Fly Away Summer

Summer is definitely moving by too fast. Classes are rapidly approaching (along with my on-campus job that I am looking forward to going back to).
I am not ready to say goodbye to summer yet, but the time has come to pay tribute to some of the summer activities I have already participated in and mention some that are still on my summer wish list.

Ultimate Frisbee: This summer my weekly Ultimate Frisbee games have taken hold. I have formed new friendships, re-established old friendships, and continue to hope that our little group will expand. I hope to keep the games going during the school year as well. Every Thursday at 7:00pm

Pool Parties: It was fun having a party at a house my friend was house-sitting (yes we had permission from the owner!). It was my first party of the summer and a good jump away from my studious school life and back in with friends.

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows part 2: I know that Harry Potter craziness has taken over the internet, facebook, T.V. commercials, and for some people life, but I have to mention it. My family and I went as the Hogwarts Founders (Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, Godric Gryfindor, and Salazar Slytherin; complete with the horcruxes of each house). We had a great time with family and friends (Who were also dressed up. We had Bill Weasley, Tonks, Random Hogwarts student, and a very young Harry Potter).


Lake Mead LDSSA Trip: Going to the lake to tube, wake board, swim, and seriously sunburn with my campus service group. It was pretty crazy. Loads of fun. I re-injured my wrist and third degree burned my legs (I know, skin cancer, too late now).

There have also been random adventures going on that don't fit exactly right in a category of their own. So here are some just honorable mentions: Hide and Seek (yes we are old and still try to play these games), teaching a boy to french braid while I am teacher and test dummy, and airsoft escapades into the desert.

Some things I still hope to accomplish but am running out of time for: Beach trip: not lake mead, salt water, ocean, sandy beach. This is the first summer in a long time that I have not had plans to venture to some sun-drenched sandy shore along the coastline. It is sort of killing me. I really love to see the ocean. I hope I can make it there before classes commence. Heading to Utah: I have not migrated up to Utah or Idaho yet this summer to see my family. Another summer oddity. And Girls' Nights. One of the things I was supposed to do this summer but seriously failed at. I neglect a lot of people during the school year, things just get crazy. But over the summer even though we vowed to do it at least monthly, I have failed.

I hope you are all having a great summer. That the fun has been great and the burns have been minimal, and that you don't have unfulfilled summer wishes like me.
Happy Summer!

Princess Penny

Sorry I've been gone so long. Things have been crazy since finals and that is really all the explanation I am going to give.

So, every little girl is familiar with princesses. They're beautiful, they sing, they talk to animals, they marry the prince and live happily ever after.
As a little girl I firmly believed that I was a princess. As I grew up and realized that there were other requirements to be a real princess, I decided that one day I would marry a prince of royal blood from another country and become a princess by marriage. The prince I selected for this was Prince Amedeo of Belgium. It hasn't worked out yet. As I approached my teenage years, I decided I would have to become a different princess all together and began researching working as Princess Aurora from Disney's Sleeping Beauty at Disneyland. Despite all my years of scheming to gain this coveted royal title (I must interject that I only want to be a princess and not a queen. Not only does 'queen' sound like a lot more work, I have this picture in mind, most likely spawned from various pictures of the almost immortal Queen Victoria, that all queens are old and mean. Victoria's son was actually quoted saying 'I can endure praying to the eternal father, but I am the only man cursed with an eternal mother') I have yet to have gained it the sense I sought. However, there have been many instances where I have become a princess for a few little girls looking for one.

One summer I babysat three little girls every day. They were between the ages of 3 to 9 and we had all sorts of activities we would do. One of which would be I would take them to a thrift store and we would try on donated fancy dresses, strange shoes, and other random things that are fun in thrift stores. One day they found a wedding dress section with three dresses on it. And we just couldn't leave until they had put one of the dresses on me. I went into the dressing room stall and emerged in full white puffy dress glory. And when I had emerged (complete with a faux flower bouquet they had found in the home decor section) their little eyes gaped in awe. When their mother came to pick them up that day, the three year old ran to her mother and said "Mom, did you know Penny is a princess? You just have to put her in a pretty dress." We all nearly fell over laughing.

The most recent time where I was dubbed a princess was around Christmas. I was working at the Las Vegas Fashion Show Mall at Bath and Body Works. I had finally escaped from a long shift (holiday hours will drive a retail girl to insanity, if the regular customers haven't already and she didn't kill anybody during Black Friday) and I was grumpy (again retail is not an easy job). I was walking out of the mall passed the Pictures with Santa line, dressed in my black slacks, black tank top, and white over-shirt, and was just shaking out my tight ponytail when I was grabbed by the hand. I look down and a little girl, who I didn't know, had attached herself to me. As I stand there stunned looking for this child's parental units who have allowed her to escape, the girl looks to the line to her concerned mother and says "Mom I want MY picture taken with the PRINCESS!" It took me a second to figure out that she was reluctantly getting her picture taken with Santa. And who really wants a fat bearded old man when you can have a picture with a princess? I leaned down to her and tried to explain that I wasn't really a princess to which I was sternly told "You're in disguise!" Who am I to argue when a little girl insists that I am a princess, especially if she found me out through my clever disguise. I walked her back in line to her mother, who was holding her not even crawling other child. I talked to the mother and asked if she would like some help from this princess. She accepted. In my princess form, I assured the girl that Santa was a good guy too, and she smiled big for the Christmas picture. And when it was all done, she did get her picture with her princess in disguise. It is strange to think that it might end up in that family's photo album and be remember as 'that one time in the mall'. To have that just floating about the world weirds me out. But I do hope to that little girl I will always remain her hidden princess.

Journey to the Mailbox

I am living in a condo. So instead of having my own mailbox at the driveway of my house, I have a community mail spot at the corner of my street. Still, I am not that far away from my mail (only four houses down). Yet there is so much that tends to happen on my journey from home to mailbox.
The following is a collection of stories of the adventures that may occur when going to get my mail.

The Shirtless Masculine Man
I was on my way to get the mail, and I catch sight of this guy walking down the street. This man was a masculine man, and has gone through a lot of trouble to be seen as being as manly as possible. He had a shaved head, was covered in tattoos, and was extremely muscular (the husky, meat head type of muscle that makes guys resemble a brick wall), and he was striding down the street with his shirt off (showing all that fabulous muscle). And yes, I was looking, totally checking out his amazingly toned physique.
Then he clears this line of cars that blocks my view of seeing anything from his waist down , and I just start laughing. This man's man, this tribute to masculine values and structure, is attached to a small, girlie, chiwawa by a pink leash. This little dog is daintily trekking by his side, looking as anti-masculine as anything possibly can.
The contrast between the two was just too much for me. This guy must have a girlfriend, a wife, or a daughter who obviously loves this little dog very much, and this guy was taking it to do its doggie business.
I hope he loves the girl he was doing this for very much, as he compromises his masculine image by walking with it.

Let Sleeping Students Slumber
There are masses of students who flock to my neighborhood because of my proximity to the college. Many of them park in my neighborhood in order to avoid buying parking permits at the school (which right now can run you $120). Students are an interesting group in and of themselves, and one of the things we students are good at is catching sleep where ever we possibly can.
It is not uncommon to see students sprawled asleep in the student union between classes, or crashed in the library. Where I work, students have dubbed one of the couches 'the nap couch'. any where there is a chair, couch, or floor, on or around campus is fair nap space for a student.
So on one walk to the mailbox, I see a car. And our one window on one side of the car there is a pair of feet sticking out. And on the other side of the car, out the other window,there is an arm.
I was curious and the car was on my way to the mailbox, so as I passed the scene I darted a passing glance into the car. There in the back seat, stretched out of each window, door to door, was a tall young man, slumbering peacefully (Yet very loudly. This kid could snore!). He was using his backpack for a pillow and was clutching his skateboard like a favorite stuffed bedtime toy. His sleeping position did not look comfortable at all, which is a distinct identifier of a sleeping, over worked, often over stressed student.
I slipped quietly passed and continued to get my mail. Trying not to laugh too loud, and wake him up.

Lots of Tiny Twisted Metal
I had made it to my mailbox safely and without incident! I grabbed my mail and was headed home.
And then it happened. the key to my adventure. Actually keys. Two clumps of community mailboxes over from mine there was a set of keys still in the lock.
It was an entire set of keys; house key, car key, mailbox key (obviously), and who knows what else (it was a hefty amount of keys). And the big problem was that there was no one else around.
I'll admit I walked away. Twice. I didn't make it home either time, and if anyone was watching me I'm sure I looked funny pacing back and forth between a power box and the mailboxes. After struggling with my conscience and brain, I ended up taking the keys from the mail box and attempted to figure out with which house they were associated.
I believe my thinking process is genius! First I stared at the mailbox where I had found the keys trying to figure out the address just by the mailbox. That was a fail, but I did figure out what street the mailboxes belonged too. Second after thinking about how much I did not want to knock on every single door on that street, I looked at the keys and saw that there was an automatic lock set for a car, with a panic button! Yay! I hit the button, and a car alarm starts to sound. Unfortunately that car alarm also sets off several other car alarms, but it did give me a smaller area to cover. After wandering around for awhile clicking the lock button I discover the car these keys go to. We have assigned parking in my complex, and the car was in a driveway.
I considered just leaving the keys on the car. I was a little nervous about being found with these keys and having an owner freak out about how I got them before I could explain. I'd freak out if a stranger showed up at my door with my keys. Eventually I got the courage to knock on the door. In the seconds that followed I was so nervous. I was praying that the car was parked in the right spot, that the person would listen to me before they got scared, and that they were home (I mean I had their keys, where could they have gone?). The door was answered by a frantic woman, who seemed frustrated and in a hurry. I held up the keys and before I could get any words out, this woman was hugging me. I'm not a person for hugs often. I'm a love from a distance type of person, so it was difficult for me not to freak out when this stranger grabbed me around the neck. After she let go, I explained the situation, babbling through most of it. She thanked me (this entailed another hug), and offered me a reward for the keys which I declined (fearful that this might mean another hug). I smiled and walked away, my quest was accomplished, a good deed was done, and another adventure was completed. I feel I worked hard to take my mail home that day.

Call of the Can
Not a lot of people send me mail. Most of what I get are Netflix movies, bills, wedding invitations, and junkmail. Most days all I get is junkmail (although lately wedding invitations have been a close second).
Thankfully, there is a trashcan right next to the mail center. One day it was all junkmail. I quickly scanned between the pages just to check and see if anything else was hiding among the advertisements, and then chucked it all into the trash can, hearing it thump to the bottom quite loudly., and walked back home.
About 30 minutes later I am frantically searching for my cellphone. I have my roommate (at the time) call it so we could find it by listening for the ring tone. The house is silent. The phone is not in the house. In full panic my mind starts racing for possible places I could have left my phone. Then I remembered the loud garbage can thump.
Like a made woman, I ran out the door, while my roommate called my phone again. I was not alone in the mail area when I dove in to the garbage can and answered my ringing cellphone. Oh no, fate is not that kind. There was a person there, an innocent bystander.
I retrieved my phone and answered it, trying to walk away from the mail like nothing had happened. Like answering a phone in a garbage can is normal. Leaving that person to wonder about a girl living in a mailbox garbage can.
Thinking back I should have picked up the phone, answered it, climbed into the garbage can, and taken the call there. Looking back this was not only my adventure to the mail, but also an adventure for that other person who saw me while getting their mail.

Oh so many adventures. Now on to the next one, as I go once more to get my mail.

Useless Super Powers

Since the beginning (don't ask the beginning of what, it is just the beginning) humans have thought about the super powers they would like to have. Invisibility, super strength, mind-reading, the power to fly, to see the future, all those fantastic amazing super powers. But we regular humans (those of us you have not reached a higher evolutionary state, been mutated by radiation, been bitten by genetically altered spiders, or who do not have mysterious origins linked to another planet) are left to dream about the powers we would like to have.
I have a theory. The Useless Super Power Theory. This theory upholds the belief that everyone is super. This does not mean that 'everyone is special'. No, it is the belief that everyone has a power. These powers do not merit a colorful spandex costume with a mask and will not help the possessor to save the world (or even a small town).
There are certain rules to the powers that fall in to this theory. 1) The person who holds the useless power can not control it. They can not be turned on or off at will. It is just a power that happens (maybe it is in the genetics, embedded into the being). And because they can not control it, they often ignore or do not realize their power. 2) Just because it is called a 'useless' super power, does not mean that the power has to be useless to the power-holder.
Useless super powers I have come in contact with include: the inability to approach a traffic light with out it turning yellow (that one is pretty useless all of the time), to know instinctively when to pick up the phone because they are about to text message before it has arrived (does not mean every time they pick up the phone they have a text message. Not one of those people), the power to make any situation awkward (not one I appreciate most of the time), the power to know when a pizza delivery is occurring in the neighborhood (even if he is not the one ordering pizza), the ability to bash your head against anything without breaking or fracturing the skull (Including a time when he knocked himself out accidentally with an aluminum bat. This is an example of a useful useless super power.), and the ability to shriek at high inhuman pitch (possibly the origin of the Banshee myths. They could have just been girls with a useless super power.)
And finally, after years of searching for my own useless super power, I have found it! My useless super power is the ability to wake up exactly one minute before my alarm goes off. It sucks! You have to understand that I do not wake up at the same time every day. I have five different alarms set on my phone and I use them all weekly, because I have to be up at different times for different classes and activities every day. So this is not a conditional thing that my body has gotten used to over time. It is not like I set my alarm for 6:30 every morning and wake up at 6:29. No, every day is different. But every day, if the alarm is set, I wake up one minute before it goes off. What a stupid useless super power I ended up with! I would rather have that one minute of sleep then to wake up and look to see I have to get up and it is not worth trying to go back to sleep to catch that one minute. The point of setting an alarm is to wake up to it. Not to wake up before it. I set my alarm to go off at the latest moment possible so I can get the most sleep. And I still am losing a minute of it!
But now you say "Well that is good. Doesn't that mean you wake up when you have to even if you don't set the alarm?" Good question, but the answer is no. If i forget to set my alarm I do not still wake up in time. Nope, I sleep past what I was waking up for, often missing it completely. My power only works when the alarm is set.
So yay, I found my useless power. And it doesn't get much more useless than that.
What useless or uncool super power do you have? Give it a good think and post in the comments. Also feel free to write the awesome super power you would like to have or would trade your useless power for.
Useless Powers Unite!

Cleaning Up

Life has periods of getting rid of stuff. Honestly, I have never been good at these moments. I am a retainer. I hold on to things because I am afraid of forgetting them. I have what I call 'the memory box', which is a real lock box in my room that contains old movie and exhibit tickets, things I drew years ago, notes passed to a friend, and even an old ring given to me in the fourth grade.
In my head I also have a memory box. It is full of things people once said or did, my own mistakes, old emotions, and a lot of troubles. I have never been able to let go of these things, both tangible and intangible.
Over the years there have been 'cleaning out' periods. Times where I let one or two pieces of old paper flutter to the garbage can, or forgiven a mistake once made. These cleaning out times are small and many things are kept, unable to be parted with.
I find myself in another cleaning out period. This one is different though. It is not a trickle, it is a massive unloading.
The things I have been holding on to for years are weighting me down. Like the ghost of Robert Marely in A Christmas Carol is weighed down and dragged to hell by the chains of his actions. Some of the actions, thoughts, messages, feelings, and even people I have kept around are holding me back from being happy and successful. And I am cleaning them out.
Some if these cleansing actions have been: deleting people from my facebook account, throwing away things given to me, deleting numbers from my phone, and ending friendships face to face. It has been hard, very hard, to do. And it hurts to let most of it go, but if I am going to move on it hast to go. I can't hold on to everything. It is affecting my relationships with good people, my grades in school, and my health.
Many people have, unknowingly, helped me out with the 'starting over'. I hung out with one person who told me that I wasn't making a mistake. They told me that I wasn't being the bad guy (not in so many words). It is amazing how much better that made me feel, finally being told that I was doing th right thing after being told so many times that I was being a horrible person. A visit from an old friend made me realize, I have been surrounding myself with people not up to my old standards of friends. I had dropped some of my values and qualities and lost myself in a lower caliber. And a boy has made me feel so loved and wonderful that past heartaches and harsh words seem to be melting away (Sappy I know. I'll keep it to a minimum, but it is still true.)
I have good things and good people around me. And if I do not let go of other things, the good things will slip away from me.
So old things are being forgotten or chucked into the garbage. New things, things that improve me, are taking their places. And although there might not be as many good and new things on the mental shelves and in the new box, they are certainly better things and there is more room for the future.
Then there are the old constant things. People and memories who have survived the tests of time. The good things I already had, have always had, but couldn't see. Those things are precious.
Here is to the new crossroad I have come to in my life. To making a good decision, to letting things go, and for a change for the better.
Life is full of comings and partings. Some of these partings should have come a lot sooner. I'm glad I received this opportunity to finally be rid of them. The future is looking roomy and bright. Now onward!

The Art of Laundry

I am a child of the modern age. And as such there are many things I have never had to do. I did not realize how much I did not know how to do.
I had always heard tell of the ancient techniques of drying things. I do remember a time when drying the dishes meant that you took a dish towel and wiped the water off. But one technique I have never had to use is the art of 'hanging things out to dry'. I have never seen a clothes line, I have only seen and held a clothes pin for bizarre art projects, and I never experienced joy in wind power. Those things have not changed.
What happened is, my roommate had left her clothes in the wash, and I really needed to do laundry. REALLY needed to do laundry. I put her clothes in the dryer for her and started it, knowing she was busy and wouldn't be home until very late. Then I put my clothes in the washer and started the cycle. There wasn't any problem with this part of the experience. It was when both machines were finished that the confusion began.
I waited for the clothes in both loads to finish, and then stood in front of the laundry room for awhile. I have been known to fold my roommates clothes and leave them on the dryer for them, but I didn't feel like being that nice. I also didn't feel mean or grumpy enough to just dump them on the table or dryer unfolded in a heap. So I got this brilliant idea to take the clothes I needed for the next day and just let them air dry. Turned out to be not the most brilliant idea.
The shirts were easy, I hung them on hangers and let them hang from my bed. It got more difficult for socks and under things. I used hangers for them too, often having to fold something in half over the hanger. Wet clothes hung from every where, and every thing in my room. I climbed into bed feeling confident at my solution to my clothes drying problem.
In the morning things went wrong.
The clothes left in folds on the hangers were still damp in places. And the wonderfully just laundered feeling and freshness I know, I found is a machine-made comfort, and a hideous lie in old movies. Towels do not dry soft and fluffy without a dryer. Shirts end up stiff and rough and I have never hated wearing socks more until I put on these stiff sleeves for my feet. My clothing was uncomfortable! I could hardly stand to wear them.
With a little wear they got a little better. But now I know that a dryer is one of the best inventions and is god-sent.
There was only one thing to do. I took the rest of my clothes off the hangers I had used to dry them, looked at the folds and wrinkles pressed in them, and took them back to the wash, giving them the proper pampering through the dryer that they and I both deserve.
What other modern convenience do we take for granted? And could we be happy and comfortable with out them?
Sounds like it is time for an experiment. What should I explore?

Beatings, Harassment, and Headaches.

So, quite frankly, today has been one of those days. You know, the kind where you're only half awake, stressed, frazzled, and low on time.
My day started with a fist fight.
I woke up and took a shower at the ridiculous time in the morning of 6:00am. I had to get ready for class. Things were normal. I was tired. I get out of the shower, put on my bathrobe and return to my room, where I am frontally assaulted by a tall figure. That's right, I was attacked in my bedroom while I was nearly naked. But don't worry. I kicked butt...well...helium.
That's right my attacker was a balloon. Remember that sweet post I wrote about Valentine's Day and my dad buying my mom roses? And every year he gets me a balloon and chocolate? This year I got my balloon and it is still alive and floating. I have kept it in my room pinned to my clothes hamper, but this morning it got loose. The balloon suffered very little damage (Not sure how I feel about this. What does it say about my fighting? Or does it comment on balloon resistance?)and is now more firmly affixed to my bed at ceiling height to avoid further scares and conflicts.
But that is not all that happened today. Oh no! Next came my accidental harassment of a bum. I was walking home from school and my neighborhood is not high-brow, but it isn't the slums either. But on my brief journey home there are these two guys leaning against a wall. One smiles and stops me and utters a guttural string of undecipherable symbolic sounds. I didn't understand him so I asked him to repeat his question. He looks terribly confused at me, not expecting this and says (this is a phonetic spelling, please bare with me) "Doo ye-ah ave sooom chieanges?' Again I didn't understand him so I so articulately asked "What?" again. He looks at me, like I am the one who must be mentally slow and asked 'Do you have some change?' The whole thing was still very slurred but I finally understood what he was asking. I started laughing, probably looking like a total maniac. I quickly said 'no' and walked on, noting that the two bums were looking after me like I was an escaped mental patient.
And to cap this interesting and exhausting day, where I appear to be not all there in the head, I got a migraine that knocked me on my butt. When the world starts turning crazy stripped colors, you have no equilibrium, and whispers start to sound like screams, it is time to slow down. But I don't have the time to slow down. In fact, I still had a meeting to go to. So, after laying down in the dark for as long as possible I end up in my council meeting clutching a Coke full of caffeine as my life source. I don't think anything was harder than that loudly sung opening hymn sitting next to the most exuberant singer in the room.
Oh what a fun life this is. Crazy stuff. I hope it will be sometime before I have another day like this one.