ugh. sorry.

i know its been awhile. i was able to wade through the hell that is finals week and come out on the other side unscathed. and with three A's no less. not that i'm bragging : )

anywho...i'm now back in Mankato for the week. actually over a week. and its strange not having anything to do. what i really would like is to just veg out for a few days. however, i know that there are certain people i need to see. things i need to do. all in good time. lol.

i follow this "branding guru" on Twitter. his name is Dan Schwabel. i think he really knows his stuff. he must be a consultant or something. i found out about him from other business guru. anyway, i think he's good. he has a blog about student branding that i find helpful. i think i'll only find it more helpful as the real hardcore job hunt ensues. so anyway, on his Twitter a couple of days ago he had a link to this article called "The spoiled millennials are about to get served a big slice of humble pie." so if you wish...you may go and read the article since i will now be discussing it. haha.


first...i can't decided if i'm super offended. the writer goes on and on about how people my age are spoiled. we think everyone's a winner. but at the same time, i know that growing up i was so frustrated by the kids who got everything handed to them. new cars. new clothes. new cell phones. and i remember being in classes where there wasn't a definite winner. everybody won. so i understand how the perception of my generation has become this way. which really sucks. and i'm hoping thats something i can overcome when i go out an apply.

the statistics in the article were startling too. i'm nervous enough as it is to try to find a job when i graduate. and i'm more nervous because as i've been told many times now the key to getting a job is networking. which i can't figure out how to do since every place i want to work is across the country from where i am.

momentary break from this rant to tell you that my dad is now giving my cat snoopy a bath. i can hear him yowling in my room. poor guy. he shouldn't have gotten so dirty.

anywho, i thought the article was interesting. wanted to share it. and went on a little about my own situation. ha. maybe there'll be more from Mankato soon since i have time on my hands. until next time...

momentary break in the madness

if you'll notice i've been gone for a while. its been...shall we say, stressful? i think i've poorly planned this semester. i just kept thinking i had all this time. and then i didn't. haha. although this week is halfway over and i'm doing okay. i had a bunch of stuff due this week because next week is finals. a number of projects and such. i'd say i'm about half done.

i still need to create a final version of my literary journalism piece and write all the files to a DVD disc. that's due on friday. and i got my 13 page paper deadline moved back. thankfully. so i'll have the weekend to work on that.

i was thinking last night that the only comparison i can make to how i feel during this week is apparation. that's via Harry Potter. like i'm being squeezed through a very small hole. pressure on every side. stress is bad for your health, but i don't think i've ever figured out how to combat it.

another thought crossed my mind today on the way to school...how worth it was going to college? which is a funny question. the obviously answer is it was definitely worth it. and then i think about how far in debt i've gone coming here. multiply $14,000 by 4. was my education really worth that money? i think i grew up a lot while i was here. i think my job was worth me coming here. but when i stop and assess all the knowledge that its my head it doesn't feel like its worth $50,000. i don't even remember all of it. i do think italy was worth it. i don't know. now that it's coming the end i'm not surprised i'm analyzing things like this. i think i'm on the fence. i feel like i really paid for the classes and the place to live and the food. so that's what i want to measure. in actuality there are all these extra pluses that came with paying that money, new friends, freedom, a job, confidence, learning to cook, learning to live on my own, learning a tons of other life skills.

we'll see how i feel in the spring when i'm actually graduating. i spose if i land a huge job that i'm going to love i'll think it was totally worth it. lol.

your turn: how would you measure your own college experience?

proof that my professor is a fountain of knowledge

"do you know who simon cowell is? he is the highest paid person. he's making more money that donald trump. more than 50 million."

again i say...why do i come to this class?

this is a diagram of my week. enough said.

a recap of the last decade

got this off of a twitter i subscribe too. it was pretty interesting. what happened in the last ten years. it so weird to me how much time has passed. i remembered almost everything.

click here to view the video.

Hello Hurricane (by switchfoot) review in a hurry

"Hello Hurricane acknowledges the storms that tear through our

lives...this album is an attempt to respond to those storms with an

element of hope, trying to understand what it means to be hopeful in a

world that keeps on spinning." - Switchfoot

okay, this is only kind of a review. in all honesty, i haven't gotten through the whole album yet. i just got it yesterday. but i can tell its fantastic. what i've heard of it. (8 of 12 songs). i was kind of nervous because i think sometimes when people have high expectations, there's a higher chance for let down. and so i will say that i am not in love with this album as much as some of their others. i mean i really liked Oh Gravity (the cd before this one). but i've found that my relationship with their music grows over time. i need to listen a number of times to discover the great melodies. that awesome guitar line. the twisted and poetic lyric. what the songs are really about.

i bought the deluxe version of the cd which comes with a dvd. it has a "making of" the cd and a behind the scenes look at a photoshoot and then something else...i haven't watched them all. i was just telling sam 2 that i watched a few minutes of the making of and i was sort of surprised. i was hoping for this awesome, funny, and gooofy look into making a record. sort of like the podcasts that came with Oh Gravity. that's not what this was. it was gritty. it was really honest. and super serious. i mean, i understand that making music is their livelyhood. so obviously its important to them. but i heard the phrase "the deconstruction of switchfoot" like three times. and i thought it was a little much. jon (foreman, the lead singer) is such a thinker. lol. so i think i'll have to finish that later, when i'm in the mood to stomach all that important talk and reflection. back to the songs...

track 1: needle in a haystack life - this is sort of the quintessential switchfoot song. the great message clouded in beautiful lyric. a building verse to chorus melody.
track 2: mess of me - the single from the album. its more hardcore than some of their other songs. i've noticed a pattern with the first single off the last three albums. all more rock. i'm not sure why this is. anyway mess of me is awesome. another one of their songs that starts off with a fantastically-distorted guitar line. amazing lyrics. go listen to it. (link on track name takes you to the youtube vid)
track 3: your love is as song - switchfoot slows it down. they do it well all the time. i don't like this slow song as much as song of the others they've had.
track : the sound (john m. perkins blues) - your basic anthem/hard rock song. this is hard rock for switchfoot at least. the building up the chorus is awesome. this song is featured on the blackberry commercial out right now too. jamming guitars + gritty jon singing + echoing background vocals = amazing sound (no pun intended)
track 5: enough to let me know - haven't listened to this one enough to have a very good opinion. just relistening now...seems like it could be good. simple. clean.
track 6: free - i was rocking out to this one in the shower. another sort of signature switchfoot. i love the emphasis on the word free. seems like that obviously happen. anyway, its an imploring song which i will interpret to be about the belief in a higher power at work. plus its always good when jon takes the vocals without the instruments for emphasis.
track 7: hello hurricane - title track. i don't feel like moved by it. i mean, i like it enough. enough said.
track 8: always - was listening to this one when i started writing the post. i was really getting into it. again, another building song. starts of without much behind jon's vocals and grows.
track 9: bullet soul - a little bit edgy. there's some interesting harmonies. this sounds a little more commercial to me. sort of like a typical song on the radio.
track 10: yet - great beat. another slow down. sort of. jon keeps singing "you haven't lost me yet."
track 11: sing it out - i can see this one being a sing along for the crowd. another slower one. it almost has an imogen heap feel. which is strange. sort of haunting harmony. and strings...yay!
track 12: red eyes - an melodic uplifter. a downer on the lyrics. as in the lyrics are about sad stuff...not that they're bad.

okay...that's my initial reaction. if you feel so inclined you can check out Drew's (the guitar player) youtube channel. he calls it thedrewcast. i think its hilarious.

live from the Paramore concert

sort of...

haha. i took this vid during the concert. 2nd song of the night "I Caught Myself" which is one of my favorite songs of theirs. it is actually the lesser known of the two songs they had on the Twilight soundtrack. happy listening!

are you kidding me?

just saw this on tv. i think its a bit ridiculous. yes, we are looking forward to the movie...but i think volvo is going a little far. hahahahaha.

yes, i like awesome tights

i went to the MOA this weekend. a thing i picked up from luke and mitch...don't stay M-O-A, make it into a word. MOA. i think its more fun that way.

okay, so back to the weekend. hung out with min, hung out with luke and mitch. overall tons of fun. and then i went shopping by myself on sunday. i find that's almost the easiest way to shop. normally i feel as though i'm dragging everyone along. because i take a long time to shop. i want to look at everything. make sure nothing gets passed over. i don't to miss one necklace, t-shirt, or dress. nada. so needless to say, i was there for quite a while. i think about three hours. and i got the best tights from Forever21. i got two pairs actually. one i wore today (see picture) and other is a great red argyle pattern. only 5.80! you can tell the best from the pic, but they are sort of blue and black plaid. with some lime green in them.

so i wore them ot work today with a navy dress and felt pretty cool. however, of course, things could not run smoothly. these tights are one size for all, which is sort of nice. i don't have to worry about finding a size. woot. but at the same time, they seemed to expand as the day went on. i had to keep adjusting them. that's the thing i hate about tights/panty hose. they are always falling down. no matter how high up you pull them. its like a never ending battle. i told my mom they should invent suspenders for tights. seriously.

okay, enough about that. i'm going to see paramore on friday! i'm so excited. i've wanted to see them in concert for years. and i've never gone. and i asked the people i know who like them and they couldn't go, so sam 2 is being a super nice friend and going with me. she doesn't really like them but she's still going. i'm so happy. haha. plus, i like to think that hayley williams would be my alter ego. if i could be that cool. (she's the lead singer.) i think shes maybe a year younger than me. and i love her hair...and she has a killer voice. thumbs way up.

your turn: have you had a recent battle with your clothes? what happened and who won?

the most physical workout i have ever had...at work

today we had a huge training event to put on at the bank. i guess its huge in my standards. we create the content. we pull people from the bank to speak. we present it to the supervisors in the company. it goes on for four hours. and its all from scratch. i usually help with the behind-the-scenes aspects of events like these, which is cool. i like that part. much, much, much more than talking in front of all of them. lol. although now that they know me as more than the "email girl" it would be easier i think : )

anywho, for this training occasion we had a couple of big projects to complete. 1. create a giant puzzle with 70 plus pieces. each person in the training would get a puzzle piece which they add to the puzzle showing that we're all unique, but we form one team. cool, huh? it was totally not my idea. unfortunately i have much to learn in the ways of creating a session and because the only idea i came up with for an opener was a confusing scavenger hunt that takes them around the bank. and that would not fit in our 10 minute timeframe. so anyway, back to the puzzle. i made it out of tagboard and construction paper. took me probably 2 hours to assemble, then another 4 or 5 to cut apart. they pasted it together - and very haphazardly i might add - it about 10 minutes. i find that ironic. in complete honesty, i don't mind that i put in all that effort in order for it be unusable again. i just thought it was funny. but the whole this is still stuck up on the wall in the employee lounge. and hopefully will be there for a few days. which is fun. look up! there i am helping put together the final touches.

so besides that project, we also wanted to depict our employees as a visual for the trainees. so we have project 2. this was probably one of the coolest things we've done so far. barb came up with the idea to have each employee represented a paperchain person. we had someone from marketing make templates for us of a paperchain boy and girl, and then copied and cut 407 of them out for each employee. i didn't actually do the cutting out. thanks can be made to a couple of lovely ladies on the 1st floor for that. i don't know what we would have done without them. they cut them out for us, wrote names on them, and then we hung them up with thread yesterday before the session. all 407 hanging from the ceiling in the lounge. it looked awesome! they're still up there too. barb and i and a couple of other people took turns climbing up and down a later for the better part of the afternoon just to get them up. it was a lot of work. hence the workout. but i think it was totally worth it. i suppose you can disagree with this...but just so you know...you'll be wrong : ) haha. the picture doesn't really give you the full effect, that's only one shot of the room. but still the best fun thing we've done for a training session. hands down.

mk. its past my bedtime. i just wanted to share that with you all. i felt pretty proud of myself today...even if the handouts had a mistake on them. lol.

your turn: what's something that you've done or accomplished lately that you're proud of?

update from the stupidest class i've ever taken

in computers in global society.

my professor: "where do computer chips com from? china? taiwan? right? they make all of those things that go in our computers and they could be embedding viruses. they could be setting these chips to blow up. and its undetectable. they could go off at a later date, on that. 2012."

the projector is displayed a Wikipedia page. which he read from for the first 15 minutes of class. as i ask many days...why am i here?

no...i do not want to make you another copy. gr.

frustrating day at work. that's all i will say. that and the title of this post.

moving on...my parents were here this weekend. and my aunt and uncle. it was pretty fun. sometimes its hard to me to be around a group of people for a long period of time. i think i managed fairly well. i just needed some breaks in between. my parents actually came on friday and stayed over in la crosse. during my time there i ended up making some unexpected shopping trips - Kohls (yay!) and Hobby Lobby (boo).

now, normally i love hobby lobby - yes i'm too lazy to capitalize it now. they have tons of stuff. and usually said stuff is half off. or some crazy percentage. and i'm sort of into decorating things, so the whole process of shopping there is rather enjoyable. well on friday i went there for a specific purpose. 20 red candles. actually for sam 2...so anyway, i'm moseying around HobLob, checking out nothing in particular, and eventually make my way over the candle section. they have four different kind of red candles. although half of them have that little stubby heres-where-you-put-me-in-the-candleholder thing on the end. ugly. so i end up going with some shorter taper ones. color me stunned...there's only 19. but sam didn't really say if there were 20 people she need them for. just that she needed them. and 19 is close enough. so put them in my navy plastic basket and head to the check out.

as i make my way to the line, which is about 12 feet back from the lone check out girl, i see her commanding from the p.a. system "sam to the front to check. sam to the front to check." awesome. another helper. at Gordmans when you were called to check, you just went. right away. so obviously i'm expecting Sam to get here fast. i have a little old lady ahead of me whose getting a couple of Christmas items - in October, why? - and then a middle-aged woman with a cart full of junk. she's obviously decorating somewhere. behind me i've got a girl about my age with some beading stuff, and then a mom and hyper kid with grandma.

sam is still not on his way. check out girl begins to ring up middle-aged lady. everything in her cart is made of glass. no joke. so check out girls says, "why don't i scan and you can start wrapping this stuff up?" she pulls out a big stack of tissue paper from under the counter and sets it up for middle-aged lady. "oh! of course" she coos. i can tell old lady in front of me is annoyed. scan plate. wrap in tissues. scan figurine. wrap in tissues. and on and on and on and on and on and on and on. sam is still not here. check out girl gets on her p.a. and calls again and when she sets her black telephone handset down, sam is fumbling his way up to the front.

this causes a rush to his line. two people behind me jump over to his till. then another couple. i figure that glass-collector should be almost done so i'll just wait. and wait. sam gets through two people and i haven't moved yet. where is she hiding all of this crap? it couldn't all possibly fit into one cart. i switch lines. i can tell the the only lady who i was standing behind is cheesed. she keeps inching her cart slowly into check out territory. she's putting some her items on the counter. as i move up a spot in my line middle-aged woman is writing out her check. although it doesn't look like the normal kind. must be for a business. and you guessed it, "sarah up front for a check approval please."

finally sam and i connect. it's my turn...horray! alas, sam is not nearly as excited as me.
he doesn't look at me, smile, or acknowledge my presence. he grabs all the candles in his fist and looks as them dully. i tell him there's 19. he trusts me. doesn't even want to count them himself. i should have a lower number. he's smacking gum the whole time he's ringing my purchase up. i hate it. so unprofessional. so annoying. grating.

"sarah to the front for a check approval please. sarah."

check out girl might be ready to loose it herself. there's a slight hint of panic in her voice. sam give me two receipts, one i believe to sign, since its on top as he places it onto the counter. i scribble, push it back, and take my bag. middle-aged lady, along with the now 18 foot deep line is still waiting for her check approval. as i'm pushing the exit door i hear him say, "have a nice day." ridiculous. automatic. totally impersonal. i'd rather he not bothered at all.

your turn: do you have a just-as-horrible customer service experience? do you have a great way of amusing yourself when stuck in a long line?

current favorite song

got the new paramore cd. its awesome. i keep replaying this song over and over and over in my car. haley's voice is amazing. the lead singer's name is haley. and she's a redhead. i love her. anyway, she basically just belts it. it so good. listen for yourself if you'd like.

down for the count

so on monday, wednesday, fridays i only have one class. it goes from 12-12:50, so normally the plan is...get to work by 8:30. leave by 11:40. go to class, then come back to work. this means i wear work clothes all day. and on campus. this is normally not a problem. by this point, i'm used to people looking at me longer than what is acceptable. yes...i'm wearing dress pants. oh and possibly an ironed shirt. i used to hate those girls who walked down the sidewalk/hallway/whatever with shoots that when something like "clunk. clunk. clunk." you know the ones. it makes a bang every time you step. well, now i'm one of those girls.

so this past monday was normal. i'm wearing work clothes. i'm rocking my new black pants from H and M and an incredibly loud (a cross between neon yellow and florescent green) button up. i've got my black leather bag from Italy. basically i feel pretty hip. and to top it all off i'm wearing my black and white hounds-tooth kitten heels. needless to say i'm sort of strutting it. as i come up the stairs to maxell (its basically the building with the gym) i'm really only concentrating on getting to class. a group of students embarks from the east lake shuttle behind me and follows me into the buildling. i stand out even more here because most of the kids are dressed in gym-esk attire. and then somehow i hit a slick part of the tile floor. yikes. my left foot is sliding, i'm wobbling, and i end up doing half a slip in the middle of ten people in the middle of the hallway. i say half because i think my body realized there was no way it could complete the full split and my kneed bent so that it hit the pavement prevent my legs from going the full 180 degrees.

and my strut is fully ruined. tainted. and i'm super embarrassed. someone from behind me says, "hey are you okay?" yes...yes i am. just incredibly ashamed. if they weren't looking at me before and wondering who is that girl and where is she going to dress liked that, now they certainly were. rain and ice always hinder the best of fashion intentions. not that i'm any princess when it comes to clothes, but i like to look my best, and most of the time weather does not stand in my way. or pain really (see previous post).

however, this red-face-inducing incident is no where near on the same level as the time in high school when found myself dancing to music in my room - i will clarify that i am a not a dancer of really any kind - turned off the light to walk out and heard my brother's friends yell from the yard "woooo!! encore! encore!!" my window faces the street. it was night and they saw clear into my bedroom. i always remembered to shut my curtains if ever the dancing fever struck me again.

your turn: feel free to answer one or other...had an slip ups of your own recently? and/or what is one piece of clothing that makes you feel totally awesome when you wear it?

best invention ever

okay, if you can get past the lame image, read on. i promise these are the best (see title of post).

according to Amazon, they are called "Heel Hugs." however...i bought mine at Wal-Mart, so i think they could be called something different. anyway, if you're a girl and you wear ballet flat type shoes, you need these. i have always had problems with shoes rubbing on the back of my feet. my heels get sore and worn down. i get blisters. you get the drift. so these babies have a sticky side that you peel off, and then put in the heel of your shoe. i grabbed a pack from wally-world for $2.50 and now all i feel is cushiony comfort. they are sort of jelly and a little padded. its awesome. i'm so psyched. i'm going to go buy some more for all my flats. now all i have to worry about is the damage i'm causing my feet from no support.

your turn: what's something you recently discovered that you're excited about? could be a product, food, song, whatever. i wanna know!

rewatching my favorite show

continuing on with my love for all the is jim and pam, i'll be leaving you with some of the funniest/craziest/best quotes - in my opinion - from The Office season 3. i've just started rewatching the seasons and its fantastic. enjoy!

"gay pride parade. it's not called gay shame festival...is it?" - michael

"what time is there?" - pam
"what time is it here? um, we're in the same time zone." -jim
"oh. yeah. right." - pam
"how far away did you think we were?" - jim
"i don't know. it felt far." - pam

"i'm always thinking one step ahead. like a carpenter...who makes stairs." -andy

"if you bring your boss to class [at business school] it automatically bumps you up a full letter grade. so i'd be stupid not to do it...right?" - ryan

"it's an amish technique. its like slapping someone with silence." - dwight, talking about shunning

"no, it's fine. i'm sure it was weird for jim when roy and i were joking around...that one time." - pam

"i'm sorry, wait, so is the question how'd i get to be so awesome?" - jim

in honor of Jim and Pam

found this awesome video interview of John Krasinski today. some mature content, so be warned...but also hilarious. i love him. can't wait for the wedding episode tomorrow night!

click here for the vid.

Your Turn: What upcoming TV moment are you looking forward to?

(insert title here)

yes...i'm back. for a bit. i'm sort of falling off the wagon with this whole blog thing. i just read my mom's most recent post. it was hilarious. i don't know if i'm that funny on here. haha. granted, she basically makes her into a story. not me.

spent the weekend at home. that is to say mankato. i don't believe i've been there since july? but then again, that weekend i actually came home and then left on friday and returned on sunday. i know...strange. anywho, so mankato for the weekend was sort of a surreal experience. every time i go home, i have fun. but for some reason this time was sort of like reliving 2005. minus the crazy boyfriend. lol.

it just felt...good. hanging out with alex and megan felt right. normal. natural. i don't know how many words i'm going to put to it people. it was so easy. which is weird, because for a while there when i went home, i found it so hard to hang out with my friends from high school. like pulling teeth. we didn't know what to talk about. there was too much of a gap between seeing each other. too much had happened. and it wasn't like that at all this time. like we did a time warp. and it was awesome. i didn't realize how much i had missed seeing megan until she was right there in front of me going off about some crazy boy, and school, and how this person is being dumb, and so on in her megan fashion.

i hadn't seen alex since before july. probably more like june. or may? we always sort of pick up where we left off. no worries there. overall, it was just an awesome/strange experience. it was a flip flop from previous college weekend at home experiences. no anxiety. no trying to find someone to hang out with. just easy.

and i saw two movies...the invention of lying, which was surprisingly heartwarming. i mean, Ricky Gervais was almost crying at serious moments. it was heartbreaking. plus Adventureland. the lead guy was great. funny. no idea who he is. set in the 80s that was a bit hysterical in and of itself...plus Ryan Reynolds was in it. so two thumbs up.

in the running for Hayley's favorite fall cd purchase: 3OH!3, Paramore's Brand New Eyes, or The Kings of Leon (which i didn't like at first. go figure)

Your Turn: What's your favorite fall CD? And...does anyone know what's going on with Daylight Savings time? I think that's coming up...right?

the new wave of beatle-mania

the rockband is out. beatles edition. which i think is very cool. i have only played rockband a couple of times, and its fun, but i'm excited about them having the beatles on it because its going to introduce another generation to the band. and its going to reignite everyone else's love for them too.

i would like to say that i'm a beatles fan. i don't know very much about them. i haven't heard all of their songs. i know more of their older stuff than the songs from the 60's. but with all the ads out about them, i'm feeling pulled in. like i want to know more. its strange how advertising like that can affect you. i want to listen to the songs i've never heard. i want to watch videos of them. i want to know their story. so i'm sure i'll take some time over the next few months to dive in. figure it out. watch. listen. read. for now...i'll just leave you with my favorite beatles song. which i love for its use of strings.

(unfortunately i don't understand how to get just songs up here...so we are stuck with this video of rotating pictures...)

things that are rolling around in my head

1. have you ever noticed how after being friends with someone for a while you start to talk like them?

it has taken me almost three years to start talking like barb. which makes me laugh. and its not like you mimic every part of their speech. just certain phrases. for instance, i have picked up the word "chat." barb says "chat" all the time. and now i've taken it up too. but at this point, its only invaded my work speech. i say it when i'm talking on the phone to someone. or in person. i really think its interesting to think about the way we all talk though. how generational it is. for instance barb is only person i know who says "the whole shoot and match." which i like. i think that's a fun phrase. and when i try say how i like something i say its awesome, or cool, or sweet...which when talking to someone a decade or more older than me, always sounds so lame.

2. i'm feeling the pressure about boys

i'm in one of those odd moods. the mood that sort of has its own whisper in the back of my head that says "why don't you have a boyfriend? why can't you find anyone you like? why are you so picky? what is taking so long?" etc. it blows. i want it to go away. in all complete honesty, 99.9% of the time i don't care that i don't have a guy. i really and truly don't. but sometimes it grates on me. i want to have someone who wants to hang out with me when i other people don't. i want someone to think i'm pretty. and worth it. i don't know. i think this is a stemming from a comment that a friend of mine made recently. we had discussed how things are going here (as in Winona) and after asking me 1. if i had a boyfriend (no) and 2. if i liked any guys here (another now). he said to me, "Well, geez you had better get yourself out there."

this is implying that its all my fault that i don't have a boyfriend. and yes, some days i will take the blame for that situation. but part of me likes to believe in fate. in things happening when they are meant to. in God having a hand in this situation for me. and yes, maybe i should just show up, introduce myself, put in some effort. but i don't know. i see both sides. and i can't pick one right now. ugh.

3. i'm ready to graduate

this is the main thought right now. i feel like everything i'm doing is taking me a step closer to being done with college and i can't wait. real world, i am ready for you to bring it on. and i know, that's sort of a huge thing to say. but mentally, i am ready to get on with it. i think italy helped me that. yay.

random end note: on the right hand top of my page you'll see a place to put in your email address. if you want to, you can subscribe to my blog that way. so i don't have to manage it, like i did before. you can just sign up...and it'll go right to your own email inbox. pretty slick, huh?

alright, maybe a movie before i turn in.

just got back from a long weekend

i went to the cities this weekend for my aunts wedding. overall, it was great. it was nice to see everyone. we had a good time. i don't think anyone got too stressed out. it was interesting have the two different families there, sherri's and david's. we all sort of met for the first time and then had to spend like 36 hours with them. almost straight. but it worked out. by the time the reception rolled around, we formed our own little group.

whilst in the cities i got to stay with min. it was great. i got to see her 4 days in a row. that hasn't happened since probably christmas break a couple of years ago, or possibly high school. either way, i had fun. she's just easy to be with. easy to be myself with. we ended up going to a movie with her sister sue. we saw 500 Days of Summer. which was fantastic. sort of exactly what expected, because as the movie poster reads.."this is not a love story. it is a story about love." i'll leave the trailer here if you'd like to take a peek:

it was just quirky and funny. and i wish i dressed like the main female character. so awesome! in conjunction with the movie, the female lead (real name Zooey) got to put one of her songs on the soundtrack. she's in a band called She and Him. and they actually made a music video for it with the male lead, Joseph-Gordon Levitt. its so cute. they dance. like really dance. haha. enjoy...

this headline made me cringe

"Robert Pattinson Shower Curtain Appeals to Twilight Star's Female Fans"

i mean...really? do we need a shower curtain with his face on it? n-o.

yes, i'm sorry i haven't posted. as i stated to sam 2 today, there are about 2 people who actually read this blog. and i've thought about posting stuff about a billion times, but then i never get there.

schools back. with it all the stress. sort of. i don't think this semester is going to be all that bad. i'm just not used to nightly homework. in italy when i had homework 1. it was easy and 2. i didn't have a job. i had tons of time to do it, so then i always had a few hours at night to do whatever i wanted. but now i don't know if its going to be that way. i'm just so ready for school to be over. over. over. haha.

and i applied for a job. which i will never get. but it sort of got me to relook at my resume, which i think is a good thing. its for HBO in New York, NY. and perfect. ugh.

okay. that's all. oh...and this:

seriously?

i just saw a version of this commercial on tv and it said this was "perfectly in style!" um...no.

Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

here's the bottom line: if you've read the book, this one might be a let down. if not...hurray! haha. it seems to me that the plot makes sense and things look pretty cool, so if you don't mind certain parts being changed/not in there, its a thumbs up. here's what i liked:

1. ron (aka won-won). rupert grint is hilarious. he does a great job. he will make you laugh either at his girl problems, his girl problems, or his...uh, girl problems. there's other stuff too. no worries.
2. dumbledore's semi-affectionate nature. the movie dumbledore is way different from the book one. he's a bit more fierce. a bit more bold. there haven't really been many harry and professor one on one pep talks. there was a bit more of a connection between the two of them in this one.
   
3. lavendar brown. whoever played her was fabulous. she knew she could get away with over-the-top and sold it.
4. cinematography. this movie looked cool. in the same arena, i give props to the visual effects people and production design. i think it was almost a character in and of itself.
5. we saw more of london.

on the list of negatives i have this to say: where was the quiddich cup? why can't ron and herminone (or the film) at least acknowledge their decision to be together? why did snape have to look like an even bigger jerk that he's already made out to be? (SPOILER) what was with the weasley's house being on fire? where did neville's lines go? - he always makes me laugh. and what...what, what, what was with the ending?

hopefully i haven't ruined this for those yet to see it. haha. i promise i really did like it. and like i said, if you didn't know what was missing, i'm sure it was fantastic. i'd say possibly the best potter film yet. now, here's something new, i figure maybe we can get some conversation going on this blog instead of it being a one way communication..

sound off: if you've seen the movie...what did you think? what are you hoping for the next film? what did you think they should have included in the movie that wasn't in the book? and if you don't care about any of this...find the nearest book, open it to the 53rd page, find the 7th sentence and post it in a comment. should be interesting.

not working on my paper

Blogger just told me that this is the second time i have titled a post as such. hahahaha. oh goodness. papers are just to difficult to get started. its like once you starting writing it...you're fine. but working up to it, get the info, researching, working on an outline = UGH. so i don't think i'm going to do any of it today. lol. my paper is not due for nine days. my other excuse is that the library is not open today. oh and if you wanted to know...i'm writing on The Maltese Falcon by Dashell Hammett, which you should all read. he's an excellent writer. i can tell now that he was pretty groundbreaking at the time too (1929).

went with Sam 1 to see Tony sing is La Crosse last night. it was fun. me and her. and Peaberry's - that's the coffeehouse he was playing at - is totally awesome. you can make your own sandwich, they have pizza, tons of good homemade stuff, and a whole wine bar sort of feel. i got two bottles of wine. we'll see what happens with them, mostly, i bought them because they look cool. haha. but they do. and i like it.

there are 5 or 6 weeks left of summer. i think that's totally unfair. and crazy. honestly. haha. well, i guess its not so bad though. only a year left of school. and only 12 credits a semester. i think it won't be that bad. i went browsing around online for jobs again today. scurry. i've been checking out places like NBC Universal and such, just because i think it would be cool to have a job there. at this point though, the best fit, from the little i know, feels like Penguin books still. but again, i have a year. i was talking to my mom yesterday about stuff like this and finally asked her, "is it driving you insane that the things we are talking about aren't going to happen for a year?" and she said, "yes." haha. so i stopped.

got a new cd yesterday too. The Bravery's self-titled debut. i have their second cd and its fantastic, so i'm hoping this one will be just as good. i think i'm gonna go...i'm in the mood to get out of the house, so we'll see where that takes me. have a fantastic weekend everyone!

oh. my.

Netflix told me i have rated 749 movies. that seems almost impossible.

if you need further explanation, Netflix gives you movie suggestions based on the ratings you give them. so i've rated movies i have seen, in order to get suggestions for movies i like. and evidently i've seen 749 movies in my life. whoa.

weekend roundup

busy weekend. it was fun. sam 2 hosted a bbq at this sort of campground place and lots of people came. people from work. people from new ulm. people i didn't really know, but it was good all the same. after that we ended up going to La Crosse and seeing Star Trek for the 2nd time. its seeming to be sam 2's favorite movie of 2009. or possibly almost ever? i'm not quite sure. but it is very good. then we went and watched the fireworks. they were pretty cool. however, there were a lot of people. i haven't been surrounded by that many people in a long time. especially american high schoolers. so that was sort of strange to experience again. semi-annoying. haha. i had to listen to horrible comments from girls next to me like, "oh yeah...she has a cute body, but a pregnant face." i mean...come on.

the whole situation sort of made me think about things though. i spent a good part of the rest of the night thinking about my own high school experience. my friends. what happened. how it happened. i think the biggest thing i always say about the difference between high school and college life is that, for the most part, i really have no drama. we are making live-changing decisions here, but for some reason, those sorts of decisions seemed so much more magnified in my high school days.

i mean, i cried during my high school years, way, way, way more than i do now. which, i don't mind. but i sort of wonder, was it all of those crazy, emotional experiences that bonded me, megan, and kitty so solidly? and if so, now that i don't really have those, are my friendships now not as deep? i guess i sort of wonder if i'm living life on the surface. just floating along. nothing new and exciting is really ever happening. like, when people ask me "what's new?" i never really have an answer. its always like, work, school, the norm. or does that mean, that i'm just at a comfortable place in my life? its possible that this lull is just strange to me after going through three and half months of all new experiences.

all of these neuroses are coming from this really insecure place inside of me. and for those of you who truly know me...you would know that i want everyone to like me. really like me. in the sense that i want them to never say a bad thing about me. which is basically impossible, because although i may feel valid in my actions, i doubt they are always right. that they always are the best choice for my friends. and i mean, i can cast it off. i can say that i don't care what someone thinks about me. and that's true about 1% of the time. i can actually throw a person's opinion of me out the window...i think i've done once or twice in my life. but the other 99% of the time i am struggling really hard to be someone likable. so when i screw up and say something stupid, everything sort of starts snowballing. into a post like this. lol. can you imagine all the crap that was running through my mind last night? haha.

i guess what i'm trying to say is this...i am trying to have faith. i am trying to be the best person, the best sort of friend that i can be. i would like to ask that you guys, will in turn, have faith in me, and let me screw up sometimes. like 10 times. lol.

ugh. enough with the emotional baggage. back to The Maltese Falcon.

done with class...sort of

had my last test today. i think it went well...but i guess we'll see. i have to write a paper still though, even though class is no longer meeting. its due in 18 days. lol. and i'm writing about The Maltese Falcon by Dashel Hammet...that i need to finish reading. ugh.

i miss italy. i was looking at pictures on facebook today and it sort of struck me. i really don't feel like i've had any reverse culture shock...or at least i don't think i have. i don't think i bored anyone to death by bringing up my trip for the upteenth time. actually, i try not to say anything about it. it always sounds sort of braggish when i mention it - this normally happens when someone comments on my shoes. anywho, i just miss it. i missing walking around outside the most. crossing the Arno. the cobblestone streets. all the people even...

i saw Transformers 2 last weekend.



pretty crazy right? you don't really get to see much of the robots in that clip, but you get the idea. big action. insane stuff.

we saw it in iMax. that was pretty cool. kelly (she went with me and sam 2) said she couldn't even tell the difference between that and a regular movie theater, but i could. i felt like i was right there. plus the screen was massive. overall a cool experience. the movie, however, was slightly disappointing. it was sort of a "we're trying to be funny this time" situation. to which i say, you have actors who can take the words and make them funny...why not leave it at that? and there were a million robots. it was a big hard to keep track. but i mean, it was bigger, louder, crazier than the last one. that's for sure. and rainn wilson was in it...so bonus. i'm sure they'll make another one. i know they're talking about it. let's just hope they get a better writer.

alright...i'm gonna go...idk. do something. mk. bye.

fast family history 101 (with pictures)

when i was home recently, i actually decided to take some pictures with me. well, they were digital on my parents computer, and i emailed them to myself, but anyway i was excited. my dad has scanned all of this old pictures from my grandparents, and all of these pictures from his life and my and tc's childhood and they are all on the hardrive. so i took some of what he had, and put them into photoshop and this is what i turned out. i've printed all of them and put in them in my room...i'm pretty proud : )

my grandma and grandpa.

my grandma (on the left) with a friend

my mom, playing on a playground

my mom and dad. i think they were either seniors in hs or my mom was in college?

my dad and my aunt sherri.

all the fast kids. this is my grandpa's family.

at the urge of sam 2

i'm writing in here. i know you guys definitely don't hang on my every word...so i figured it'd be hardly noticed if i was gone for a while. that being said...i'll probably be on hiatus until after summer class (july 2nd). things are insane. i feel sort of like i've been stretched to the point that i'm paper thin. in a nutshell.

maybe i'll keep going while i'm at here though...

i was talking to Trista today (the girl my age who works in Marketing with me) about guys. and how i've been wondering if i've started to lower my standards because its been so long* since i've had a boyfriend, or for that matter, even kissed a guy. i will stop now for a disclaimer: if you are a family member and this makes you feel uncomfortable, or if you just plain don't want to hear about this and related topics...you may stop reading now and skip to the bottom of the post. anywho, its just cause, i sort of feel like i'm on the brink of settling. or that i've been acting like it. the guys i like, or think i could like, or have liked over the past year, really aren't up to my usual par. and its sort of makes me think i'm getting desperate. which is a bad place to be when it comes to boyfriends. i don't know. its one of those internal battles i never seem to get over. its the something is going to happen when you least expect it vs. go make it happen. gag. i want to stop talking about this now. lol.

tomorrow is the birthday party at work with Marketing is hosting. so i'm going to be there at 7:15am. whoa. and then another day of Celebrating Excellenc which is a training program we host for new hires offsite. its fun. and sort of exhausting. but friday i get to go see Transformers 2 in imax. and hopefully relax.

see you in a couple weeks.

* four years

professor: "where did you take that class?" me:"...in florence."

i felt like a little bit of a show off in class today. well...i'm actually still in it, we're on our break. we were talking about narratology (the study of narratives/stories) and our prof asked if anyone had been exposed to the terms in the text. i had in italian literature. so i talked about it a bit, then she wanted to know where i took that class. florence. haha. and then she said, "couldn't we all be so lucky?"

so far class is good. i'm basically a fourth of way through it, which sounds really strange, bu true. i'm taking Literary Criticism, which is looking a different ways to analyze a text. the stuff we read for today i finally understood. thank goodness. and everything we talk about is really deep and philosophical. for instance...

some people believe that language constructs our entire reality. we come into the world with already pre-created ideas, because language is already set. we have four seasons because we say we have four seasons. we have words for everything. so therefore, is it possible to tell someone what you don't know. for instance, if i said, i don't know what a lake is...i obviously do, because, i'm saying the word for it. if i say, its made of water. well, i'm saying its a thing - a noun - and i know its made of water. i know what a lake is that way too. i've tested this out on a couple of different people lately. barb somehow got around. i couldn't think of anyway to refute what she said. lol. all in all, though, its pretty interesting stuff.

so the first week is down. three more to go. woot.

work went well this week too. other than that, nothing too exciting has been going on. we moved into our new apartment which is awesome. i love being back at East Lake. everything is so nice - minus a washer that doesn't work - and i can make my room my own again. my parents coming to town tomorrow to bring me the rest of my stuff.

alright...that's all for now folks. have a great weekend!

its my 100th post!!

woot. let's celebrate. lol.

i'm back talking about the same ol' stuff i normally talk about. movies. what else? i recently told my mom that i have this crazy dream to go to film school. she told me i should just do it. that's pretty cool. i don't think i could keep going to school though. just putting more money in and not having a job. its sort of a strange dream to admit to, too. i mean, yeah, i think it would be really, really, really cool to work a behind the scenes job in the film industry. i was looking on a number of studio sights the other day to see what kind of job openings they have. i mean, technically, i could go into the HR dept just like i was planning to for the publishing industry. anywho, its just been a thought. sort of sitting there in the back of my mind.

so back to movies. Sam 2 and i saw Star Trek today. i think it was pretty darn good. for not knowing a single thing about the whole phenomenon, the movie was easy to understand and fun to watch. lots of action. poor Kirk gets beat up a whole lot. and i guess from the advertisements, i always assumed that Kirk and...ugh, forgive me, i don't know how to spell her name, but Uhura (maybe?) got together. but that's totally not the case. and i liked Kirk a lot. Chris Pine, who plays him, did a very good job i think. like, i said, i don't have anything to compare it to, but i suppose it'd be a hard thing to put a new twist on Captain Kirk.

one of the previews was Transformers 2. the mission now is the see if its playing at an imax theatre anywhere near here, because i think that'd be pretty darn awesome, and so did Sam.

mk. i'm gonna go. random internet surfing to be done before bed, and then i wake up tomorrow and move into my apartment. yipee!

oh my.

um...yeah. this guy is crazy. and its almost funny.

for a good news story go here.

proof of someone paying 20,000 euro for a kiss from rob pattinson

HAHAHAHA. i saw this news article and then saw the corresponding video. a couple of parents bought a kiss on the cheek from rob pattinson for their daughters. the money goes to benefits an aids charity. he's so embarrassed in the video, it makes me laugh.

i have never wished that i paid attention to american idol. until now.

please don't let anyone post a comment on this about me being lame. haha.

so Sam 2 and i were hanging out in "our basement" aka Barb and Tom's basement where we live at the moment, flipping channels on the tv a couple nights ago. or was it last night? i have no idea. either way, i happened to pass by the American Idol finale, which is always a big deal because they have a million guest stars and its sort of fun. and lo and behold, i meet Kris Allen (the guy below here).

immediately Sam and i both say some version of "he's cute." and continue to watch. and hey...he can sing. although i suppose its sort of a given seeing as its 1 of the top two on the finale. and i have to say...i've now got a bit of a crush on him. after seeing him win the whole show, i had to dig up a little bit of research. hes 23 and married. plays guitar and piano. seems to be pretty humble and surprised by winning. so basically he's awesome.

overall, it seems like adam lambert (idol finalist who came in 2nd) is a better singer. i feel like i heard he was vocally trained before coming on the show. plus, with the little i've seen of him, he can really belt it. but i guess i'm with the rest of America in saying that there's just something so appealing about Kris. i looked up a couple of his other performances to see what he likes to play and came across an awesome rendition of Kayne's West's "Heartless." you can go here to actually see the performance. or just search on youtube and you'll find just the song.

mk. that's all i got. long weekend ahead...and i'll try to be quilting most of it. my quilt is all together, minus the border...but i'm going to start on one i'm making someone else. woot.

making progress

woot. i'm almost done. here's all the blocks in the order they are going to put together. at this point all the rows are sewn together (the five across), and now i just have to put all those rows together.

whoops...there's more

forgot i wanted to add this...

i joined Twitter. granted, i'm not actually twittering. i mean...who would really want to follow my every move? anyway, i joined it just to see what its about. who's on. etc. and Rainn Wilson has one. it cracks me up. his profile says among other things...that he's co-created of Soul Pancake (get to that in a second) and his son, Walter. i don't know why, but i think that statement is hilarious.

anyway, Soul Pancake. i didn't know what this was. turns out, its like a blog. well...a website that's dedicated to the discussion of spirituality, creativity, and philosophy. there are questions posted all the time about different topics that may be really important to one person and not another. its like a big forum about thought-provoking ideas. i think its really interested that Rainn co-created the site too. and cool. check it out if you feel like it.

how come tv shows can't stay realistic?

this is a good question. one that i talked over with Sam 1 on saturday. i mean...obviously this depends on the show. but really...its been starting to bug me. i began to rewatch Alias a few weeks ago and unfortunately, my eagerness to watch the show has soured because of its inability - in my eyes - to stay real.

the first two season were great. the relationships were real. i believed everything that happened. even the third season seemed somewhat plausible. i mean, i realize, we're looking at the inside workings of the CIA and secret agents, so obviously whatever happens is pretty out there, but at some point the action started to feel a bit forced. in the fourth season, which i'm on now, all the main characters from the previous season somehow all manage to secure spots on a black ops division of the CIA. i highly doubt this would happen. and, as i semi-ranted to Sam 2 today, Michael Vaughn is no where near qualified for this job. Vaughn's character started out as Syndey's "handler" at the CIA in seasons 1 and 2. he was a bit dopy, a huge romantic, quiet a softie. it was cute. he's cute. it all worked. he sat a desk. he told Sydney what to do in mission to get the CIA the right stuff and give the wrong stuff to her other agency. he didn't go out in the field, but he knew how to use a gun, and he could kick someone's ass if he wanted to. but now...he's black ops. he's taking down guys that are 300 pounds and 7 feet tall. he has this hard edge to him. its too much for me. idk. it just doesn't seem right.

yeah...i'm analyzing this tv show on my blog. haha. god. i can't help it...i've watched almost 100 episodes of it in the last month.

but in the same respects, lots of tv shows go this way i think. its like, once you've run out of all the relationship options, once you given in to all the possible "real" life situations that could happen, the producers and writers branch out in the crazy territory. stalker on One Tree Hill anyone? Izzie's insane ghost sex? i mean...come on people. we can only take it for so long. it drives me nuts when shows that were grounded in real issues jump to something crazy. that's why i stopped watching One Tree Hill. once the show's tone is defined, i think its pretty ridiculous to go against it. i mean, if you're a show like Supernatural, you're not going to be completely realistic, and we know that. Gossip Girl is set in a hightened reality. House is put in a place where strange cases are the norm, so we can understand when something out of this world happens.

i commend The Office for their ability to stay real. i mean, they have kooky characters that set up hilarious situations, but none of it ever seems too far fetched. i watched an interview with some of the writers one time, and they said that every time they are pitching and idea, the big test is...does it feel real? could this really happen? and if the answer is no...they don't do it. i think that's pretty smart.

okay, enough tv ranting. i'm gonna try to get to bed early. or something. lol. maybe i'll make another block. i've only got 5 left and then i can start putting the whole thing together!

no worries...you have the right site

for those of you who are actually looking at the website of this blog (hcfast.blogspot.com) you'll notice it looks a bit different. it looks orange. and black. and white. and an eyeball in the upper left corner. yeah...its still me. just a different look. i think i like this template, but i'm sort of not sure. its possible things will change in a couple of days. i can't say for sure. anyway, i'm working on a getting a post up, but i'm too tired now. its 12:30 am and it took me at least a half an hour to pick a new template. goodnight.

thought this was funny enough to share

i checked my school email account today and had an email from this guy named Jon H*** (i feel i should respect his privacy) with the subject line as "Last Friday." of course...i assumed it was some ridiculous junk mail, but my browser makes me preview it before deleting it, so i got a peek at the message and here's what it said:

"I apologize in advance to those of you whom this letter was not intended for. Last Friday night I meet someone very cute out at the bars named Hailey (or one of it's variant spellings), and I've been kicking myself for not exchanging numbers with her. Considering the small number of girls who go by that name under the WSU student directory, I felt that sending my number to all of you wasn't too absurd. I was wearing pin striped dress pants with a blue button up shirt, and I have brown hair. If you remember me and would ever like to go out for food or meet up at the bars again, you should give me a call.

Jon H***
(507) ***-****"

its sort of one of those things that i think...whoa desperate. then i think, its a little sweet of jon. then i laugh at him. i can't make up my mind. and no...it was not me he was looking for. i was in the comfort of barb and tom's house on friday night listening to them and multiple friends play bridge from my couch in the basement. anywho...i looked him up on facebook and his picture is not very helpful. he's submerged underwater holding his breath. lol. you know...i hope he finds his hailey. or hayley. or haley. ha.

new quote

i tried to put a new quote in the header of this blog. it was too long, so i chopped it up and only used the first sentence. but i wanted to share the whole thing with you guys because i think its really inspiring...

"Find your purpose and fling your life out to it. Find a way or make one. Try with all your might. Self made or never made."
-Orison Swett Marden

i love my job.

it's the best. lol.

that sounds cheesy. but i do love it. i've even missed it. i've missed working. how crazy is that? its not really about the money - although money's good - its more about the atmosphere i'm working in. the people i work with. its kind of hard to describe. at the bank i'm sure we'd refer to this as the "Merchants culture." haha.

i think possibly my favorite part is that i'm treated as an equal. i'm on the same footing as everyone else, even though i'm in college. people value my opinions. people ask me questions. people want to know about me. they want to know what i think. and that's really cool. its really gratifying. and its still sort of shocking to me. and its sort of shocking that i know enough to give educated advise or opinions on things at work too. i've learned so much. anyway, i just hope that when i go off into the big bad real work of work that i find just as good of a job. that's what i'm really nervous about. my mom and i were talking about this, and she said that at least i'll know what i'm looking for when i get out there. at least i'll be able to ask the right questions. and i can pick and choose where i want to work. find where i'll fit. and i agree with that.

...but can i really afford to be picky? with the economy the way it is. i suppose i could just wait it out. i mean i don't really want to be stuck in a job i don't like. or a company i don't like working for. i guess i've just been thinking about this stuff lately because i only have one year left. in a way, finding the right job seems to me like almost trying to find the right boyfriend. i have all these things i bring to the "relationship" and so does the company. and we have to fit together. we have to like each other. we have to make sense as a team. and i would want a company to respect, value, and trust me. just like i would a guy.

i feel the analogy has gone a little too far. lol. but you get the point. and i think i've just talked myself into being selective about a job. go blogging for that. its good for getting the thoughts out. getting them to make sense.

i'm in the midst of watching a season 2 episode of Alias. i remember that i watched it with my parents for a while when it first came out...then i stopped for some reason. can't remember why. but its so good. so so good. and now i'm rewatching it. because i think i only saw the first half of the first season.

and i saw 17 Again last night. which is that movie with Matthew Perry turning into his 17 year old self aka Zac Efron. i was telling Sammi that i find that transformation a little hard to believe. but hey...i guess you never know. we'll just have to see what Zac Efron looks like is 25 years. anywho, i loved the movie. yes, i know, you can think i'm lame for that. but it was really funny. and cute. and believe it or not, Zac Efron brought some acting chops to the table. i mean, he was crying on screen. like some real, raw emotion crying. and he was so funny. there were some great moments between him and his kids and wife - i know, strange because he's 17 - but still. i was impressed. and hey, he's not bad to look at for 2 hours.