9.28.2010

remember whens

I don't know if it's the semi-fall (note the word "semi". Utah is not pleasing me in this regard. anyways.) weather or maybe I am just missing my family. Fall and family seem to do this to me. Regardless, I am feeling very nostalgic lately. And nostalgia always puts me in a very list-y mood, hence the following: (also, sorry to be SUCH the lazy head, but there will be no pictures to accompany this massive post. DGP.)

1. Yesterday while I was listening to my iPod (shocker right?), Rooney kept coming on and it reminded me of my freshman year in high school, when I lived in Florida. I used to listen to that c.d. every day when I would go to the gym. Not very exciting for a workout mix, but I loved it. And want to hear the funny thing? I literally would listen to the c.d. As in, the COMPACT DISC. As in, I would strap my bright yellow cd player AROUND MY WAIST and then commence my work out. This took place both at and not at the gym, aka when I would run. Explain to me how no one ever stopped and laughed. I had a c.d. player strapped around my waist!! HAHA I am dying at the memory. That was the year the iPod came out, and needless to say, I purchased myself one the following summer.
BEST. DECISION. EVER.

2. Speaking of Florida, my freshman year was way awesome. My English teacher was the most liberal black woman who I have ever met. And she had a pet plant. I really loved her. My science teacher was equally as crazy, and she was only teaching for one year, in between her terms at Cornell and Oxford. NBD.
I also really loved my geography and math teachers. They would get in massive wars with each other, on a daily basis. Like once, my class stole my geography teacher's clicker for her projector and controlled it from another class room. So funny. Also, all the classroom lights were motion sensitive. So one time we convinced my math teacher to let us all sit on the floor in the corner, perfectly still, for fifteen minutes straight until the lights went out. And great news, it totally worked. That was a really great class period.
And don't even get me started on health. First, my teacher LOVED me, and I will shamelessly admit that because it made me feel really awesome. Second, the class was full of idiots (is that horribly rude of me?), so it made me look like a genius all the time. For example, I was once offered a joint... IN THE MIDDLE OF HEALTH CLASS. He was the idiot, and I, the genius. Oh the irony. Third, during our outdoor portion of the class, my dearest friend Saychelle and I would just lay on the track or the basketball court talking in weird voices and making up stories about people we knew. 100% productive, and 100% fun. Finally, Spanish and Yearbook. My Spanish teacher was capital A awesome. His name was Senor Borja, aka the most amazing (also maybe only) Ecuadorean man I have ever known. I also had this class with Saychelle, and everyday was a special adventure. Literally special. It was exceptionally fun when Senor would yell 
"GOOOOAAALLLLLL GOAL GOAL GOAL GOAL!!!!" 
every day in class, reliving his professional soccer days. And so my love for the language was born.
And I don't have much to say about yearbook except that we would only listen to Bob Marley, as per the request of the most-stoned-kid-I-have-ever-known-in-my-life, aka Todd. And I loved him. Needless to say, I was so naive that I had no idea why his eyes really looked like that. 
I just thought the poor baby was tired. HAHA.

3. My family was soooo obsessed with the everglades. I think we took like 5 airboat tours in just the year we lived there. Also went on a 15 mile bike ride straight through the everglades. 1 almost-rattlesnake-attack and 26 alligators later, I was really glad to be alive. Also, once I was with a friend on yet another tour through the everglades, and a vulture pooped on her face. 
HAHA I died. So disgusting.

4. We went to the beach for Thanksgiving. Need I expound?

5. Moving on from Florida... I keep thinking a lot about Georgia lately too. Also due to the music that keeps coming on my ipod aka something corporate, imogen heap, copeland, and jimmy eat world. Pretty much all I ever listened to during my stint in the south. Especially while I was riding the bus. How great is it that I didn't get my license until I was 17? Aka I rode the bus my entire junior year of high school HAHA. Minus the days that my cool friend with a lime green mustang would take me home. I'm okay with the whole bus thing though, I had my favorite music lovies to keep me company. Especially when silly freshman tried to talk to me all the time.

6. I just remembered the funniest thing ever. The very last day of my geometry class, I FAKED THE NOISE OF THE BELL AND THE TEACHER LET US OUT 10 MINUTES EARLY. You might be thinking "yeah right Brooke, she totz knew it was you, and she was just being soooo nice because it was the last day of school." FALSE. This woman was old and cranky, and she was all business, all the time. 
I fooled her, yay me.

7. Another funny story. I took trig/pre calc my junior year. At one point, I was really struggling in the class (aka I probably had a B- haha. Silly parents and their high expectations), so I met my teacher... 
at Starbucks. 
On a Saturday. 
For 4 hours. 
And worked on math. 
How was I so cool?

8. Every Halloween, my old Bishop would throw a huge fall fest in his massive back yard. Imagine this: hay rides, enormous bonfire, hot cider, lots of fall-y trees, children running around in costumes, carmel apples, lots of friends... it was the epitome of everything beautiful and fun that I love about fall.

9. Another funny story. I auditioned for show choir at the end of my sophomore year, and guess what song I sang. If you guessed "More Than a Feeling" by Boston, gold star for you. Yes I sang a Boston song for a choir audition. The best part is, I totally made it into the choir. 
Thank you Brad Delp, I couldn't have done it without you!

10. And one final story that I just remembered. One night, my family played a massive game of hide and seek through our house. In the pitch dark. It was pretty much really scary. And then, to top it all off, we couldn't find my dad for like an hour because he was such a sneaky hider. 
So sneaky in fact, that he had us convinced there was a murderer outside on our patio trying to come in and play with us too. More like hide and shriek (haha I am soooo punny). It was terrifying.

Well great news! 
I have thoroughly exhausted my nostalgia, and feel rather content now.
Huzzah for east-coast-lovin-high school years.

9.24.2010

fanstatic things to be in love with on this happy friday

 Hoorah for another fall out boy themed post title.
Also panic at the disco? Yeah pretty sure they do it too.

So, It's Friday, obviously the best day of the week... and as such, requires unadulterated happiness from all... here is a list of things to be in love with today. Or at least, things that I am in love with today.

1. "Boy with a Coin" by Iron and Wine. It's so weird, and tribal, and underwater-esque. But wow I really enjoy that song.

2. "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" by Fleet Foxes. The beginning is so haunting! I just wish I knew the words so I didn't have to go around my apartment singing it like an Avox. Aka like I have no tongue because I just holler the whole time. I hope my neighbors don't mind...

3. "Africa" by Toto. I listened to it while walking to campus this morning and I felt like I was in an 80's adventure/romance movie. SO GREAT.

3. The Strokes. First, Julian Casablancas is insane talented. Also, sweet last name. ALSO, their music is sooooo great. Every song makes me uber happy. Especialmente Someday, Last Night, and You Only Live Once.

 Yeah, he is pretty cool.

4. Promise this is the last music related item that will be on this list... the James Horner pandora station. Talk about epic! It's really hard listening to soundtracks like Braveheart, Narnia, Harry Potter and Titanic while I am at work, mostly because they make me feel like I need to be doing something reaallllyyy cool aka not posting jobs and managing linkedin groups. ahhhh such is the life in the Hinckley Alumni Building haha.

5. How strikingly green the grass has been looking lately. This morning after my media writing lab, I was walking around campus and the grass was so bright it was almost blinding. And i loved it.

6. Wearing nylons even though it's really hot outside and probably inappropriate looking. Maybe if I keep pretending it's chilly, it will happen. Or not.

7. The pumpkin spice candle in my apartment. For only 3 dollars, it actually smells like fall IN OUR LIVING ROOM. I freaked out yesterday when I walked downstairs and realized it actually worked. I LOVE AUTUMN.

8. Roommate's boyfriends slash fiances. It's so nice to have built in man-friends like that. Plus they are usually really funny, and I can wear my pajamas minus makeup without caring a stitch. YES.

9. The websites "Stuff White People Like" and "1000 Awesome Things". Trying to have a really awesome day? Visit one of these, you will feel 100% better. I especially like the commentary about Ray Ban Wayfarer sunglasses. SO true, and SO hilarious.

10. Cereal concoctions. Like my breakfast this morning. A combination of 1 banana, 3 strawberries, go lean crunch, and blueberry happy sunshine supreme (or something kind of like that. i hate when a cereal has a retarded name, bt dub.)

Now I am even more happy then before.
Viva Friday!

9.22.2010

Viva España. OH WAIT.

Oh hey me and my Latina roots.

So I am in this Spanish class right now. 
And it's terribly frustrating for several reasons.

A. I don't even need the stinking class, so it's 4 credits that I am taking, worth NOTHING. And I still have to take calculus next semester blegh.
B. I have learned all this stuff SO many times, but what? I am still incompetent? The ridiculous thing is I can read and understand it pretty well, but then I have to speak and my mind goes blank. No. Less than blank. And then I start to think I can't do ANY of it, and I freak myself out... 
ALL THE DAY BEFORE AN EXAM. That's bad news with a capital B folks.
C. We don't listen to any Spanish music, ever. Come on profe, hit me with some Mana, or Juanes, or even Shakira or Ricky Martin for goodness sakes! Anything to make the class more exciting. Also, add to my repertoire of cool spanish songs.

Ok so that's only three things, but still. The combination is enough to make me go crazy. 
Mayyybee I will skip on Friday.....

In other (and contrastingly positive) news, here are some great things I have been thinking about lately. Buckle up, it's about to get disjointed in hurr.

1. I LOVE JDAWGS. Provo's greatest local joint by far, and you get a full meal for only 5 bucks. AND last week when I was there, MAE came on. While I was with Nicole. It was the most inspiring/epic moment of my whole month probably.

2. I was really  disappointed that I wasn't going to be able to go to the football game this Saturday, but then I remembered "Oh wait. I have tickets to the actual Relief Society Broadcast, and BYU's football team isn't doing so great right now." So really I am in luck. Plus, how much does the relief society broadcast with the roommates call for a trip to ice cream afterwards? Let me tell you. 100%. Which is obviously exciting.

3. I keep wanting to watch a movie of epic proportions. As in pretty much make in an every day habit. Something along the lines of LOTR/Harry Potter/Narnia/Australia/Hook/The Last Samurai/A Beautiful Mind/Gladiator/Master and Commander/Cinderella Man (Russel Crowe trend much?). Yes yes I know these movies are all very different, but they all have fantastic scores and beautiful plot lines. Which obviously makes for an epic movie-watching experience.

4. Fall is coming. But freak, I wish it would come faster! The only good thing about the weather taking a long time to cool off is it means that winter will take longer to get here. Which is really good I guess, because I am not ready to handle Jack Frost and all his minions yet.

5. My bad dreams have stopped! (For the time being). Por ejemplo (how's that spanish practice for yeh?!)... the other night, I had a dream that I was at the zoo, playing with baby elephants, AND puppies. It was so much fun. And now that I read what I just wrote, it was also pretty gay apparently. But mostly fun. That's the important part.

Look. baby me with baby elephant. 
JOKE.

6. Since I got all mono-ed at the beginning of the summer, I have been incapable of running more than a mile at a time. PATHETIC. But I have great news. I conquered the pavement this morning and ran just under 3! That is a huge feat. Soon, I will be up to par again and I won't feel stupid talking about the menial mileage I run in the morning.

7. I really love my roommates. Like really. Like we have all agreed that we each definitely prayed our way into our apartment. And it has been a party ever since. Trying to stay up until 3am every weekend? Come on over.

8. I turn 21 in 40 days exactly. Basically I am really excited. Even though 21 still sounds really young to me. Which is ok I guess, it's not like I am trying to age super fast aka Benjamin Button style. Except not really Benjamin Button style because that makes no sense. (p.s. I still get grossed out when I think of him saying "I'm 7... but I look a lot oldah." I much prefer the real Brad Pitt to the shriveled old man version of him. GAG)

8 is a pretty good number so I am going to leave it at that. And now, despite my argling about Spanish, I feel much better. 
¡Haga un día lindo estar vivo!

9.17.2010

since I am really good at talking about my dreams lately...

I will relay the latest in my imagination's creations.  
rhymie limey.

So last night, me and a bunch of other people (including close friends and family... i am just unsure of the specifics...) were being held captive in a giant inflatable raft outside of an insane mansion slash haunted house. Sounds SLIGHTLY normal right? LIE. Everything was an insane color... like I am pretty sure the sky was a pulsating purplish black color, and everyone's skin was hot pink. It felt like we were in some kind of techo-cosmic-Avatar land. And then a crazy Jaba the hut-esque man came crawling out of the house laughing about how we were his prisoners. Flash forward, I have somehow escaped, everything is a normal color now, and I am hiding in an upgraded version of my apartment with my family.

Here's the kicker


I HAVE A BABY.
Except, he is more like a toddler because he is walking and calling me mama and stuff. Soooo cute. (although that sounded 100% sarcastic, it was not. I love babies.)
look at the little guy. this is most likely what he looked like in my dream
Cute right? Well.
Here's the second kicker.

HIS NAME IS KEVIN.
HAHAHA baby Kevin
Nothing against anyone with that name, I have met plenty of decent Kevins. But sorry, I am NOT naming any of my children Kevin. eeshka.

Here's the third kicker.
Guess who the baby's daddy is. OH WHAT? A friend of mine who is serving a mission

HAHA.

And the fourth kicker (because of course there's a fourth kicker) you ask?
I somehow know in my dream that even though I have a child with this missionary, we did NOT do what it requires to make said baby.

Ahhhh dreams. Always defying the laws of... everything.

So I guess the main point of explaining the whole dream is this. Even though it STARTED bad... it ended pretty well!  
(YES I know it sounds like I had an illegitimate child with this man. I am not a devil I swear. It just made me gobs of happy in my dream to see the adorable baby and adorable man all in one place. also maybe a little happy in real life too)

So huzzah for my happy *hopefully not too far in the* future family, and a bad dream ending happily.  
Things are looking up in dreamland!

pancakes and waffles and crepes, oh my! like really, OH MY!

This morning I realized something lovely. I mean, SOOO LOVELY.
So I rolled out of bed, but instead of heading straight to the shower as per my usual routine, I decided to get all comfy and go downstairs to eat breakfast first. Lucky for me, one of my roommates was also up, so we got to chat and eat together. So I'm sitting there on the stairs,

and you know what dawned on me?
(haha dawned. because it was morning.... i'm so punny)

I LOVE BREAKFAST TIME.

First, it's really nice to connect to people in the morning. Everything is so fresh and new. And there is something about pajamas and bed head that makes people seem so much more endearing, and almost vulnerable. It is really refreshing to take some time at the very beginning of the day to just talk with the people around you. Like taking care of the most important thing before anything else. It's especially nice when everyone can recall their dreams from the night before and relive them with everyone else. Bonus points if they are funny. It feels really good to laugh at 7:30 in the morning when you would soooo rather be sleeping.

AND UM, LET'S NOT FORGET THE FOOD.

Whoever said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, forgot one key detail: it's the most important and DELICIOUS meal.
Let me put this in perspective.

-French toast
-Pancakes
-Eggs (whichever you prefer... including omelet style, which I think is the best)
-Waffles
-Oatmeal
-Hot Chocolate
-Crepes
-Cream of Wheat
-Yogurt and Granola
-Toast
-Bacon
-Sausage
-Cold Cereal
-Donuts
-Cinnamon Roles
-German Pancakes (probably a fav of mine. such a staple in my house)
-Hashbrowns
-Fruit
-Smoothies
and hey, even the occasional...
-Cold pizza. LOVE.

I just drooled a little after re-reading this list. So not only is breakfast time a really wonderful time of the day, but it also includes an incredible plethora of delicious eats.

WHO DOESN'T LOVE THAT?

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