Vegetables

Mom, looking around the room: "Yep, you're starting to grow moss."

Apparently, my sister and I have become lazy hermits with no ambition in life. Okay, that's a lie. My sister has a job. She actually goes and does something sometimes. She even hangs out with friends often, which makes me feel rather lame and gives me yet another reason to stalk people on facebook.

Summer=lazy.

Today, I only left the bed to go get food or take a shower. Okay, so I did go out and plan some FHE activities for a couple of hours, but that hardly counts. It was just another place to get food. This really wouldn't be so awful if I didn't do it just about every single day, but that's how my summer has basically gone.

Wake up (incredibly late), eat some breakfast (in place of lunch), read my scriptures (probably the only productive thing I actually do), and then turn on the computer and start watching TV. I used to be so good about not watching TV. But then I discovered the internet, and boy did that kill me. Especially when I start watching shows that have been going for three or four season already, I tend to just sit in front of my computer and watch episode after episode because I still have thirty more episodes to watch if I want to catch up.

It's just sad.

At least today I worked a bit on my novel. And when I say worked on, I mean I wrote a page then deleted all but a paragraph of it. Yep. Okay, I did create two new characters and find a way to move the plot forward from where it has been stuck for the last several days.

So yeah, I was a little bit productive today.

Mom made Sara (my sister) and I go out in the rain and pull some weeds because she thought we had already spent too much time inside the room. She was totally right, but she decided to make us do this right in the middle of an episode of Chuck. Not cool, Mom, not cool.

Maybe, though, this is an improvement from last summer, during which my mother expressed her concerns that I was maybe becoming depressed and turning into an actual hermit. Yep, that's what happens when I don't have friends nearby. (Which I really do, but sometimes I just don't want to play. It's as simple as that.)

So really, I don't see much of a problem with watching TV during the summer. It's research in my opinion, and I still get things done that I need to. Speaking of which, I should work on my paper. Due on Monday...

But right now I'm just going to wait for Sara to get home from work so we can start another episode of Chuck. Bring it on.

Since I'm obviously not entertained enough...

So I've started a new blog, for anyone who cares to know. It's all about the crazy dreams I have. Trust me--they're entertaining, so you should check it out. Because, you know, dreams are cool.

http://thedreamsofdana.blogspot.com/

The Climb

And no, I am not planning on reciting any Miley Cyrus lyrics any time soon. This one's different.

So I was reminded today that I am not a man of endurance. That could be because I'm not a man, but there's a bit more to it than that. I went hiking up Bell Canyon with my friends Kadi and Jeff today, stupidly thinking that since I'm not particularly disinclined to move, I would do just fine. I was wrong.

After the first twenty yards or so, I knew I wouldn't do nearly as well as I thought. Hiking isn't too awful for me most of the time, but since I've spent a lot of my summer inside the cool house on the couch or on my bed, I haven't had much exercise. I did alright, though, considering, at least until we continued on past the reservoir (which was absolutely gorgeous and full to the brim of the bluest water imaginable up in the mountains). Once we hit the rocky sections that required me to step up a foot or two with nearly each step, I remembered that I'm not much for stamina.

I do great if I can take frequent breaks, which I did whenever I could. Kadi is one of those that just keeps going and going because she'll get too tired if she sits down and takes a breather, but I am definitely not built that way. Once I sit down for a minute and let my heart slow down a pace or two, I'm good to go until the next break. I'm not sure why that's the way that works for me, but I work with it because it works with me.

It's the same thing with my life, too. There are some people who look ahead and see their whole lives in front of them, and they just keep pushing through because if they stop and take a break, they probably won't make it to their goal. I, on the other hand, can only take one thing at a time. Sometimes I can't even think about what's happening on Tuesday when something's happening Saturday. Sure, I still keep in the back of my mind thoughts about where I'm supposed to be going, but my main focus is always on what's just ahead.

I think that might be why things don't get to me, even when they probably should. I live life in segments, segments that only affect each other if I want them to. For me, life is easy that way, and I do what I can with it.

So even if my life is going uphill, all I have to do is get through it, and then I can fully enjoy the freedom of coasting down.



And here's a random thought from the day:
We were walking along the trail, and Jeff didn't recognize anything, so he thought maybe we were heading the wrong way. "Turn around," I told him, "and you'll remember." How's that for profound? That's all we need to do with our pasts; turn around and remember, because otherwise we may turn the wrong way. Ha.

The End

I can't believe it's over.

When I was eleven years old, I discovered Harry Potter. Fitting, seeing as Harry was also eleven in the first book. I grew up with the guy almost year for year, and last night I had to experience the end. Again.

It was hard enough reading the end of the seventh book in the series. I almost didn't read Rowling's epilogue because doing so would mean it really was over, and I couldn't handle that very well. Harry Potter was and still is the greatest series of books I've ever read, and having to see it end nearly killed me.

But what a finish.

I never expected what I saw last night. The trailer for the final film made the movie look monumentally epic, the perfect way to end a phenomenon that lasted ten years (as far as the films go). And yet, as I sat in the theater as the credits rolled, I marveled at how much the movie still blew me away, even though I went in expecting the greatest Harry Potter movie ever made. I literally sat shaking as the lights came back on.

I've been seeing on Facebook reviews by my friends, saying the movie lacked what they hoped and they were a little disappointed. Maybe I convinced myself that they couldn't have made it much better, but I really can't see how people were disappointed at all. For me, the movie was absolutely fantastic. It made me want to cheer, weep, laugh, and get angry all at the same time, and that doesn't usually happen with me. Especially the crying part. That almost never happens with me. And I got so close to crying so many times in this movie. Even now, as I sit on my bed twelve hours after the movie ended, I want to cry.

I can't believe it's over.

I can't help but wonder what I'm supposed to do now that I'm no longer waiting for the next movie to come out. I suppose, since I got over it with the books, I'll survive. But when I turned the final page of the book, I knew there were still movies to come. Not so with the films.

It really is over, and now, like Harry, I have to grow up.

Goodbye, childhood.

In the Middle of the Night

This post is early, because I'll be a bit busy camping on Tuesday. So this is a treat!

Today, my friends, is Free Slurpee Day, 7-11. And yes, since it is after one in the morning, today is today. I wanted to make that distinction, because I still feel like today is Sunday, seeing as I have yet to go to bed. Let me tell you...strange things happen at night.

Like Slurpee adventures. Three different stops, three different Slurpees, and some of the people I was with were planning to go out to more stores to get even more. No wonder they've always been out of the free cups when I get there at noon. Everyone takes them at the stroke of midnight! I'm sad to say that I've become one of those cup-stealing hooligans who traverse the quiet midnight streets. But there's something different about a free Slurpee that you can't find in a purchased one. The little cups, too small for a real refreshing treat but big enough to enjoy a couple of flavors, brought some people together that had never met before. That doesn't happen too often, now does it? We plan to save our cups (there were many) to make a little Slurpee cup pyramid in memory of the night's events. We definitely made it a momentous occasion as we sat slurping our delectable frozen Slurpees. According to Eli, "A toast to, in my opinion, the only holiday in July."

And we saw a dead cat. In the middle of the road. Our driver wanted to save him but he was too far gone for us to do anything. It was really quite depressing, actually. We drank to his afterlife happiness with our next Slurpee. Well, at least I did. I felt rather bad for that poor little kitty.

On a happier note, I've been playing with a fruit fly that seems to enjoy the light of my computer screen. It's afraid of the cursor, so I've been controlling it, forcing it to walk in directions it doesn't want to walk. Some may call it cruel, but that's what happens in the middle of the night; people change, get crazy, and do things they wouldn't do in the light of day. Except me, because I tend to do the same things during the day that I do at night.

Now, as random as this all is, I'm wondering if there is something to learn from these few little adventures I just had. 

Yes.

Because it's not always easy to see when something is good for you. Like tonight. On any normal night, I'd be asleep, dreaming some crazy dream about a man stealing people's shoes. But not tonight. Because tonight I had an adventure with my little sister's friends (because all my friends are being normal and sleeping), and it gave me the desire to have more random adventures in the middle of the night.

And I don't need a holiday to do it.

Can I Have Your Number?

Sometimes I surprise myself with how observant I can be, especially when half the time I don't realize when someone is talking to me.

Somehow, "I think Erica's cute" turned into "I want to get her number, distract everyone else so I don't get embarrassed" in my head this weekend. I was surprised when my brother, Rob, even told me he wanted to ask Erica on a date--apparently we have that sort of sibling relationship, now. That's why, when I saw her walk into ward prayer Sunday night, I decided to do everything I could to help my dear brother, especially after he confided in me like that.

Immediately after the mingling began, Rob went straight to the back of the room and started talking to the cute little Peruvian girl named Erica. I was pretty proud of how easily he just broke into conversation--I should learn a thing or two from him. They talked most about music (and I know this because I was listening in while I had my own little conversations) and about how they like the same kind, which is pretty impressive, because Rob listens to the strangest music the world has to offer. I wasn't feeling very well that night and wanted to go home to my bed, but I was kind to my brother and hung around so he could keep talking. Not only that, but I wanted to see if he'd be successful.

After a while, someone else came and grabbed Rob to talk to him about something, and he disappeared for a second, leaving Erica wondering (I'm sure) whether she should stay or go. After less than a minute, Rob came back and quickly told Erica, "Don't go anywhere; I'll be right back." Aww, said the voice in my head. He likes her. I knew that already, but it was cute to see.

So there Erica stood, waiting for her dashing man to return. (And when I say dashing, I don't necessarily mean it. Rob's got enough hair for three of him.) I could tell she was a little uncomfortable and couldn't quite jump into the conversation of the rest of our group, but what could I do? I don't have Rob's knack for speaking to people easily. I was saved from feeling bad, though, when Rob came back once again.

"It looks like we'll be practicing for a while, so..." He glanced at all of us, who had, of course, stopped our conversation to listen to his. Rob tried to get us to keep talking, but no one wanted to. What he was about to say to Erica was far more interesting than anything we had to say. But I already knew what Rob wanted to say to this girl, and I knew that he didn't want to say it in front of anyone else.

So I turned to the others and started describing one of the rapids on the Grand Canyon, one that can be interesting to just about anyone, all the while listening to the tiny Rob voice to my right saying, "So what's your number?"

What I learned from this is that I'm far better at paying attention to other people's dealings than I am to my own, and this can definitely prove useful in certain situations.

And more people need to learn a lesson from Rob--it's really not that hard to walk up and talk to a girl you like, as long as you have an awesome little sister to keep your conversation private.