A Happy Fortnight

On the introduction of someone new in my life.

So you know how I was doing so well? Writing once a week? Yeah, I fell off that that train. So this is me, running after the train.

I have a good reason though for my narrative absence. Yes, this is going to be one of those cliche posts in which I tell a charged tale of college romance. However, I know a lot of you have been wondering what has been going on in my personal life lately (That was very sarcastic by the way. Most of the time I don't even pay attention to my personal life since it's so boring.) Boring, no longer though.

Recently, I have shaken off the weeds of singledom and taken on the mantle of attachment. I've snatched myself a boyfriend. Rather, he snatched me.

For the sake of non-disclosure, I suppose I have to call him something different on this blog just as I have renamed my dearest Bad Wolf for privacy purposes. At this moment I have decided to re-christen him "Jim Dear." His name is neither Jim nor Dear, however it fits in multiple ways. And yes, I stole that name from The Lady and the Tramp, don't judge me.

Since I get this question a lot from people not living in the Provo area, I thought I would share the story of how we met. It's kind of ridiculously cute, so save the vomit works and just hunker down because I'm telling the story here.

We met in a ballroom dance class. Cue the "Awwws" or the "Oh here we go's."

Isn't that the whole reason anyone takes a dance class at BYU? Interactions with the opposite gender? Actually, for me I just wanted to dance. I didn't even really want to interact with my partner, hence the reason I study the International style in which you keep your faces turned away from each other ;-)Much to Jim Dear's dismay, he's all about the Social style. In any case, I've been doing ballroom for as many semesters as I have been at BYU, yet I never ran into Jim Dear before (strange because in ballroom we are like a huge family where we all know everyone else and if we don't know them we recognize them). This was probably due to my resistance to Social dance, now that I type this out.

During our class auditions I noticed a new face in the pool. He was pretty tall, which I always root for the tall guys so I can have a better partner selection in class (wow, can I be any more selfish? Yeah, probably.) Fast forward to after I made the cut and was in the class. It was a Friday, meaning the girls could wear a tee shirt and pants and guys didn't have to wear button ups. "Pick a partner, we're doing Foxtrot." My teacher said. We often rotate partners, but being one of the taller girls I had about 6 choices I would go to consistently. Jim Dear asked me to dance. He was wearing a Star Wars tee shirt. How could I refuse? I also happened to be wearing my new Guardians of the Galaxy Star Lord tee shirt. At the same time we complimented each other on our fashion choices. Instant friendship.

I guess you could say geeky tee shirts started it all. A few weeks later we went on one date, then two, then four, and low and behold we are official now. To be completely honest, I have no idea what I'm doing or how to be a good girlfriend.  This is a chance to try out a new aspect of myself.

Anyway, there you go. The not-so-sordid details of a blossoming relationship. I thank my lucky stars every day that I now have Jim Dear in my life. I finally have someone who will watch StarGate SG-1 with me. Though there are many, many more reasons I love him, that's a pretty big one.

Of Blood Moons and Bargains

I have always had a strange fascination with outer space, the Final Frontier, the Great Unknown. Just ask my father, I have been all about space movies since childhood. For all that love and adoration for astronomy, I would never in a frillion years actually go to space. The only way to get me into space would be the coming Apocalypse and my husband and children are already on board some sort of interstellar transport. Even then I would probably find an excuse not to leave. Think about it: only a few inches worth of mylar between your fleshy body and the vast void of nothingness. No thank you, I'll stick to my telescope and the Internet.

On that subject, this week there was a full Blood Moon. This rare occurrence is a result of Earth's shadow coming between the Sun and Moon. I could use lots of boring jargon, but all I am going to say is that the shadow on the Moon turns it this rich burgundy color, making you feel like you don't know what planet you're really on. That somehow during the night the Earth up and moved to a different location in our galaxy. So that morning, near 4:30 am, I sat out on the grass in the crisping autumnal air (word points?) I tripped down memory lane as I thought about all the times as a kid that my dad would take my brothers and I outside to see Solar Eclipses, Lunar eclipses, maybe a meteor shower. For me, I love the feeling of being insignificant in the grand scheme of the universe. It reminds me that God is out there orchestrating everything.

As that red shadow crept up the Moon, it felt like a little wave from Heavenly Father, letting me know that I should keep my life in perspective.  Life has definitely taken a turn for the different, as of late. If 18 year old me was trying to do this she would probably be in tears every night, calling home to mother and father asking their help in a situation that probably doesn't concern them in the slightest. Not to say I don't still call my mother in a tizzy, but I've been learning to handle different kinds of stresses in different ways. For example: all growing up I hated being late. One day we happened to be running late for my ballet picture day. There I was in my giant "Mexico" dress (all the classes represented different countries that year), tears streaming down my face and trying not to get mascara all over my white dress. All because I was not in a specific place at a specific time. College has quickly cured me of that. Sometimes you are stuck at the printer waiting for 30 pages to print and class starts in 30 seconds. All I can say is "Oh well." A whole new meaning to "You live and you learn." It would appear that I have been learning, progressing, moving along. Halelujah!

As for the bargains, I've been having to make a lot of deals and compromises in order to accommodate the glorious mountain of homework that I smack into every morning.  "Ok, if I can get hammer out this script tonight then I can spend time with my room mates after that." or "If I can finish my laundry by this time I'll fold it while I watch The Conversation and make mental notes on the zeitgeist of the 70s as I am sorting my lingerie from my tee shirts. I can do this." Let's just say I look forward to the day when I can go to work, work stays at work, and I don't have homework constantly hanging over my head.

And in conclusion, Your Honor, I'd like to say that I am happy for new experiences, new people, new relationships. Zest for life, that's what I crave. While times might get tough, if I keep an eternal perspective I might find that silver lining a bit quicker and possibly even reach the pot of gold the Lord had intended for me. Keep your eyes on that horizon, mates.

Cheers!

Football Games Are Conducive For...

On my ability to be productive during football games

Hello everyone! I can't believe it, 3 for 3 weeks. Someone write this down for posterity. Since this is a typed account, I'll account for posterity here. How has your week been? Good? Helpful? Inspiring? Perhaps life changing? Well, good.

Tonight I thought I would share my thoughts on College Football game and their relevance in my life.

Firstly, I really dislike football. With a fiery, burning, passion of a thousand suns. I don't understand the game, they are incredibly long, and here at BYU they are usually freezing cold (no joke, there was a blizzard one game and we still played.) The only reason I would go to one is either on a date (if I really, really like the guy) or if I got paid. Which leads to...

I work a lot of football games. I am a gaffer for the pre and post-game shows that are broadcast on BYUtv. Now, I LOVE my job. Sometimes my job involves going to football games and setting up a working set in the stadium. Those days are long, usually cold, but I can get paid to watch football. Which, in the grand scheme of things, would make a lot of people jealous and resentful of my callous attitude toward the athletic institution that is college ball. As much as I don't like football, I adore what I do at work. They balance each other out.

During the game I am given free reign of my time. I am free to watch the game, do homework, read a book, or even blog about my usual activities that take place within those four hours. This semester has hit me pretty hard in terms of homework load so my computer has become an extension of myself. I'm surprised it hasn't fused itself to my lap yet.

With the addition of my noise cancelling head phones (Thank you, M'ma!!), I can now block out most of the crowd and get down to business in an academic sense. In two hours I have knocked out a 4 page script for one class and completed 2 weeks worth of reading responses for another. Did you know you can be really productive when you're not distracted? Yeah, news to me too, kiddo.

Football games allow for a slight chance of socialization. When friends come to the games they'll often drop by the press tent I hole up in and say hi and check to see if I'm still conscious (self - inflicted narcolepsy, remember?). Tonight, I got to see my bestie and her date who came to inject a little sunshine into my chilled being. Also, seeing as I went to high school in Utah, there is usually a chance I'll run into someone from my past. That happened to tonight to my utter delight. I got to catch up with my high school bestie - who I haven't seen in two years - and hear him tell me all about where he's at now and talk about what I'm up to. Note to self: STOP DRAWING SO MUCH ATTENTION TO YOURSELF. YOU ARE BORING. All my stories kinda sorta suck, but I'm getting better at telling them. #screenwriting241

The lovely array of music that can be heard blaring from the jumbotron is actually fun. There's something about being surround by 50,000 screaming people and feeling the beat drop. Within such a group, if you want to tell which ones are Millenials (those born between 1990 and 2000) just play Sandstorm and watch for which ones start moshing when the beat comes back in after the slow part. The crowd pulsates in special groups. Fascinating study. Also, I am in love with "Problem" by Ariana Grande Ft. Iggy Azalea, and I am starting to get annoyed that "Fancy" is getting multiple plays (I've been here a long time, folks) and no love for "Problem." *Sigh*

In all, I know I bash football games a lot, but there is definitely a place for them in my life. They are a long haul for sure, but I eventually find my silver lining.