Oh Man.

I don't know why, but lately people's breakfast choices have really been getting to me...as in, I'm basically on the brink of dry-heaving right now. Don't freak out, I realize that what a person eats has nothing to do with his or her quality as a human being--I'm just concerned. I mean do they know it's only 8:00 a.m. when they rip open that bag of Spicy Cheetos and take a swig of their Vanilla Coke? Do they? Maybe it's hitting me hard right now because I just witnessed two abominations in a row...

Case #1-- I walked into my 9:00 class, and the nice young lady sitting next to me was snacking on a chicken quesadilla from Taco Bell paired with a large chocolate milk. 9:00 in the morning people...NINE A.M.

Case #2-- Just after I finished talking myself through the quesadilla gag reflex, I looked to my left and saw a darling young man pull one of those pre-made ham and cheese sandwiches in one of those little plastic, lunchable-esque boxes from his bag and eat it. Totally fine for lunch--not breakfast. I mean really, a ham and cheese?

Okay. So, I feel like there should be some ground rules here...what is and is not an appropriate breakfast food item.

GROSS:
1.) Leftovers from dinner the night before (e.g. a slab of lasagna, anything with chicken in it, green beans, or hamburger meat). *The ONLY exception to this rule is pizza.
2.) Chips...in any form. uuggghhh. I'm sorry, but you're just not allowed to lick chip dust off your fingers before 11:00 a.m.
3.) Sour candy. I feel like I can tolerate something simple like licorice nibs, or a fruit roll-up...but you've crossed the line with sour patch kids.

WEIRD, BUT MOSTLY OKAY:
1.) Cupcakes. They're the sister of muffins.
2.) Ice cream. It's practically like a glass of milk.
(And, I think that's it actually...sort of expected there to be more.)

Craving Culture

Overall I've really loved my time in Provo, but for some reason, last week I felt like I was suffocating here.

When my sisters and I were little, my parents made it a point to plan "field-trips" for us. While living in Sandy and Salt Lake, we'd take trips to the Kennecott Copper Mine, visit the art museums in Park City, and one time we even went to a cow farm where a little grandpa told us that the calves' saliva could be used as lotion. In New York, we'd visit the Botanical Gardens, Central Park Zoo, the many museums of Manhattan, a Christmas tree farm in Connecticut and others. Finally, on my own in Boston, I planned similar field-trips for myself which usually consisted of drawing in the Public Gardens, a stroll through the beautiful brownstone laden streets of Beacon Hill, or a quick visit to the MOA. Now, in Provo, I've had to get creative.

Desperate for a little inspiration, adventure, culture, etc...I decided to check out the art on campus. Since I had been through the museum just a few days earlier, this time I chose to visit a gallery in the Harris Fine Arts Center (the HFAC building). Here, I stumbled across a student's senior project (I think his name is Jon Troutman)--and I LOVED it.

Basically, when you walk into the room you see three pages of text projected on the wall. To your left and right, yellow and white sheets of paper with bits of illustrations printed on them have been strategically placed to form one large picture, and finally, in the middle of the room are two metal poles horizontally suspended from the ceiling with a collection of overhead transparencies clipped to them.

The idea behind the exhibit is that in order to learn and grow, one must take risks in life, and do things that are scary or uncomfortable...and those overhead transparencies? Those are stories from people who have done just this.

Since it's an interactive exhibit, people are told to take a piece of paper off the wall with a goal printed on it. The piece I chose said, "Go to a music recital"--that was my challenge (the other challenges are things like "Buy a stranger something out of a vending machine" or "Talk to the people in the elevator with you"). Then, once you've completed your task, you're supposed to email a description of your experience to the artist, who will then create an overhead transparency for you and display it in the show.

Well, I thought this was a really great idea, so last Wednesday I attended BYU's "Wind Symphony & Symphonic Band" concert all by myself and you know what, I almost cried THREE times because it was so beautiful. It's amazing how refreshing a little alone time can be.

Because my experience was so great, I'd like to challenge others to become a part of this little art project. You can make up a goal on your own...OR, I can actually go to the gallery and pick one out for you (which I think is more exciting and magical)...Let me know....I'm ready and willing to facilitate this soul-searchin', culture-soaked, artistic journey.

ALL MINE.

After 21 years...I FINALLY have my very own room. I know this might not seem like a big deal to many of you...but it is to me. I've never had my own room--in fact, during high school, ALL FIVE OF US (my sisters and I) shared ONE bedroom, bathroom, and closet (it was a pretty big closet). So to me, this darling little nook is actually quite a luxury. Also, I never really realized the freedom that comes with complete privacy. For example, my latest tradition is eating cereal in bed. It's too weird to do this with roommates--plus, it's just inconsiderate. I mean, once you start eating on your bed, it gives others license to do so...and I don't know if you want that. I happen to be a rather neat eater, but "Britney-Sue" may not be. Plus, crumbs equal spiders...a dangerous road.

Although I'm loving this new lifestyle, there are a couple memories from my days of sharing that I will always cherish. Here's one of my favorites:

My freshman year at Boston University, I lived with Lily Chen in a TINY dorm room. I LOVE Lily, and we got along great, BUT one night she was sick. (Now here's the thing...this was the BUSIEST, HARDEST school year of my life...AND I had to wake up at 6:30 am every day for class. Therefore, I was pretty tired--all the time.) So on this particular night, I awoke to a whistly-wheezing sound around 3:30 am...it was Lily, breathing. In hindsight I can see that I probably should have been more sensitive to her illness and needs, but I would venture to say that most people tend to be fairly selfish at 3:30 am...and you would have done the same thing. Anyway, I COULD NOT sleep through it. And here's what I did:
1.) Started crying.
2.) Then, with tears streaming down my face, I frantically began searching for my ipod to drown out the wheeze. Don't worry, turns out I can't sleep with music on either. So from here, I decided that it would be a really good idea to stuff toilet paper in my ears. Ummmmmmmm, NOT A GOOD IDEA.
3.) Started BAWLING cause I couldn't get the toilet paper out of my ears and I was afraid it would migrate to my brain.
4.) Found tweezers in complete darkness and attempted to remove the toilet paper. Succeeded.
5.) At this point, I just decided that I was going to have to wake her. Stuff like this is hard for me to do. I'm not a confrontational person, and I didn't want to make her feel bad...so I decided that instead of just tapping her like a normal person, I'd try to make as much noise as possible "on accident" in hopes that she'd stir. So what did I do? I started slamming piles of textbooks down on my desk. Yes, I did that. SIMULTANEOUSLY, I crumpled pieces of paper and clapped my hands...just in case she didn't hear the book slams.
6.) Nothing. She slept right through it. In complete desperation (and since I refused to just walk over to her and jostle her shoulder or something) I began yelling out her name in sudden shrieking bursts. My thought behind this one was that maybe if I just yelled it fast/loud enough, and pretended to be asleep when she looked over at me...she might wake up and actually think the screams were just part of her dream. Low point.
7.) NOTHING.
8.) FINALLY, at 4:30 am, in COMPLETE SHAMBLES, I decided that I would have to face her. So I walked over to her bed, shook her arm a little, and said "Lily, you're talking in your sleep...just wanted you to know." (TOTAL LIE. I think I've become less of a coward since then.)
9.) With this, Lily felt really bad, said she was sorry, adjusted her face's placement on the pillow, stopped wheezing, and went back to sleep.
10.) As for me, I walked over to my bed victoriously, said a quick prayer of gratitude, pushed the tweezers off my pillow and closed my eyes.

Ummm...you didn't make that up.

Do you ever feel like facets of your personality have been stolen? Like all of the unfunny (but nice) people of this world, the "oatmeals" if you will, are constantly breathing down your neck--taking all of your best work and claiming it as their own? Well, you're not alone. And today, I'd like to recognize a few people who deserve a little credit for their clever quips and quirks:

Shauna Lewis: I would like to recognize Shauna's use of the word "lunatic," as well as the phrase "get real." I use both on a regular basis, and people think I'm funnier because of it. Thank you Shauna.

Annie Stevens: On occasion, you may find yourself classifying a variety of experiences as "tender mercies"--this joke belongs to Annie. Furthermore, she is also the creator of both "wallpaper" and "middle earth" people (used to describe the blah individuals of society as well as the magical ones). Thank you Annie.

Katie Wiscomb: Many times I find my friends and I using the acronym "OMG"--and who started this? Miss Wiscomb. Thank you Katie.

Jeff Zwick: I would like to acknowledge Jeff as the individual who made the use of half swear words, such as "what the fuh" and "shiz," funny. Thank you Jeff.

Beth Graham: I sought long and hard for the appropriate word to describe the sugar sweet spirits of this world, until one day Beth revealed it to me. "Muffins." Thank you Beth.



Doug Quist: Have you ever said, "Bless his (or her) heart" after shredding someone with your rhetoric? Yeah, it's a hit. Thank you Doug.

Hailey Card: There's really no easy way to say this, and I don't mean to toot my own horn...but if you're ever curious who started the wildfire that is the use of the word "darling"---it was me. You're welcome.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

“Different is good.” My mom used to say that a lot when we were little, it was her motto—and for me, it became somewhat of a mantra. You know, one of those phrases you say over and over to yourself when you’re meditating, scared, or as of late, blindsided by change. You think, maybe if I keep saying it, I’ll stop hurting. So you do. Over and over again. Different is good. Different is good. This is good. I can do this, right?

As the beginning of my senior year of college approaches, I can just tell, things are going to be different. Friends have moved away, loved ones have passed away, my family has grown up, I’ve grown up, and we’ve all sustained a few blows along the way. On the brink of such change, I often find my thoughts wandering toward childhood—that time when I knew change was good, and it showed. I used to be fearless and could turn everything into an adventure. Now, as an adult (or whatever it is you call this. . .) I’ve found the task of spinning life’s straw into gold a bit more challenging, but I like to think that somewhere, I’ve still got it.

So at least for today, I’m that Hailey. The one who knew that lemonade tastes better with a bit of lime, that looking forward is better than turning back, and different truly is good.

Weirdly Magical

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this video ("Chasing Pavements" by Adele). I know many of you will think it's weird, but I don't care so much...I think it's MAGICAL and "hauntingly beautiful" (I read that description in a book this morning and liked it.) Give it a shot--and watch it till the end--that's the best part.

Coming Soon. . . Maybe.

So, I used to paint. Lots. And lately I've thought about opening an Esty Shop to sell some portraits online...but I'm not sure if that's a good idea. I usually charge $300 for an 8 X 10 painting---does this break any Etsy laws? Yay or nay folks?