Facebook

Facebook needs to calm the crap down. Weekly, I hear on the news some new changes they are making and every time I get on there, some new change is happening. It irritates me. Not only does the website have its own movie but it is such a pop culture phenomenon that EVERYONE has one. I think this is great but I find it annoying that it messes up so frequently.

I probably won't stop using Facebook but I am so tired of it not updating correctly, the chat feature being garbage and not getting messages people send me. I would enjoy all this functionality if it actually worked....

Come on Facebook, get it together.

"Hi, I'm adorable. I like long walks in the yard, flip flops, peeing in the house and biting the cat."

New puppy

Meet my new brother Albert! He enjoys chewing on random objects, eating rocks, and terrorizing the cat. He is a shepherd/lab mix and he will probably be a pretty big boy when he grows up!

Guard Rehearsals

I teach color guard (if you didn't know already). Usually when I say that to people who have never been involved in it I get a few responses, "Oh yeah! I know what that is" "YOU were in guard? The girls at my high school's guard were weird/sluts/ugly etc." or "Is that the thing with the girls with the flags and the guns and stuff" Yeah, the thing with the girls with guns and flags and junk...I have some observations about it.

1. It's really hard.

I knew this already as I went through the toughest technique training probably in the entire country when I was young but even at a smaller school, it is really difficult if you want to be a great group. I noticed yesterday how hard some of my girls were working and how tired they were and I thought "why do people do this?!". I should be able to answer this question...

2. Why do people do it?

I really don't know. I always like to hear how people got involved in the activity. Whether it be they had a friend in it, or they just decided one day that they would be in color guard. Something attracted me to it at a young age and I started to learn little things here and there on my own and from friends' sisters who were in my future high school's guard when I was about 9 years old. I was also given my first rifle by the equipment manager and flag/uniform designer when my sisters were in marching band. When I auditioned at 14, I really had no idea what I was getting into...approximately 16 years later after being introduced to the activity I am here, still writing about it.

3. Being an instructor/coach/teacher/whatever you want to call it is waaaay easier.

No. I thought this when I was in high school mostly. I would see my instructors standing on the sidelines in fall or sitting in the bleachers in winter watching our run throughs and would be envious that they were getting a rehearsal long break but it isn't as easy as it looked. Here are my current observations as to why it is harder 1. You have to do almost as much work if not more than the students. 2. Little pay 3. Loss of free time 4. Having to deal with many different conflicting personalities and 5. They never did anything because they already had...sort of like "paying your dues". SO, just so my kids know that I worked my butt off for quite sometime, I tell them how awful it was for me "back in my day." Hopefully one day they thank me...

4. I learned in a RIDICULOUS guard. Like, outrageous, intense, hard core (hard corps hahahah get it??) top of the line, great training, technique etc. etc. I never realized this until I had moved out of my suburban bubble and started to explore the other aspects of the activity. Also, as a some sort of statistical fact...there are probably only about 4 other guards in Indiana with similar training and championship records and probably about 20 high schools in the ENTIRE WORLD with this sort of rigorous thing going on. As a matter of fact, not only has the place I was trained been a WGI finalist in the top class since 1984 but was the first high school to win according to historical scores. On this note, I also noticed that there was another world out there outside of WGI world class (the highest level or advanced level for non guard people) and there was actually some great stuff going on! I learned that it has a lot to do with support from parents, family etc. etc. and money sadly...but true talent and training cannot be bought.

5. I love labeling and making bullet points with numbers... :)

Anyway, with this being said, it is a wonderful, terrible, amazingly awful, beautiful, depressing, time consuming, fabulous, fantastic, outrageous, scandalous, demanding, lovely activity that I have a undying love/hate relationship with that has made me who I am today that I can't wait to continue on with.

I love guard. (Depending on the day, you can read this with sarcasm)

Shopping...

I feel compelled to write lately. I go through phases with things I like to do and hobbies. Like, writing, drawing, photography, designing, painting etc.

A hobby I always like to do is dance (something along with guard that I have been doing for what seems like forever). Another I always like to do is shop.

I have a really hard time with shopping. I don't spend a lot of money though because I don't make a lot (yet). My problem is that I need to find the best deal and I am very indecisive. Luckily, I work at a clothing store where I receive a generous discount -not going to mention which one since this is public and my opinions don't reflect theirs and blah blah blah- but I also like to hunt for deals around the mall. Also, I live in suburbia in the midwest where the only things to do are shop, go out to eat, go to the movies and.....I guess that's all....

Anyway, I feel the best thing to come out of shopping is sharing my deals and favorites with my non-existent readers and the random people who come across my posts. I have had SO many great deals in the past winter that I feel like I need to tell everyone about it but never got around to writing about it so I will start now....On a side note: I am a product of my environment and not highly fashionable.

My favorite "deal"

are flip flops from Hollister. I know what you are thinking "Hollister, really?? You're 23." I know, awful but their flips flops are just absolutely awesome and they do have some cute clothes. I discovered them when I needed an inexpensive squishy-er flip flop to wear on campus when I was still down at IU's Bloomington campus (big, with classes spread out). I bought these. They are usually $15.50 but they have not been that high the entire summer. They come in solid colors and two toned colors and they are so comfortable I could die.

I also should brag about my new dress. Bought at JCPenney, it is black, strapless and zips at the top in the front (can't find a picture, sorry) originally $26 marked down to $12 plus a $10 off coupon...I paid $3.20 for it.

I love shopping but should probably stop...

photo from Forever 21

Let me talk about Forever 21 though. Last Friday, I visited their store in downtown Indianapolis. The store is SO messy and a merchandising nightmare but I managed to uncover some plain tank tops that cost $2.80 a piece! That is unreal to me as I see tank tops like this where I work for much, much more individually. These come in about ~20 colors or so and are a really good deal. I just recommend buying them online and going up a size as they are very tight.

Hopefully I can find more deals this weekend....Or pay some bills, whatever.

Summer...

I need to start writing on here more...so here I go!

-My parents got a kitty. Since I am trapped here with large amounts of debt until I finish college (it only has taken 6 years, no BD) I now have a kitty..She loves me the best.
-I trimmed my hair last month and now all I want is it to be really long again...
-I am sadly excited to start classes in August!
-It is 93 degrees and it is early June...WOAH
I am starting to re-introduce myself to my love of clothes, fabrics and style working at a clothing store again. I used to want to go to fashion school but somehow ended up in Art History. I love the two subjects and want to find a way to combine them together.

-I got my debit card and credit card mixed up again...I wish I could blame all of my expenses on that! But, I have to blame my car....

Hopefully I will post again soon! I need to remember I have a blog.... :)

Updates etc.

Well, I haven't written in awhile so here are some updates....for anyone who cares...Mostly for me so maybe I will not forget my life someday.

• Since I mentioned my other sister getting married I should mention that my sister Jenny got married too on September 25th. It was also an outdoor wedding but up at Julia's house and it was surprisingly cold? I also doubled as the photographer and would love to do weddings if I had a nice camera!
• Guard season ended! Yay more free time but I will miss my girls.
• I decided to take next semester off from school mostly for my sanity but also for financial reasons!
  
• I turn 23 in 9 days! Halloween in 17!
• Here's some pics:

Annoyances ( I need to release my negativity)

I am not sure why but I have a few issues with things that go on in the world. This isn't a preachy post about oil spills, the recession or something that complaining will definitely do nothing about. This is a post about things that annoy me based on the lack of common sense of people etc.

From someone who doesn't really have something to complain about, I have a lot to complain about.

-People with children who are poorly behaved and run into me. Then, said people just smile at them like it is okay/cute.....This is specifically a problem at Wal-Mart. Speaking of Wal-Mart.....

-Wal-Mart -- Ugh, what is the deal? The aisles are too small or something. There are always 9 people where I need to be and two lanes open with 500 people waiting in line. Also, I know this isn't Wal-Mart's personal problem but the person in front of me in line always has a cart full of the entire grocery section.....Just sayin'.

-"Hippies" -- I'm not talking about my parent's generation of free love and prairie skirts. I'm talking about kids I went to high school with/kids from high income areas who decided to become dirty in college, complain about the environment and then hop into their expensive car daddy bought them that spews exhaust into the air. If you really were into environmental protection you would ride your bike everywhere........seriously. You probably don't even own a bike..........

-Speaking of rich kids.....-- I didn't grow up in a shack in the middle of Disgustingville, USA where I had to run from gang violence or anything either but come on, kids. I enjoyed an interestingly easy life as a kid and teenager but after high school I faced the harsh reality that we had to move out of our big house into a shoebox and I had to buy my own car....yikes. Since then I have become extremely disturbed about how people spend "their" money. I'm not mad that people have parents who will pay for things while they are in college because if I am financially able when I am older, I will probably help my kids out (maybe). What bugs me is that after their parents pay their bills, rent, car insurance, buy groceries, pay tuition and then throw them a few bucks in for kicks they still complain about not having money...........while they are nursing a hangover after blowing their minimum wage "extra" money last night at the bars over a grand slam at Denny's........Speaking of drinking...................

-People who drink to be cool? Yeah, you. You're a tool. If you are going to drink, do it because you want to, not because you want to be "cool." Idiot.....

-Boys who think I'm an idiot. Yeah, good luck with that....And if you are being mean because you "like me," once again.......good luck with that.

-Stupid girls. Different than me being an "idiot". I'm talking about girls of the get drunk-sleep around-skirt tucked in underwear-hot mess variety. I am not an extreme feminist or anything but, holy moly.....get it together. You are embarrassing me.

-Traffic. We all know about this.

and lastly.....

-Twilight. I'm sorry. I read the books, I saw the movies (well, the first one). I just don't get it.....I really, really don't. Sorry.

END RANT.

Updates

Well, I haven't updated this since January so I thought I would. Nothing too exciting has been happening besides school and work BUT last week was Spring Break. I didn't go anywhere but since this isn't my last chance to have a senior year of college spring break due to my victory lap, I get another chance next year! Nothing monumental happened but I thought I would share what happened:

Saturday-Sunday Mar 6-7th: On Saturday, my mom, sister and I went and visited my Grandma in her new nursing home. My dad came and met us there and we all went to eat lunch. My sister and I went to the mall afterwards once my mom went to work. Later I met Liz @ CGHS for IHSCGA Divisional Finals to watch the guard she teaches in the winter. It was fun to watch lower level guards since I have no idea what they do.

On Sunday, after church, I met Liz and we went to the WGI regional at Ben Davis to see some people perform and it was actually really fun. Oh, and in between Open and World classes we went to Arby's and I got ketchup all over my pants. That was pretty cool.....Later that night Kelly and I sat around.

Monday: I had a Dr.'s appointment (not exciting) then I think my mom and I walked around the mall.....I got bored that night and decided to work on a dance solo I am trying to put together but ran out of ideas as always...I am terrible at writing dance stuff.....

Tuesday: .....I think we went and saw the Blindside at the dollar movies...

Wednesday: St. Patrick's Day. I went to lunch with my parents and lo and behold I got ketchup on my pants again...yesss....Later I went over to Avon and hung out with Meghan and we spun in the park. I'm not too terrible but if I decided to march again I will NOT be spinning weapon. Not only did I find out that my wrist issue from this past summer was not a fluke but it is a definite problem and it hurts pretty much all the time. It was really fun though and it was SUPER nice outside. Later that night I had a meeting thing at Bath and Body Works for a performance review and I got a raise...sweeeet.

Thursday: I have NO idea what I did....

Friday: I have no idea what I did on Friday either....

Saturday: EARRRRRRLY in the morning I had a BBW's meeting to introduce new products which I actually think are kind of fun because you get to see what new stuff is coming out. Then my mom and I went shopping and I came back home and slept all day. Later that night I went to IHSCGA state finals with Kelly and met my sister and her friend at the CG Alumni room and ate free pizza. Free food is great.

Sunday: Came back to IU.....

That's pretty much it!!!

Break

My (late) Christmas break recap:
-After finals week I went home to Greenwood and layed around for a few days and did nothing. No working, no going out, just absolutely nothing and I loved it.

-I worked a few days at Bath and Body Works, one being a 10 hour shift...I have done 10 hour work days in an office but in retail it was awful. I like working there and all but man...

-Christmas stuff...

-Florida! It was fun but a little colder than last year. My sister's wedding was very nice on the beach.

-Once we got back I hung out with some of my friends and did some more laying around. Those are two of my favorite things!

-Came to Bloomington and worked a couple of days so I didn't miss a paycheck. Somehow, when I got switched in payroll in July, my paychecks changed. Let me digress: At the end of a 2 week work period my timesheet goes in to be approved and then the next pay period begins and at the end of this week a paycheck will arrive. However, the paycheck was from the pay period before the 2 week period that I discussed above. Does that make sense? It doesn't make sense to me either but it doesn't matter. Anyway, I had to work at the beginning of January because if I didn't, I would have had no paycheck on January 22nd.

-I went to the movies and spent $20. I saw Youth in Revolt. I liked it but I didn't like spending $20.

The End!

SHE'S ALL THAT

I wrote this as a note on my facebook in April '08. I really like it because it is so true how your conceptions of growing up are when you are a little kid!

April 2008:
So I'm sitting here in my room today doing nothing because of the cloudy-ness and because of the sinus headache I have. I was flipping through the channels andI came across my favorite movie at age 12.....She's All That. I spent many sleep overs, weekends by myself and first time girl boy parties with my wonderful elementary/ middle school friends watching this movie thinking, "Wow, I CANNOT wait until I am in high school! Look how fun it is and look at all the hot boys!" But now, being out of high school for 2 years, I feel that at age 12, I was really misled. I always thought that there would be one super popular group of people, one nerdy girl and one super hot popular boy stuck in between the two....but there wasn't. So here is a list of this movie compared to my high school experiences/observations.

1.She's All that Version: Senior Spring Break! Partying in Florida with MTV's Spring Break...meeting a reality star with a large female fan base and dumping your hot popular boyfriend for said reality star and making him jealous.
My Version: Not enough money to go anywhere and parents not willing to pay for me to go anywhere....and I willingly dumped my "boyfriend"....not for someone famous but because he was an idiot.

2. She's All That Version: Cool Dj does the morning announcements with cool slang words
My Version/CGHS version: The morning announcements were done based on a teacher approved script read off a teleprompter and we always had to be really nerdy and smile a lot.

3.She's All That Version: Hot Popular Guy makes bet with friends that he could get a nerdy girl popular by dating him, then the boy falls in love with the girl.
My Version/CG version: I wouldn't doubt if the first part happened but the second part?....not so much lol

4. She's All That Version: Big controversy in the race for senior prom queen!! Super popular bitch against former art nerd.
My Version/CG Version: I don't ever remember voting for prom queen lol

5. She's All That Version: Popular Bitch's friend wears a middriff baring top EVERYDAY.
My Version/CG Version: Hello, dress code! I got in trouble everyday for just wearing T-shirts that didn't cover my shoulders.....stupid

6. She's All That Version: BIG HOUSE party at super rich popular boy's house with tons of dancing and alcohol while the kid's parents were out of town.
My Version/CG Version: There was never just one party

7. She's All That Version: Popular Boy's sister gives nerdy girl a makeover by cutting her hair, doing her eyebrows, giving her new clothes and putting on makeup revealing a hot girl underneath in a matter of hours along with a slow motion walking down the staircase entrance
My Version/CG Version: I totally can't recall this ever happening or any high school boy that would be generous enough to help a poor motherless homely girl become hot.

8. She's All That Version: Nerdy Girl gets revenge on Mean Art Bitch by putting makeup that looks like clown makeup all over her face while she is passed out.
My Version/CG Version: I so hope that happened because I hate the Mean Art Bitches lol

9. She's All That Version: Popular Bitch confronts Nerdy Girl at party and, with a loud record scratch stopping the music, she pour alcohol down her dress telling her she is a waste of yearbook space.
My Version/CG Version: Whenever I had witnessed something like this there was much more yelling, screaming, hair pulling, finger pointing and phrases such as "YOU DIRTY WHORE!!" or "BITCH I AIN'T PLAYIN!!!!"

10. She's All That Version: PROM!!! Awesome decorations, cool music, choreographed dances! Wow, prom is spectacular and dramatic with the race for prom queen. Unfortunately, the popular bitch wins.
My Version: Prom. Ok decorations, ok music but NO CHOREOGRAPHED dances?!?! I almost didn't go to prom but at almost the last minute I caved and decided to buy my tickets and go with a sophomore. I let my date dance with this girl he liked, listened to one of my best friends cry because she just broke up with her boyfriend, and danced with Natalie's little brother. Went back to Kelly's house, fought on the phone with my drunken kinda boyfriend then went to bed because the jerks where I worked made me work the next day. *SIGH* Prom.

11.She's All That Version: GRADUATION!! FINALLY! The hot popular boy decides he likes the girl but loses the bet and has to walk to get his diploma nude.
My Version/CG Version: I have NO formal complaints about graduation except that I had done something REALLY REALLY bad to my eyebrows and now all my pictures from graduation feature my eyebrow mishap. At our graduation, I had beach balls hitting my head and silly string in my hair but all in all....I was glad that my high school career was over. And I highly doubt that they would ever let a guy walk naked at graduation...which I'm kinda glad. : D

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays! I really liked this pic I took of the circle in downtown Indy from a girls night I had with Kelly and Amber over Thanksgiving weekend in 2006. Hopefully over break I can take more of all the Christmas lights! Those are my favorite photography pictures to take.

IU/Purdue Weekend

I attended my first IU football game this weekend! Unfortunately, we lost and the game was terrible but I had a lot of fun tailgating and watching the game. I wish I knew more about football.

Other than that I went out with friends both nights and it was a little crazy but still fun and way better than last year at Purdue.