Nothing I said was memorable, though; at the end of the night we couldn't remember a single funny thing I'd said. So I guess I wasn't that funny.

Anyway, it reminded me of that first horrible week in March, when I thought that I might like to be a comedian because of all the good stories I had to tell, and then forgot them all. I should've written them down.

I was about to say, "Well, that's a note for the future because I'm going to be funny again sometime" but then I thought about it: How will it look if I'm at some sort of social gathering and every time I say something that people laugh at I whip out a little notebook or something and write it down, right then? I'm self-centered enough already.

Yeah, maybe it's best to just forget all my shining moments of hilariousness.


"White Light"

Saturday, February 20, 2010

windshield view and your hands steady on the wheel

Had another trip down south yesterday, to meet the incredible Chilly and our friends Paperback Writer and Alishka. It was a lot of fun!

And I really like driving. If I can put in a CD or listen to good music, I can just go. Singing along, speeding the whole way, both hands on the wheel.

My competitive side comes out when I drive. I like to be faster than the person trying to pass me. (Within reason; I do let a lot of people pass me.) I often like to be faster than the person in front of me too. My one speeding ticket two years ago was because I was mad at all the people passing me so forgot to slow down for the speed trap.

Despite that little tendency, I think I'm a good driver. Okay, yeah, I've wrecked all the cars we own (except the one I drive now) but there were definitely extenuating circumstances and the things I hit weren't moving! So there.

I got really lost last night, too. I often think that the minimal directions will be sufficient so I can miss important information like how far along each road I'm supposed to go. Or maybe even where I'm supposed to turn. But I still made it to my destination! Both times! (Leaving Chilly's house was really scary; I couldn't find my directions anywhere and so I was following Alishka but then I lost her and I didn't even know which way I was driving...it was intense.)

So, even though I sometimes run into things, and I can get a bit lost, and I love to go really fast, I am still a great driver. I am just awesome, you guys, that's the point of this post. It's the point of every post!


"Shasta (Carrie's Song)"

Sunday, February 14, 2010

on a February holiday

May I just say, today has been the best Valentine's Day in memory. To celebrate I wore pink, cleaned the kitchen, and played all the love songs in my Voice Student binder (which is hefty). I'm so glad that I'm satisfied with that! (Other great things happened today too, but they don't count as celebration.)

Oh, plus we talked a bit about love in church, which, what could be better? Divine love is amazing. (And I really do mean "we". About 10 minutes of that discussion was me.)

Since I did so much creating today, I really felt like spectating. But I also felt like I should write a little bit. So, once I got sick of spectating (there's only so many times one can check the Forbidden Site That I Supposedly Swore Off This Month) I came here, told myself I was giving in to the natural man, and wrote a good few paragraphs of my story! Not the one I was planning to work on, but progress is progress!

There's nothing to spectate anyway, and I'm really pleased that I was able to be so productive today. If playing piano for an hour counts as productive.

Well, this post falls pretty low on the "actually convince other people you can write" scale, which means it goes against the purpose of this blog.

But I don't really care, because I'm just so cheery I thought I ought to talk about it. Have a great day!

"City Hall" ~ Vienna Teng

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

for it's my thoughts that bind me here

*sigh*

Remember this post? (Briefly: my imagination goes crazy before/after dates or major social engagements replaying what I should have said or done.)

Turns out, even when I have perfectly satisfactory dates or major social engagements I can't win. I'll be able to sleep just fine that night, pleased as punch that I didn't say anything awkward, or neglect to do anything I regret omitting, but in the next couple nights my imagination will start to badger me about the smallest things:

"Couldn't you have smiled right then? I know you smiled nicely the rest of the night but you were neutral-faced just then and you look better when you smile" or "How about next time you try to not sound like you're from Utah quite as much?"

For. Crying. Out. Loud.

I think it's a case of "One Additional Bay Leaf" here*. For the record, I have like zero Utah accent. And I'm still immensely satisfied with my recent social endeavors. I just exhibit occasional craziness. Any advice on how to make my imagination shut up?

"My Medea" ~ Vienna Teng


*In case you don't get the reference, try this.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

I've done this many times before you

Little-known fact: I have the hardest time not starting every written communication (blog post, email, etc.) with "So." I just erased it from the beginning of this paragraph because I realized it's not the best habit ever.

That's not what I was going to say, though.

I was going to mention the little-known fact that I'm obsessed with my hair (maybe you can tell, given the number of times I mention it on my blog). I love it! Always have. The lack of it was really quite sad.

However, it's now at a length where I don't know what to do with it. My usual hairstyle is "I can't do a thing with it, so I stuck my head in the sink and gave up." Which is not super attractive. I need some serious help, but I don't know what to do, or even what looks good! I don't know who to talk to about this, either.

So, there's both an occurrence of "so" and something that's been on my mind the last couple days -- every time I look in the mirror, really.

In other news, I got my stitches out today. Not nearly as traumatic a story as getting the drain out (though it hurt more than I hoped -- last time I got stitches out I was in chemo so I don't remember a thing), but still a happy healing step! Now I just go to physical therapy for a couple more weeks (that's all the insurance will allow) and hopefully after that no one will ever be able to tell what a gimp I am.

Completely self-centered post of the day? Check!


"Watershed" ~ Vienna Teng

Monday, February 1, 2010

all my books

This year I've decided to actually keep track of the books I read! I have read so many books over the years and I've forgotten most of them. Unfortunately, the year so far has been pretty slow -- for some reason I just don't feel like reading very often. Still, here's the list for the month:


January 2010 (honorable mention goes to The Help, I read it the day after Christmas)
1. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
2. Austenland by Shannon Hale
3. Betraying Season by Marissa Doyle
4. First Light by Rebecca Stead
5. The Extra-Ordinary Princess by Carolyn Q. Ebbitt
6. The School of Fear by Gitty Daneshviri
7. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith
8. The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith
9. Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith
10. Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith
11. 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith
12. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling*
13. The Rules by Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider
14. Espresso Tales by Alexander McCall Smith

*A note about this one: I didn't actually read it all the way through in order. It was in the bathroom for a few days and I ended up reading the whole thing.

Definitely a pattern there at the end. And I've still got one more of them to read.


"Nothing Without You" ~ Vienna Teng

floral