BroTips

While most of these are a bit profane, some of these are also really great. 

 Uhhhh.Yeah. Pretty much. 

Story of my life? Yes. 

OR the answer to a quiz bowl question. Although, if you have a Wikipedia article written about you, you are more than worthy to be the answer to a quiz bowl question. 

Meine Familie

I'm also really grateful for these guys.

When Luke first came home from his mission in March, and all of my immediate family was in town to see him for the first time in two years, those were some of the happiest days. So glad we have an eternity.

They don't really know this, but they're part of the reason I chose BYU.
Op. Guess it's out.

Kaboodle Furniture

I feel like I've walked into a Dr. Seuss novel.
Love.

EBB, Vermeer, and Very Little Sleep

I feel like my last post was really...angsty/pessimistic. Sorry. I hate it when I do that. (Spellcheck suggested "gangsta" as a replacement for "angsty" when I did a spellcheck. Wow.)

So I had two and a half hours of sleep last night.
Note to self: Do not let Luke coerce you into staying up so late. This is the second time he's done this to me. He's lucky I actually woke up on time to go to seminary. And that's the weirdest part. I actually woke up earlier to get ready for seminary than on most other days when I have much more sleep. Hmmm.

For the next few weeks, I'll be posting about things I'm grateful for or things that I just really like.

The Guitar Player, Jan Vermeer

Today's: Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnets from the Portuguese, number XXXII and the above painting by Vermeer. (He's one of the many reasons I love Dutch art.)
Have I ever mentioned how I kinda/sorta want a guy to write me this kind of poetry? No wonder Robert Browning ended up marrying her.

A Bit o' Therapy

Right. So.It has been way too long since I last blogged.The lack of blogging has clearly taken its toll on my mental health. I have all these different thoughts coursing through my head and I'm afraid I won't be able to spill them all out in one coherent blog post. If I try to do this, then it might turn into one really long giant run-on sentence glaring you in the face and then how would that be? Pitiful, indeed.

First things first: college. I'm going to dedicate a whole other post as to why I chose Brigham Young University, for many reasons. Mainly because I need to remind myself of why I'm going and also to explain to others, especially those who know me, why I chose this school. But let's start with today's happenings involving them. I went to pick a room, and the only dorms left were the most expensive ones in Helaman Halls. (It's so Mormon, I know. I am so amused by this.) Not only are they the most expensive, but I need a really expensive meal plan to go with it. There is no way I'm going to pay $3,700--4,400 for a meal plan when I know I can do it for so much less. No way. Conclusion: I am not going to be living in the dorms. Yeah, I confess this is mildly disappointing. I had looked forward to the stereotypical college experience, if even for just one year, with the dorm life, roommates, etc. But looks like that is not happening. So now I have to search for alternatives, and this requires more work and effort on my part. THANKS, BYU. But oh well. My college expenses just went from a little over $7,000 to a solid $4,210. I can deal with that. That price makes me super happy.

Secondly: I am going to prom. My dress makes me feel like Elizabeth Darcy and this makes me really excited. I could totally get used to that feeling.

Thirdly: I got a summer job. It's at a 4H camp in Tennessee. I will be lifeguarding and cleaning and washing and gardening and all that other good stuff. I'm kind of excited for it. I hope to make some good money and establish some connections. That would be nice.

Fourthly: I'm confused. I don't know what I want, and then I worry that maybe art history isn't really what I want to major in and maybe I don't want to go to BYU or even Utah for that matter--hence why I need a blog post reminding me of why I'm choosing that school. (Also, I'm very intimidated by the number of Mormons in Utah. It's frightening.) I just need to be alone and think...but this is impossible with a family as big as mine. I left the house to make a deposit at the bank today and failed to tell mother. She called me ten minutes later frantically asking where I had went. And then a month ago, I was having an interview over the phone and I was up in my room talking to this guy when my dad knocks on my door. I'm in the middle of an interview, and the guy is in the middle of saying something, and my dad keeps knocking. I'm about to get off the phone, and so I figure I'll just wait a minute then explain to my dad what I was doing. But he keeps knocking, and it gets louder and louder. Until finally, I get off the phone only to open my door to see my dad with the door key in his hand, trying to unlock my door. Umm, hello? It was locked for a reason. Can you not wait? I don't know if it's just me, but I just felt like that was an overreaction. .....And that was a total divergence from the topic sentence of this "fourthly" point. But basically I don't know what I want anymore, other than the vague/general "be happy" or "to be successful in life." It's the getting there that I'm confused about.

K. I feel better now. I'll have to post some real/relevant/interesting blog posts soon. Sorry.

The Pear Theory

This deserves its own blog post.

So, for the past four years, I've had this suspicion. Every time I'm at a quiz bowl meet or tournament and I eat a pear, I power a Mormon question either during the match (while I'm eating it) or in the next few games.

It happened on Saturday at WKU.

It's legit, I swear. Fo' sho'.

First time is a funny happening (as I happened to be eating the pear while I powered the question), second time a coincidence, third time is just solid proof.

Pears are now my favorite fruit.

Also, my team member at WKU happened to have the last name of Pears. This just really amuses me when put into context with my pear theory.

For Lack of Creativity

I've decided to go with bullet points for this post. Why? Wellllllll, bullet points are incredibly handy when I want to express many things in a single post and lack the motivation/energy/work ethic to compose a paragraph that connects/flows.

• The History Bee and Bowl. It was actually really fun. I went as a one-man team again. This time, I took third in the bee, which is for individual players, and fourth in the bowl, which is for teams. I even got a plaque for making the semifinals. I also qualified for the History Bee/Bowl Nationals which will be held in Washington D.C. They've booked the embassies of Uruguay and Slovenia for some matches as well as rooms in the Smithsonian. Uhhhhh, I want to go. Too bad I don't have money. 
• WKU. I went to their tournament last Saturday and competed. We played GSAC questions written by Maggie Walker and this one moderator kept saying how he thought the questions were written by college students who were trying to show off. Well, Maggie Walker happens to be a high school in Richmond, Virginia. They took first place at HSNCT two? years ago. Bottom line: they're incredibly good at quiz bowl. However, some of the questions, especially the science questions, did make it seem as if they were trying to show off just a little bit. I mean, seriously? Write about scientific laws and terms that people have actually heard of and for the record, there's more to science than physics. But overall I liked the questions and distribution. They were a little bit more difficult, but definitely attainable. I think the difficulty level was just right. This time I did have a team member with me. As a team...well, let's just say we didn't do too well. There was much tougher competition at this tournament with Dunbar and DuPont Manual, both of whom consistently perform well at HSNCT. When you have a two-man team against really good teams, it doesn't fair too well for the two-man team. Tis a truth universally acknowledged. Unless your two man team is Neil Gurram and Curtis. Then you will dominate. Anyway, I took fourth individually and got a medal and a book of my choosing. I've gotten some quiz bowl bling since moving to Tennessee. It's a new experience. The book I got was A Streetcar Named Desire. Ahh, Tennessee Williams love!!! I always wanted a book with a shirtless Marlon Brando on the front?
• I suck at making decisions. I think it's a fear thing, but more analysis on my psyche in that area to come.
• Prom. Prom, prom, prom. I think...I'm going. I told Michelle that if she could procure a guest pass for me, then I would go. My mother and brother are on this campaign to convince me to get a real date, but what if I'm content in just going with friends? I don't think it will take away from the prom experience in any aspect. I don't anticipate it being amazing anyway. Despite the fact that I am not looking forward to spending too much money on a ticket and gas money, I think it would be worth it to see everyone.
• College. I also cannot make a decision about college. Siiiiiiigh. More on this to come, too.