Yep, I suck.

I know, it has been forever since I have blogged and my life has been quite busy. I started teaching and I love it... for the most part. It is exhausting and exhilarating; better and worse than I ever imagined it being. There is much to write about teaching and the other shenanigans I have been involved in for the latter part of 2009, but unfortunately, I don't really have the time to write of those things now. Someday, perhaps.

I am just writing to share a link to my new blog. I really wanted to write more in 2010, and I knew I would need a purpose, lest it fall victim to the same fate as this blog. Anyway, read the first post if you're interested and it will explain the project. The blog is called The Dots on the Ceiling, and can be found at

http://inoticedthings.blogspot.com/

(It's from a Stephen Chbosky quote, if you were wondering.)

Hope the new year is off to a great start!

Mad World

Beautiful

I am not an opera buff by any means, but this song is so incredibly beautiful. "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's, "Turandot".

Because it's funny:

http://randomfunnypicture.com/archives/fixed/?id=1314

Britain's Got Talent

I know that this is really nerdy, but I am a little bit in love with this video; I just think it's very touching:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Coolest thing ever!

Seriously, this is like my nerdiest dream come true:

http://video.yahoo.com/network/100000089?v=4816051&l=100022574

Spring Break

YAY!! It's so nice to have a week off from school. Haha, I say that as if I actually attend school on a regular basis. Meh, such is life.

Tomorrow I am leaving with my friends Jen and Alan on a roadtrip down to the Grand Canyon. We are stopping and seeing a bunch of random things throughout Utah and then we're staying one night in Vegas. Fun fun stuff. Anyway, I am really excited. Yay! Hopefully, I will put up pictures after I get back. Hopefully.

It's been awhile.

Yeah, so I really suck at updating this blog. I'm only doing it now because I am sitting at work doing absolutely nothing. Well, not absolutely nothing, I'm talking to my friend Coby, listening to good music, and drinking coffee. Excellent.

Well, my life is pretty much the same. I am back to my fabulous summer job, which is awesome and exciting. I am glad to be back with my old work buddies and am excited to meet the newbies.

School is pretty much the same as it always is. I survived midterms, which is always exciting. I don't go to my Lit. History class very often and so was a little worried about doing well on the take-home midterm which was 5 essay questions to be answered. Plus, I'm a major procrastinator and I didn't even start working on it until the day before it was due. Staying up until four in the morning was totally worth it though; I got a 95, which was one of the highest grades in the class. HaZaH!

I have started interviewing for teaching jobs, which is great. I had my first interview with Granite School District, my first choice district, and it went incredibly well. The guy that I interviewed with is the head of Human Resources for the district and he is conveniently great friends with my high school English teacher, who wrote me a fabulous letter of recommendation, and it provided us with an excellent ice breaker and the interview just got better from there. I am so excited to finally start teaching. I am very glad that I made the decision to add the English minor to my degree, because it will really help my chances to get a job, but I am glad to finally be finishing (for real this time!) and getting read to teach.

Spring break is this week- yay! My friends Jen and Alan and I are heading on a roadtrip down through Southern Utah to the Grand Canyon and the Four Corners and I am super excited. I have never been to the Grand Canyon or on any spring break trip at all so I am quite looking forward to out lovely vacation. Hopefully, I will post pictures when I return.

Two videos:

The first, because I forgot how awesome this video is:




The second, well, because I just can't help myself:

Last but not least...

Once again, I am already half way through with the book as I write this post, but I am still so excited to be reading it. I know that my love of Harry Potter is a little bit ridiculous, but meh, what do you do? I really do think it's brilliant and I hope that any of you who have not read it yet, seriously consider doing so soon. Oh, and I am so happy that my sister Kayla and my best friend Casandra are finally reading them and, as expected, enjoying them. Yay for spreading the HP love!

Moving on

to the Half-Blood Prince! YAY! Actually, I am already about half way through it as I write this, but still. Harry Potter awesomeness!

Currently reading...

That's right. I'm reading Harry Potter again and I freaking love it. Suck it, haters!

Oh, and I totally love that this is my first post for 2009. Any year that starts with Harry Potter should be a good year.

Last post of 2008

I just wanted to write a quick message- my final post of 2008. So crazy. It's always hard to believe that another year has passed. It has been a crazy amazing year. I was a teacher for a bit- oh, student teaching- and am so looking forward to doing it again; I completed my major and celebrated graduation and then was a crazy person and went back to school again. I went to Italy and Greece and had the most amazing two weeks of my life; I had Christmas with my mom for the first time in about five years, which was pretty fantastic and got to surprise her with a trip to Disneyland for her 50th birthday. In the world at large the economy took a swift dowturn, the U.S. maintained its presence in Afghanistan and Iraq, war erupted over the Gaza strip, Congress fronted a major bailout of private industries, Russia and Georgia went to war, Gas reached $4.00 a gallon, and the United States elected Barack Obama for president. It has been one crazy year.

Wishing everyone the best in 2009!

Quick venting session

I just had two of my grades posted for this last semester and I am a little bitter about one of them. The class was Introduction to Literary Forms, a requirement for all English majors and minors, and was essentially a repeat of AP English. I missed this class a lot, I know, but I hate Hate HATE when attendance plays such a crucial part in the grade. I know that attendance is important in many classes, but this class was absurd. Most of the poems and short stories that were discussed in class were poems and short stories that we worked on in AP English. I understood them when I was 17, I still understand them now. It was absurd to go into this ridiculous class everyday and have the same discussions on the material that I did in a high school class. I did well on the papers and I think on the final, and yet because of absences, my grade was lower than I felt deserved. The point of class is to teach an understanding of the material- if I understand the material, then I don't see why I am to be punished for missing class. I am in college now and paying for these classes; the responsibilty to attend them is my own. I don't need a babysitter to make sure that I am in class everyday and in a way I feel that this was all that the teacher was.

Grrr.

Guh.

I just want finals to be over. I really do. Damn you, Meghan, for going back to school! You were supposed to be done with this!

A Dedication

So, the other day I discovered some old CD's that brought back some hilarious memories. I won't divulge all the details (though several of you already know them) but it was great to remember all these funny experiences from my early teen years, and especially my experiences with one of my best friends. We had a shared crush on a certain boyband and for the year or so that it possessed us, we had a freaking blast. So, Sarah M. (soon to be Sarah C., how crazy?!) This one is for you. Thanks for the great times and memories. You're the best!

More Videos

Obama Rolls Out National Security Team

AND I COULD NOT BE MORE EXCITED!

(CNN) -- President-elect Barack Obama on Monday announced Sen. Hillary Clinton as his pick for secretary of state, calling her an "American of tremendous stature who will have my complete confidence."

"Hillary's appointment is a sign to friend and foe of the seriousness of my commitment to renew American diplomacy and restore our alliances," Obama said at a news conference in Chicago, Illinois. "I have no doubt that Hillary Clinton is the right person to lead our State Department and to work with me in tackling this ambitious foreign policy agenda."

Obama also confirmed that he is keeping Defense Secretary Robert Gates in his current post.
Rounding out his Monday announcements, Obama named retired Marine Gen. Jim Jones as his national security adviser, Eric Holder as attorney general, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as homeland security secretary and Susan Rice as ambassador to the United Nations. Watch the news conference »

"I am confident that this team is what we need to make a new beginning for American national security," Obama said. Watch Obama name Clinton as his pick for secretary of state »

Clinton said leaving the Senate would be difficult for her, but said she believes that the best way for her to continue to serve the country is by joining Obama's administration.

"Mr. President-elect, I am proud to join you on what will be a difficult and exciting adventure in this new century," she said at the news conference. Watch what Clinton says about her new role »
Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, who was not at the event Monday, issued a statement expressing his support for his wife.

"In her service to the people of New York and our nation, Hillary has demonstrated the knowledge, passion, resilience, and capacity to learn that our country needs at this critical time.
"She loves being a Senator from New York, but as she has in all the thirty-seven years I've known her, she answered the call to serve. I commend President-Elect Obama for asking her to be a part of a great national security team. America will be well-served," he said in a statement.
New York Gov. David Paterson thanked Clinton for her service and said he is consulting with people from all over the state in order to appoint the best possible candidate to replace her in the Senate.

"New York will lose a powerful voice in the Senate. But the nation will gain a powerful voice in the world. Senator Clinton's wisdom and record of leadership will make her a strong advocate for the cause of liberty, human rights, and the rule of law," he said in a written statement.
In assuming this new post, Clinton will have some control of her staffing, like picking the assistant secretaries, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.

Clinton, Obama's former rival for the Democratic nomination, also has been told by the Obama team that they will help her fundraise in the next 60 days to help clear her campaign debt, which is about $6.5 million, the sources said.

Asked Monday how he can be sure that his administration will function as a team of rivals and not a clash of rivals, Obama said he has assembled a group of "outstanding public servants" who share a core vision for the country.

"I am very confident that each of these individuals are not going to be leaving the outstanding work that they are currently doing if they weren't convinced that they could work as an effective team," Obama said.

Obama added that he is a strong believer in "strong personalities and strong opinions."
Obama also noted, however, that he would have the final word in setting national security policy. "The buck will stop with me," Obama said.

All of the selections are people who have been mentioned often during weeks of fevered speculation about the likely nominees.

The president-elect has made no secret of his interest in having divergent views within his Cabinet, and Gates has served in various national security roles under Republican presidents, including as CIA director during former President George H.W. Bush's administration.
To some, the choice demonstrates bipartisanship and conveys that Obama has the self-confidence in his leadership abilities to keep one of the more widely respected members of the Bush administration.

"We've got confidence, continuity, and I still think the mission to get out of [Iraq] as soon as possible will be accomplished. So I think it's a great choice," Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel told CNN's "Larry King Live" last week.

Others say keeping Gates could delay the change that Obama promised during his campaign, because it could lead to potential policy conflicts over missile defense funding and a speedy Iraq pullout.

"If we don't have good civilian personnel alongside our good military personnel, we're not going to reform. It can't happen. You need the right people to make it work," former Pentagon comptroller Dov Zakheim said.

As for Clinton, some observers have raised concerns about her husband and suggested that the former president's international business dealings, global foundation and penchant for going off script could present a significant obstacle for the incoming commander-in-chief.
"These are issues that I'm sure are being discussed, and they will have to be worked out, and it's legitimate to ask these questions," said James Carville, a former aide to the Clintons and CNN contributor.

Obama's transition team was given access to Bill Clinton's finances and post-presidential dealings, sources said. As part of the early vetting process, the team looked for any negative information that could jeopardize the prospect of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state.
A particular issue of concern, observers said, was the donor list of Bill Clinton's global foundation, which might show connections to international figures who push policies that could conflict with those of the new Obama administration.

Since exiting the Oval Office eight years ago, Clinton has reportedly raised more than $500 million for the foundation, a significant portion of which financed the construction of his presidential library. The foundation has also doled out millions for AIDS relief in Africa and other charitable causes around the world.

Amid repeated criticism from Sen. Clinton's primary opponents, Bill Clinton would not reveal the extent of the foundation's donor list earlier this year. But The New York Times has reported the list includes some foreign governments, including members of the Saudi royal family, the king of Morocco, a fund connected to the United Arab Emirates, and the governments of Kuwait and Qatar.

The former president has also reportedly solicited funds from international business figures connected to human rights abuses that his wife has criticized, including the governments of Kazakhstan and China.

During the New York senator's White House bid, critics repeatedly said that foreign governments and business executives could try to exert influence through donations to the foundation, which prompted a pledge from the former president to publicly disclose all future donors.

CNN's Ed Henry, Ed Hornick, Kristi Keck and Jamie McIntyre contributed to this report.

Just Saw...

the movie Twilight tonight. The best part of the whole movie? The trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Seriously, I was freaking out; I had tears in my eyes I was so excited. Seeing it on the big screen made me want to pee my pants with excitement.

I don't know how I will actually survive seeing the movie if I am this excited for a preview.

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2427781913/

Finally!

Well, I have finally finished the last of my Utah History assignments! YAY! I signed up for this independent study course about 16 months ago, and have clearly had no motivation to complete it. It was the last course that I needed to complete my history teaching major and it feels fantastic to be done with it. All that is left to do is take the final (probably in a few weeks) and then burn my textbooks for the class (immediately following the final.)

Catching Up

Since most of my last posts have been political I thought I would catch my readers (both of them) up on what is going on in my life.

Not much. That's what's going on in my life. Actually not really, it just seems that way sometimes. My hours at Red Butte have died down, which is always sad. I love that job so much; it is tedious at times, but I could not ask for a more beautiful workplace, better coworkers, or better bosses. To fill in my time (and to make money of course) I am going to start substitute teaching soon, which will be annoying, but also fun. Even though I will not have my own class or anything, I am excited to be back in schools.

Speaking of school, I can't wait for the semester to be over. I love that I am in school and I love working on my minor, but it is just getting to that time where the semester needs to be over and conveniently, the time when the semester actually ends. I am taking three classes this semester: I love one of them but rather dislike the other two. My Literary Forms class is like AP English without the awesomeness of Mrs. Coon, and my Shakespeare class just...well, it sucks. It is boring and I think that Shakespeare is overrated. Yep, you heard it here: overrated. (Which some may find a bit odd, seeing that I will continue to contend that J.K. Rowling is a genius.) My last class, my Literary History class, is pretty great for the most part. It is a history of modernism and I have enjoyed much of what we have read so far, which, to be honest surprised me. I was always a little leery about reading Charles Dickens and James Joyce, but I find both authors to be captivating; I can't even begin to say how much I enjoyed Great Expectations and the Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man. We recently started, As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner and though I am not very far, it seems promising. Another book that we read in the class was The Great Gatsby. I had read this before, as a junior in high school, and only remember that I found nothing memorable about it. This time, however, wow. It is beautiful. It speaks to my interest in both history and literature and the comment it makes about the destructive power of the "American Dream" is amazing. This is from the last page of the book:

"And as the moon rose higher the inessential houses began to melt away until gradually I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors' eyes-a fresh, green breast of the new world. Its vanished trees, the trees that had made way for Gatsby's house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams; for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder. And as I sat there, brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby's wonder when he first picked out Daisy's light at the end of his dock. He had come such a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close he could hardly fail to grasp it. But what he did not know was that it was already behind him, somewhere in the vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night.

Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter- tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther…And one fine morning-

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

Wow. Really, without going crazy pointing out everything in the passage that I love, all I can say is wow. Anyway...

I am looking forward to next semester, my last semester (hehe, for real this time; no last minute decisions to study something else. Atleast, I think not...) And well, I suppose that's it. School, work, trying to maintain some semblance of a social life... that's really it. Here are some pictures from the last month or so...enjoy!

A few of the girls at Chrissy's wedding shower.

At Chrissy's wedding:

One of the awesome things about working at Red Butte is working at their Halloween activity. Here are some of my awesome costumes.

A kitty! Actually, I was Puss in Boots, but you just can't see the awesome polka dot rainboots I wore.

A hippie: it was surprising how many people commented that this was a fitting costume for me. I used this costume twice ( I was too lazy to come up with another costume) and both nights my friend Yasmine worked with me and we made quite an interesting pair.

A vampire: I don't know if you can really see them, but my fangs were awesome!

Little Red Riding Hood (sorta)

A cowgirl (sorta. Ok, I admit it, some of my costumes were a bit half-assed. Meh. ): Yes, I know that I am a nerd.

This is the awesome pumpkin that I carved. Yeah, I know it. It's awesome.

Amber and I playing in the leaves in Big Cottonwood Canyon.

Emerson's finger, Me, Jen, and Ryan at Jen's birthday party.

Jessica and I at the Tavernacle.