Life

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Random Saturday Musings

Published September 8, 2012 by Malia

-I chewed gum today.  I don’t remember the last time I chewed gum.  Weird.

-I really love my penguin pillow pet.  It’s so cuddly.

-The Keira Knightley version of Pride and Prejudice was on t.v. last night, and I realized that the only reason I like it is because of the music.

-Today just felt off.  Everything I set out to do went wonky.

-I discovered that there’s a comic con scheduled for November here in Grand Forks.  If this is actually true, I’m really going to try to go.

-Just realized that the first time I saw Finding Nemo was the summer right after I graduated from high school.  Next May will mark ten years since I graduated.  When Nemo opens in theaters next week, there will be kids going who don’t remember the first time it came out.  I’m not sure how I feel about this.

-I called Gramma last night.  It was so weird to not asking how Grampa was or hearing him in the background.

-It makes me so angry when things mess with my mom’s blood sugar numbers.  This whole diabetes thing is so frustrating.

-I love my pink Wii remote.  It makes me so happy when I’m using my Wii.

-This Husker game is a bit of a nail biter.  I feel really bad for the UCLA players, their pants are tragic.

-So far it’s taken me over an hour to put this post together.

-Sometimes life is weird.  My life is weird.  And it’s weird in epic ways.  Some day I hope to share one of the most  epically (spelling?) weird moments I’ve ever had happen.

-Pudding is more yummy when you grow up.

-I dislike that the water up here dries my hair out so much.  I even put in leave in conditioner, but it doesn’t help.

-Facial hair is one of those dark secrets about adulthood that you never get told about.  You just get to be an adult and suddenly, boom, there’s these nasty, annoying hairs demanding to be dealt with.

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life (Cue Whistling)

Published September 6, 2012 by Malia

I’m kind of a pessimist.  I don’t mean to be; I’ve seen how bad things can go so many times I automatically go into glass half empty mode.  This is why I was surprised at myself today.  Today, I inadvertently was an optimist.

I think I started to realize that something was different shortly before I headed to work.  I had a rough night and didn’t sleep well, so I was really tired this morning, and normally I would’ve been dreading going to work.  However, I found myself not dreading work.  In fact, I was excited to get there.  I was really hoping that after a very slow start to the semester there would be lots more work for me to do.  Not only was there loads more work to do, I didn’t have enough time to get it all taken care of.

Then, tonight I was fighting the fact that I needed to work out.  I skipped last night (I’m thinking this might be why I didn’t sleep well), and all of a sudden, my brain shouted at me, “There are tons of people on this planet that wish their legs worked.  Now, get your butt up and walk!” and I did!

My most surprisingly optimistic moment of the day came when I finally had a conversation with someone that I’d been dreading.  (I was dreading the conversation, not the person.)  I’d been avoiding this conversation for the better part of a week.  Not only, did it go amazingly well, but good things came from it that I didn’t even expect.

I’m not sure that I’m going to become an optimist over night, but this is a small step in that direction.

Happy September!

Published September 1, 2012 by Malia

Well, September is officially upon us.  It’s Labor Day weekend, which means I’m spending my time working through homework and studying.  I got to watch the first Husker game of the season this afternoon, and by “watched” I mean that I had it on while I worked on Spanish.  All in all, though, it was a pretty decent game.  Right now I’m watching Return of the Jedi on Spike.  I’m trying to figure out if their showing one of Lucas’ newer versions, or if it looks so much better because this is the first time I’m watching it on my new television.  (I should clarify.  I mean it looks better in that the colors are more vivid and the overall picture is much sharper.)

When it comes to exercise, August was kind of a disaster.  I’m determined to not let September face the same fate.  Hence, tomorrow I will get back to walking, aerobics, and other general stretching.  The plan was to do so tonight, but I’ve had some issues arise that will keep that from happening.

Season 7 of Doctor Who began tonight.  I don’t have BBC America, so I was unable to watch it.  That’s okay though, it’s no different that any other season of Who.   I’m just super excited that the new season is this year, because I was under the impression that it wasn’t going to start until 2013.  Also, I’m really looking forward to the western episode that has Ben Browder.  (He’s Crichton from Farscape, and he was in the final couple of seasons of SG1).

Oh look, it’s Princess Leia in a gold bikini.  Man, that had to have been an incredibly uncomfortable costume.

I’m so glad I didn’t live a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.

Pardon my pity party, it’ll get out of the way in a minute.

Published August 29, 2012 by Malia

Y’know that joke about the middle-aged woman who looks in the mirror and thinks, “Who’s this old lady?  Where did she come from?”  That’s how I feel when I look in a mirror.  Except, I think, “Where did all this fat come from, and why won’t it go away?”

I know I haven’t always made the wisest eating choices, and that’s where quite a bit of the flab has come from.  Still, ever since I’ve started trying to be more careful and work out on a more regular basis, I find the mirror a frustrating thing.  I want to look in the mirror and at least feel like it looks like I’m trying.  Instead, I feel like I’m preparing to audition for The Blob.  

I envy other girls.  I envy them their long legs, slender waists, and their hair that sometimes does what it’s supposed to do.

Honestly, I feel like a failure as a girl.  It seems that the harder I try to be feminine the more epic the failure is.

I’ve been a late bloomer in so many areas of my life, maybe this is just another one.  Maybe my awkward teenage years actually hit in my 20’s.  Perhaps my 30’s will be for me what the 20’s have been for everyone else.

Pity party now done.

Literally

Published August 27, 2012 by Malia

I’ve always been a literal person.  I can figure out the symbolism of something if that’s what’s required, but usually I approach things I read from a literal point of view.  This makes taking lit classes interesting.

This weekend the assignment for my Brit Lit class was to read Caedmon’s Hymn  and do a short writing assignment about it.  I did the reading and writing, and when class time came I felt fairly ready for class.  During class, there was discussion about the reading, and our teacher asked who Caedmon was.  My first thought was, “Illiterate Cowherd,” because according to the text that’s how he was described.  I didn’t say this, though, because I figured it wasn’t a deep enough answer.  One of my classmates raised her hand and proceeded to start to say, “I wrote about how he was a sub-human…” (this isn’t an exact quote, but she definitely said sub-human).  She was interrupted by our teacher re-asking the question.  Turned out, our teacher actually wanted the answer that he was a cowherd.

I guess this means it’s not always a bad thing to take things literally.

Mi escuela es dificil

Published August 23, 2012 by Malia

Actually, school isn’t that bad.  I’m feeling slightly panicky, but I keep taking deep breaths and telling myself it’s not as scary as it seems.  I’m not very good at adjusting to new changes and I usually end up running away.  Even if they’re for the positive (a small part of the reason I’m so delightfully single).

So, I have a confession.  I will probably take a few weeks to get into the swing of this new schedule and a routine down for my homework.  This means that my weekend posts will continue much like the posts up until now, but my weekday posts will be short and sweet, and probably contain a video that I’m currently loving.

Tonight’s video is a very cool one that I’ve listened to several times this week.  It just makes me happy.  I love that while there is some singing, the focus is the piano.

Morbid Jelly Beans

Published August 20, 2012 by Malia

My room is mostly put together.  I still haven’t gotten my desktop computer up and running, but otherwise things are going okay.  When I was unloading the van last night I felt like I had a ton of stuff with me, but looking around, I don’t think I really brought that much.  It just happened that the stuff I brought took up much packing space.  I brought a few things that remind me of home, including some things that I pulled when we were going through Grampa’s remaining belongings.  Included was a glass “Jelly Belly” jar.  Inside the jar are a few remaining “Jelly Belly” jelly beans that he never got eaten.  Mom asked me if I’d gotten a refill for the jar, and I said, “No, I’ve just got these sad little morbid jelly beans sitting here.”  I find it slightly odd to think about those things that hold memories of others for us.

Classes start tomorrow.  I’ve got a fun morning of Spanish and Modern Grammar.  I’m not incredibly worried, but I’d be lying if I said I’m not nervous.  The last time I took any Spanish was my junior year of high school, most notably remembered for the fact that A. I had to have all my wisdom teeth out that year, and more importantly B. 9/11 happened during my fall semester.  I’ve heard excellent things about my teacher, so I’m really looking forward to remembering and improving my Spanish.  I’m not sure how to feel about Modern Grammar.  I’m glad I’m not stuck in archaic grammar, but I’m really hoping modern doesn’t mean I’m going to have to unlearn everything I learned years ago.  Once upon a time I really excelled at grammar, and while I still remember the basics, I’ve gotten lazy over the years.

I’m hoping my cable to plug my television into the campus cable comes tomorrow.  I figured that even though I don’t want to watch tv ad naseum, I have a tv, and I’m paying for campus cable via my student fees (there’s no way to opt out of the cable as far as I know), so I might as well make use of the “free” cable.  (Side note: I find it interesting how things get presented as being “free,” when really all free means is that you’re not paying out of pocket at this moment.)

The truly bright and shining moment of today was the return of Taco in a Bag.  Last year I was introduced to the concept, and while initially I thought it weird, and that it looked kind of nauseating, it’s also kind of addictive.  It was just as good as I remembered, and I took it as a positive sign that this is going to be a year of excellence.

Unpacking

Published August 19, 2012 by Malia

Well, I did it.  It was hard.  I started losing it when I said good-bye to my cats this morning, and then it was all I could do to not fall apart when I said good-bye to my parents.  I don’t think people with siblings understand how hard and scary it is to leave your parents when they and you are the closest family each other has.  It’s especially hard leaving knowing how much havoc  it wrecks on mom’s health.  I wish they’d develop teleportation units and make them available for everyone so  I could go home whenever I want.

I survived the 500 mile drive, and had some amazing help getting all my stuff up to my room.  I felt like I brought a lot, and when the van was being unloaded it certainly looked like I did.  However, once I started unpacking, it looked a little less like I’d brought everything and the kitchen sink.  Now I’m sitting in my room that’s 3/4’s unpacked.  I’m really tired, but I’m also loving my room.  It occurred to me tonight, that while this isn’t the first time I’ve been in my own room in a dorm, it’s the first time I intentionally set out to get one.  Always in the past I’ve been open to sharing the room with someone, but after last the fiasco known as last year, I was determined to be on my own this year.  I’ve got a fridge and television (that’s actually my computer monitor).  This year marks a turning point.  I’m kind of on my own.  Does that mean I’m growing up?  Well, let’s not jump to conclusions quite yet, but there are certainly changes in my life and brain that are making me feel that I’m truly beginning to move on from being stuck in high school.

Overall, I’m pleased with the room.  It’s quite spacious, and has loads of shelve and closet space.  The only slightly irritating thing is that the outlet that I wanted to plug my fridge into doesn’t accept three pronged plugs.  Due to the set up of the room, it’s the most ideal place for the fridge, so I think I’ll be venturing to Walmart tomorrow to seek out an extension cord.

I’m really, really glad I’ve got an overabundance of fans.  This dorm has a wonderful heating system (something important in ND), but there’s no air conditioning.  It does get warm in ND (really, I’m not making this up), and the fact that some people’s heaters are broken and won’t shut off adds to the general heat of the building.

I’m slightly weirded out by the fact that I can hear people walking above me.  It’s been many years since I last lived anywhere other than the top floor of a building.  This dorm is pretty solidly built, so I’m not hearing much walking (either that, or people are just not around), but it still kinda makes me jump when I hear someone walking on my ceiling.

All in all I’m excited and very tired.  Sure, I’ve got a few things I need to get, but overall it’s shaping up to be a good year.

Last night

Published August 18, 2012 by Malia

Tomorrow night at this time I should be back in ND, and will hopefully nearly be unpacked.  I’m sure once I get there and get everything set I’ll feel calmer and more at ease.  Tonight, though, my heart’s just not in it.  “I don’t want to go!” my soul is screaming, even though, there’s a fragment of me that does want to go.  So, here’s to trying to get some sleep and a safe drive tomorrow.

 

Friday Night Questions

Published August 17, 2012 by Malia

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Why do some stores already have Christmas decorations for sale?

If the TARDIS translates all languages, why is the Dcotor the only one who understands “Baby?”

Is it pathetic that if I had the option at school to get BBC America instead of Oxygen and WE networks, I’d chose BBC America?

Does anyone know how to get in touch with the Packing Fairy?

What if, after the credits rolled on The Dark Knight Rises, all of a sudden you saw Sheldon from Big Bang Theory sitting there and he said, “Bazinga!  I’m Batman!”?

Plant or fish?

If you had the chance to go anywhere in the world, and money wasn’t an issue, where would you go and why?