yup, my name is princess casey

shifty eyes

2011-12-15T17:47:00.001-08:00

You know that moment when someone catches you staring at them and you try to look away a second too late and just end up looking creepy? That's awkward.

hola!

2011-12-15T11:19:00.000-08:00

So I'm writing a huge long paper about the history of Puerto Rico and I come across THIS sugar-beet-working young man from 1940... Ok, yes, he would now be old enough to be my great-great-grandfather, but isn't he handsome?

fun with sisters

2011-12-09T13:49:00.001-08:00

texting conversation
me: Did you know that you can't stick your tongue out all the way and breathe fast at the same time?
Sis: What?
me: Stick your tongue out all the way and try to breathe really fast. It's impossible.
Sis: I think this is a visual experiment because I am breathing just fine.
me: Haha but do you look like a puppy? :)
Sis: Haha I hate you

happyyy!

2011-12-01T13:51:00.001-08:00

Today I gave my fruit roll-up to a crying toddler. She and her mom both got quite happy.

awkward

2011-11-29T14:26:00.001-08:00

My ex-boyfriend's father just sent me their family's Christmas e-card. But I'm most sure that the picture is from 2 years ago. And (also) we stopped dating almost a year ago.

I would include the actual picture, but that's a little too creepy for my taste.

young love

2011-11-27T13:28:00.001-08:00

My fortune cookie from yesterday appeared to bring promising luck with the first three words of "Soon" followed by "wedding bells". But then I got nervous that its promise of wedded bliss pertained not to my own but to "a family member's future," when the most eligible bachelorette in my family (not including the missionary and the pre-missionary and my mom) is my 13-year-old sister.

joy

2011-11-09T18:29:00.000-08:00

One can find many interesting things at the local campus bookstore, of which one might snap various photographs with one's cellular phone:

jokes (some people might call you "weird" for sending them this picture)

inspiration (fun=joy)

dogs (what a friendly greeting!)

right! (what is that small image in the center?)

nice pins (dream)

nice astronauts (I like his winner's ribbon)

wanted posters (lost cat)

and owls (hoo).

Cats

2011-10-26T21:11:00.000-07:00

I was wondering how many cats were named "Bandit" so I looked it up. I didn't find the answer, but I did find a list of the 10 most popular cat names on the Friskies website, in an article written by Bobbi, the New Cat Parent, of which there are 2 main categories:

Explorer Top 10
1. Tiger
2. Kitty
3. Smokey*
4. Tigger*
5. Baby
6. Shadow*
7. Oreo*
8. Princess*
9. Midnight
10. Lucky

National Top 10**
1. Lucy
2. Molly
3. Oreo*
4. Kittens
5. Smokey*
6. Princess*
7. Shadow*
8. Tigger*
9. Angel
10. Missy

*Names that made both Top 10 lists
**A survey done by PetFinder.com in 2008

I also found a nice website called Temple of Cats, if you're interested.

My curiosity on bandit-type cats came tonight after I was leaving campus at about 9:00pm. I daintily walked down a flight of stairs and saw two little cat guys pesking around the lawn with their big fluffy striped tails and their shady eyes. I realized they were not so much cats as they were raccoons, so I called my little sistery sister to document the moment and also in case they tried to pull a fast one on me.

Em, click on the cat picture for your best present ever.

princesses

2011-10-02T21:39:00.000-07:00

From a princess perspective, there are a few things in life that are important to remember:

It's important for princesses to be princesses.
It's important for princesses to feel like princesses.
It's important for princes to realize that princesses are princesses and to treat them as such.
It's important for princesses to realize that they are princesses and to act like princesses.
It's important for princesses to realize that other princesses are also princesses, and to treat them like princesses.
It's important for grown-up princesses to be nice to little princesses as well as big princesses.
It's important for little princesses to be nice to grown-up princesses as well as other small princesses.
It's important for princesses to say princess-like things and to do princess-like things.
It's important to remember that princesses are not princes nor jesters, but that princesses are quite uniquely important because they have princess-type things to do that only princesses can do.

positive emotion

2011-09-14T07:17:00.000-07:00

I found this to be most interesting:

"Every time a business in the service industry creates a negative emotion in the mind of a customer or client, that individual will share his dissatisfaction with an average of ten people before the emotion dissipates.

“The same research shows that a person who is impressed with a service will share that positive emotion with an average of only three other people at most. Given this situation it’s obvious why negative news travels faster and farther than positive news," (Chapin, Dwight. Success Unlimited, Dec. 1982, as quoted in ).

I did a google image search for "positive emotion" and was pleasantly surprised :)

foody

2011-09-13T14:12:00.000-07:00

Desperation is lightly salted rice cakes covered in peanut butter and jelly.

But then I liked it, and I couldn't decide if it really tasted delicious or if it was just the desperateness of the situation.

I found my answer when I googled my creation and found a picture proving that someone else clearly thinks it's a tasty treat as well.

This deserves a smiley face.

:)

family

2011-09-12T11:14:00.000-07:00

Family means don't mess with my sister or I will take you down to Chinatown.

flip-flops, sand and scorpions

2011-09-11T00:39:00.000-07:00

watch one of my FAVORITE stories!!!

aaand, my new favorite quote:

"If you're using half your concentration to look normal, then you're only half paying attention to whatever else you're doing." -Magneto before he turned bad (X-Men)

magic

2011-09-08T19:37:00.000-07:00

Sometimes being a vegan stinks, like when you don't have any good food to eat so you end up with a can of beans and some crackers for dinner.

Just Say No

2011-09-08T10:17:00.000-07:00

Today I called a certain gym to ask a question, since they left a flyer about an awesome deal on our front door. Well, next thing you know, the guy tried to pull a fast one one me: "Can I get your name and phone number?" To which I replied, "Um, actually no, cuz last time I did that I got a million phone calls about it, so I wanna make a decision before I give you my information." He was peeved, to put it lightly, but hey! I won't be getting a bunch of phone calls from people I don't actually know who convincingly sound like we've been best friends all our lives, right? I'm right!

*click on the photo for an extra treat

Blogger

2011-08-31T20:10:00.000-07:00

Blogger has taken "creepy" to an all new level. According to the new stats on my homepage, almost 6,000 people have viewed my blog (ever), including people from the following "most popular" countries:

United States 4,007
United Kingdom 284
Canada 173
Australia 124
Netherlands 80
Russia 70
Romania 66
Germany 65
India 62
Malaysia 50

This Month:

U.S. 314
Romania 27
U.K. 15
Australia 12
Netherlands 10
Canada 9
Singapore 9
Sweden 8
Malaysia 6
Germany 5

This Week?

United States 61
Netherlands 7
Romania 6
India 4
Brazil 3
Denmark 3
United Kingdom 3
Canada 2
Germany 2
Netherlands Antilles 1

And Today:

United States 23
India 2

What! I want to be best friends with these people! Nothing is cooler than pen pals!

But the cool factor of these countries/numbers doesn't even begin to compare to my sister's blog, emaloochie.blogspot.com, which may or may not make her famous very soon, as evidenced by her growing fan base in the Philippines.

Mawiage

2011-08-30T17:54:00.000-07:00

My sister Emily has informed me that my slim options for tying the so-called knot fall between the six brief months of March 2012 (when our sister Jessica gets home from her mission) and September 2012 (when Emily leaves on her mission) or anytime after March 2014 (when Emily gets back and I will be nearing the ripe age of 28). This post is to show her that I understand my options. Thank you.

Off to find a boyfriend.

poem!

2011-08-15T08:23:00.001-07:00

I'd Rather See A Sermon

Edgar A. Guest

I'd rather see a sermon

than hear one any day;

I'd rather one should walk with me

than merely tell the way.

The eye's a better pupil

and more willing than the ear,

Fine counsel is confusing,

but example's always clear;

And the best of all preachers

are the men who live their creeds,

For to see good put in action

is what everybody needs.

I soon can learn to do it

if you'll let me see it done;

I can watch your hands in action,

but your tongue too fast may run.

And the lecture you deliver

may be very wise and true,

But I'd rather get my lessons

by observing what you do;

For I might misunderstand you

and the high advice you give,

But there's no misunderstanding

how you act and how you live.

I'm 25

2011-08-13T22:23:00.000-07:00

Stop asking.

Conquering Fear

2011-08-10T21:14:00.000-07:00

For the first time ever, I didn't dash out the door during a fight-or-flight situation, even though I wanted to. I stayed and talked it out, even though it was hard. I think I have finally conquered my abnormally strong tendency to run, and I'm super excited about it. :)

not okay

2011-08-10T18:40:00.000-07:00

My pregnant friend Nicole asked me to pick up some maternity clothes for her. The girl at the checkout asked if they were for me.

feelin sketchy

2011-08-09T16:15:00.000-07:00

Is it just me, or is this a highly inappropriate word verification choice for blogger?

Pepper

2011-08-04T21:17:00.000-07:00

I would like to dedicate this post to one of my favorite flavors: pepper.

Many great things come in pepper: there's the Dr. variety as well as many seasoned vegetables, for starters.

When I ordered my latest Subway sandwich---the Veggie Delite with extra salt and pepper---the worker breathed in at the wrong second and sneezed awfully close to my food.

But no matter.

Things I Like

2011-07-17T23:06:00.000-07:00

Today in church I started a list of Things I Like:

1. People who laugh at their own jokes

I haven't gotten very far on my list, but I will keep thinking of things.

spying

2011-07-13T22:24:00.000-07:00

If the world could look at what people I look at on facebook, I would not look at most of the people that I look at.

corn

2011-07-07T21:08:00.000-07:00

I just ate some popcorn that tasted like actual corn, and I did not like it!
This is the best picture I could find to express myself.

And this no-roommate business is getting out of hand! As evidenced by the amount of time I spend on the Internet, by myself.

oldies

2011-07-06T14:17:00.000-07:00

The fact that I could hang out with a 29-year-old guy the other day and it wasn't weird, is weird.

Optimism

2011-07-05T18:38:00.000-07:00

There are pros and cons of being home alone for a week.

CONS:
You have to do ALL the dishes.
You can't say "oh, my roommate must have left this mess!" when anyone comes over.
You might not get any visitors.

You may start talking to yourself.

PROS:
You can pee with the bathroom door open.

:)

2011-07-03T22:14:00.000-07:00

After a medium-challenging week, I noticed a small, nice miracle that God placed just for me. I was going for a walk around the block with a friend when we passed two little kids riding bikes. The 7-ish-year-old boy hopped off his bike right in front of us and said to me, "You look very pretty!" I said "thank you!", he said "you're welcome", and we went on our way. And that nice comment was just what I needed. Thank you, little friend-boy.

Bird

2011-07-03T20:21:00.000-07:00

Today, while I was walking to meet a friend, a small bird started following me about 10 feet above in the air, squawking wildly. It then proceeded to dive-bomb my head no fewer than 4 times, until I got behind a tree.

being happy

2011-06-08T15:30:00.000-07:00

Today, while I was bawling my eyes out after realizing that a close friend had stolen from me once again, I asked myself, "What is the happiness that obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ brings to me?" Kinda like, "Is what I'm trying to share with the world really worth it?" Cuz it is a whole lot of work.

Because, let me be honest here, I am seriously trying to live the gospel and I am most definitely trying to help others to see why following Christ's teachings is so important... and yet, even while trying to help a friend to realize these things, I have to learn how to deal with challenges that are presented because of that exact situation.

And then I came to a conclusion:

For me, it [the happiness that obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ brings] is a peace of conscious and confidence that the Atonement of Christ provides me with the ability to repent and grow, and access to His comfort during the process.

...even when this "repentance" and "growing" result from the process of learning to love and forgive and teach someone who has less understanding about certain correct principles than I do. It still hurts, and I still have to learn how to get over it (hence the "repentance" part). But I know that in this crazy world I have the rare gift of peace because of my knowledge of and obedience to the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. [www.lds.org / www.mormon.org]

So, I realized (once again) that it is worth it, even when it usually seems like more bad things happen exactly when I'm trying to do good things.

common things

2011-06-07T14:29:00.000-07:00

Today, as I was riding my bike down a huge hill on the way back from work, where I traveled at the approximate speed of 25 mph--about 3 miles in 7 minutes--thanks to all-green stoplights! a brand-new convertible passed by me and I had a thought:

Riding your bike down a huge hill in the summertime provides exactly the same feeling as driving a brand-new convertible down a huge hill, with about the same amount of effort required and everything!

Also, if someone thinks that I won't notice that one black-striped sock went missing from the dryer 2 weeks ago and one blue-striped sock mysteriously disappeared this week, then he or she is quite mistaken and I will wear the black and blue socks together to show that I will not let my new socks vanish in vain.

feelings

2011-06-01T22:45:00.000-07:00

Shock is a hard emotion to deal with, cuz it's just so... unexpected.

I espeak Espanish

2011-05-18T16:36:00.000-07:00

"Your vocabulary scores are above average," my advisor told me today. "Especially for English being your second language."

"Oh, English is actually my first language..." I replied.

"Oh really?" he asked. "Then why do you have an accent?"

I was personally unaware that I had an accent, but I tried to come up with a way to get him out of that awkward situation. "Oh, well, I speak Spanish and Portuguese, but I learned them later. I do teach a Spanish class, though," I suggested.

"Oh, yeah, that must be why your accent is so strong," he said.

new talent

2011-04-27T16:45:00.000-07:00

Today I learned that I can make the perfect impression of a ringing phone. Thank you, Spanishy.

mean nerds

2011-04-19T10:50:00.000-07:00

The regular kind of nerds is fine: high-water pants and mixed patterns don't bother me from afar. It's the meanness from the mean nerds that drives me crazy. I am currently in the library listening to a mean nerd bully a regular nerd about something to do with DNA and RNA, blurting out "YOU ARE WRONG!!!" every few minutes whenever he disagrees, whether or not his companion is truly mistaken. I would love to walk up to the mean one and tell him that he's a bully and no one likes him, and then give the regular nerd a "keep it up!" pat on the back. I will try to restrain myself.

Babies

2011-04-13T23:53:00.000-07:00

In my life, there are certain things that people frequently bring up in conversation:

my age (24)
my heritage (grandfather: Puerto Rican)
my appearance ("Snow White", "Egyptian", and "this girl I know..." are most common)
my shoe size (10.5, which doesn't actually exist, so 11)
my duct-taped bumper (ask my sister)
my name (Casey)

English is a funny language, where girls can have boys' name and boys can have girls' names. We just like to share around here. Equality, and stuff. But I think there have been more comments about my name than about anything else in my life. Even my friends and my family make jokes all the time. [Me: You're gonna name your first kid after me, right? Becky: Of course! ...as long as it's a boy.] When I was an asthmatic 10-year-old I was put in a hospital room with a boy. Traumatizing. Years later, when chatting with a preschooler, he was traumatized: "your name's CASEY?! but that's a BOYS' name!" which my dad likes to bring up to this day.

But I mean, they might be right... my parents had picked out "Spencer Casey" for their first-born son, who turned out to be me on the actual day of my birth, and I guess they just hadn't prepared for such a scenario. They say that I chose my name, though, because while they were sitting in the hospital trying to decide what to name me, they said "well, what about Casey?" and I squawked, apparently giving my approval. (Who listens to babies anyway?) Not that I'm complaining, though... I think that either I grew into my name or my name grew into me.

So to all my friends Addison, Alexis, Ashley, Bailey, Blair, Cameron, Casey, Charlie, Courtney, Dakota, Drew, Dylan, Hayden, Jaden, Jadyn, Jaiden, Jaidyn, Jayden, Jamie, Jessie, Jordan, Kendall, Lane, Logan, Micah, Morgan, Parker, Payton, Quinn, Reagan, Reese, Riley, Robin, Rory, Rylee, Sam, Sidney, Skyler, Stacy, Taylor, and our fellow citizens, here's to equal rights or something. Stand strong.

Walking Accident

2011-04-13T23:04:00.000-07:00

This is a hard one to admit and/or explain because I'm not quite sure how it happened. I would also like to have a cooler story so that I feel a little less guilty for embellishing when people inquire about my battle wounds. All I know is that I had 10 minutes to make it to work after an impromptu nap, so I was groggily heading to the parking lot when I realized that I was no longer on my feet. I think that I thought that I needed to run to my car, but my body decided that it didn't want to do that quite yet. I think I just went down, I'm not sure. Is this amnesia? I'm kidding. But the firey sensation in both of my scraped knees and my right leg kinda takes me back to middle school...

new movie!

2011-04-12T16:51:00.000-07:00

I just found this great movie (free AND online) about Joseph Smith. You can find it here!

an awkward discovery

2011-04-11T19:42:00.000-07:00

pretty sure that the girl sitting next to me in class sketched me right next to her notes...

April 6th!

2011-04-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

Today is my favorite date!

1. We (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) believe that Christ was born on this day.
2. The Church was established on this day.
3. The Salt Lake Temple was dedicated on this day.

What better way to celebrate than with an unrelated surf music video in Portuguese?

fish

2011-04-05T18:46:00.000-07:00

Over half of the world has brown eyes. The second most common eye color is blue. One to 2% of the world has green eyes. Other variations include gray, amber (gold), hazel (brownish-yellow-green) and violet.

My sister says that mine are the color of rainbow trout.

May I have this dance?

2011-03-29T21:07:00.000-07:00

"Are you really busy?" he asked.

"Um, not really..." I answered.

"Like, could you leave your computer for a couple minutes?" asked the stranger who had come up beside me at the library.

"Um, yeah, I think so..." I said, wondering if he was subtly asking to use my computer.

"Ok, come with me," he said.

I wish that I had had an inclination of what was awaiting me before I left for this fine evening at the library. I might have brought some gum, or perhaps put on something other than a sweatshirt. I had been working on a Spanish presentation for about 4 hours when a tall young man approached my computer and asked me those curious questions. He proceeded to lead me towards a group of his friends around the bend before cluing me in to what we were doing. "I'm trying to show them a dance move I learned and I need a partner," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Um, I don't know how to dance," I replied nervously. "But okay..."

No further talking was necessary as I was whisked around the library dance floor. My partner demonstrated some very elaborate social dance moves as I tried to keep my composure. I'm not sure if it was my bright red face or his inability to remember exactly how the dance was supposed to go that put a damper on things, but he finally asked, "Are you embarrassed?"

By this point it was clear that my fellow peers in the library had been enjoying a 3-4 minute break from their respective projects.

"Only since the beginning," I remarked.

I think he took that as a hint. He let go of my hands and said "Thanks!" as I slinked back to my computer. Our peers clapped and some cheered, and the ensuing silence was eventually broken by the usual library-chatter.

Overall I think that we took first place.

too many hours in the day

2011-03-28T10:14:00.000-07:00

It all started with the broken LCD screen on my cell phone and the clock at the gym.

My broken cell phone screen presents a lot of problems. For example, I never know what time it is. Also, I can't see who's calling or who texts me. Additionally, the invisible buttons on the shattered screen made the alarm-setting process rather difficult. But last night, I managed to set one for 6:30am. There was already an automatic alarm set for 7:40am, so I hopped into bed a little later than I should have, hoping that one of the two alarms would wake me up.

Then, this morning, a miracle occurred. I woke up one minute BEFORE my alarm went off! I noticed that my roommate who usually goes to school at 7:00am was already gone by 6:30am, and 2 of my other roommates who are usually sleeping at that hour were already wide awake and hanging out in the kitchen, but nonetheless I got ready and headed for the gym. A little groggy, I still made it out the door on time.

There were quite a few more people at the gym than usual for it being almost 7:00am, and after a few minutes of working out on the elliptical machine I glanced over at the big clock on the wall and saw that that was because it was actually 8:00. How did I not hear my first alarm go off at 6:30? I thought. Of COURSE one roommate was gone and the other two were up, I was an hour off schedule. I wondered why I hadn't noticed the clocks in my room, in the vanity, in the kitchen, or in my car, on my way to the gym. I was a little bugged that I had woken up late without even knowing it, but I headed home after an hour. I had an hour and a half left before leaving for my 11:00 class. It was turning into a stressful day.

During breakfast, I glanced over at the kitchen clock. It said 8:00am. It was then that I became very confused. I went to the vanity, then to my bedroom, then back to the kitchen, checking all of the clocks. They confirmed that it was either 8:02, 8:05, 8:01, or 8:07. I may not be quite as alert in the mornings as I think I am, considering that it was still not making sense to me. So I called my mom. She said that it was eight o'clock. I hung up after a few of the free 60 minutes I had just acquired, and proceeded to get ready with an extra hour added to my day.

Unfortunately, I got kinda distracted and the time slipped away from me. Next thing I knew, class was starting in 5 minutes. What an annoying day, I thought. I could not get a grip on the time. I debated going or not, cuz I hate walking in late, but I finally decided 10 minutes past the hour that I would go. It was a struggle to find a parking spot but I finally made it to class 10 minutes later, at 11:20ish. I walked into the classroom and closed the door behind me, noticing that my petite, spunky Brazilian female Portuguese teacher had been replaced with a big, tall American English-speaking one. We stared at each other like baby lions who had simultaneously walked into each others' territory during feeding time at the zoo.

"I think I'm in the wrong class," I said.
"I think you are too," he said.

I looked up at the clock and then down at the students in the room, trying to figure out if it was the wrong day or what. One of my roommates happened to be in the third row, smiling up at me with an exasperated "What are you doing here!" look on her face.

"What classroom are you looking for?" the professor asked.
"Um, this one, I think, but I might be an hour ahead of time..." I answered, looking from him to the clock to the class and back.
"Oh, well you're welcome to stay... we're talking about urinary tract infections," he offered.
"Fascinating!" I said with a grin, turning to look at my very-embarrassed roommate. "But I think I'll just have my roommate catch me up on it later."

I slipped out and closed the door behind me, pausing to listen at the door as the professor asked her if she really was my roommate. A wave of laughter followed.

And now, after a much needed break to pull myself together, I am only 14 minutes late for my real first class!

voce deixou saudade...

2011-03-25T21:45:00.000-07:00

Temper Tantrum

2011-03-23T11:39:00.000-07:00

Today I noticed that the screen on my cell phone had mysteriously been broken from within the depths of my purse. I ran over to the cell phone store [let's call it "The Terrible Store" because I hate going there...] dreading having to face The Terrible Store Employees. My phones tend to break themselves at a very fast rate, which is why cell phone insurance has become a necessity in my daily life. And yet, when one goes to The Terrible Store for help, one might think that The Terrible Store Employee is being asked to surrender his first-born child rather than to merely find the solution for a broken cell phone.

It's curious to see the sweet, flirtatious sellers turn snarly when such a discrepancy arises. Such was my experience. The smiley guy who sold me my phone a couple months ago failed to mention the $50 price-tag that was tacked on to fixing this certain type of phone, even with insurance, even if it wasn't "dropped in water or smashed to smithereens" as he alluded were the only two ways in which insurance would not completely cover a broken cell phone.

Alas, there I stood, calmly explaining my case to the Terrible Store Employee as he calmly replied three or four times that, "Sorry, it's $50." It was then that I noticed feelings swelling up inside of me. I didn't say anything because I didn't know if tears or words would spill out. I just waited, not talking, as he proceeded to hand me the claim forms that would cost me $50. I took them from the counter and walked towards the exit, still not speaking, as I began to notice that my left hand was gripping my broken cell phone rather tightly. Then, out of the blue, the claim forms in my right hand began to be crumpled and I couldn't control it. As I approached the door, I watched my right arm forcefully throw the paper-ball at the door as I stormed out of The Terrible Store.

What just happened? I asked my body. I have never known it to publicly display my displeasure before, as livid as I might become. I play soccer, I'm not even good at throwing... but nice aim!

I apologize in advance, future husband; I think I might have a slightly suppressed temper.

monsters

2011-03-21T14:16:00.001-07:00

Tell me this tree doesn't look like a monster.

to the big scary man behind me...

2011-03-17T23:31:00.000-07:00

Dear Big Strong Man in the Yellow Shirt Running on the Treadmill Behind Me At the Gym,
Thank you for providing me with the motivation I needed to go faster on my stationary bike when I saw your reflection in the window and pretended like you were chasing me down a dark alley.

Sincerely,
Casey A.

among other things

2011-03-17T23:24:00.000-07:00

I have found out that you can tell a lot about a person by the length of their pants.

Words of Wisdom

2011-03-13T18:42:00.000-07:00

When the vehicle in front of me turns in at Walmart, I don't usually follow him unless I have previously planned to go there. Yet, for some indecisive people that might be how they get their weekly purchasing done. If not, then I really don't understand the signs on the highway that say DO NOT FOLLOW TRUCKS. Why would someone intentionally follow those big, ugly trucks off-road into the construction zones? And why has it happened enough times for them to make a sign about it?

Bee

2011-03-10T14:18:00.000-08:00

The Oh Sorry syndrome is blossoming among society. The main symptom is that people sometimes really like to say "sorry" as a form of communication, not about real sorry-type things. Today I witnessed an instance that I would like to talk about.

I was sitting outside enjoying the springtime weather when I noticed a boy peering into a girl's long brown locks. With time, I found out that this boy was trying to get a bee out of this girl's hair because it was trapped. She was panicking a little bit and he was perhaps a little nervous himself, but the ending was good, the bee was set free. At the end of the calamity, the girl said "sorry!" and they parted ways.

The question remains: why did she say sorry?

Did she mean to say "thank you"?

Did she purposefully put the bee in there to sting the boy and then regret it afterwards?

Did she steal the boy's bee?

Did she mean "sorry that bee chose me!" or "sorry you just risked your life!" or "sorry I let that happen!"?

Did she really want to say, "sorry, that was my pet bee that you just set into the wild, you're gonna have to buy me a new bee"?

college is cool

2011-03-09T21:44:00.000-08:00

One thing that I like doing is looking at the titles of documents saved on public computer desktops on campus. Usually there's one weird one, such as "An Analysis of Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World," which was a terrible movie, but which became my favorite essay title until yesterday, when there were two titles that I loved on the same computer!

1. Do Pokémons exist? Complete with an accent over the e and in general a really great question! But I thought that Pokemon was already plural.

2. How to create your own Mexican walking fish and regrow its limbs... This one intrigued me so much that I googled it. Turns out that wikipedia says that a walking fish is a fish with legs that can walk on land for a while, such as this one:

But I didn't see anything about creating them or regrowing their limbs. I wish I had had read that document when I had the chance.

happy shoes

2011-03-07T14:23:00.000-08:00

Whenever we go camping, I make sure that I get a sleeping bag that unzips at the bottom so that my feet can be free. Tucked in sheets on the bed? Forget it. My feet get hot and often claustrophobic whenever anything is on them. This is why I wish I was born in the jungle, because I don't like wearing shoes. Socks, actually.

This presents a real problem around winter-time, when there's snow. The season can usually be maneuvered around with slip-on boots and slip-on shoes (with socks), but it really is a bother. Now that it's warming up (if you can call rain "warm") I have been gradually transitioning into shoes with no socks again! What a treat.

A few weeks ago I found the best pair ever (as evidenced above) of zebra-print slip-on shoes with no need for socks. Two friendly smiley faces look up at me from my left shoe every time I slip them on. It makes wearing shoes that much easier, since I can't help but smile back.

Grease Lightning

2011-03-03T21:39:00.000-08:00

I have a lot to say.

1. My friend Melissa now takes the bus to her new job, and the other day she was telling me about the bus driver who always gets stuck behind slower buses. "The reason I'm telling you this," she said, "is because, while we were stuck behind a slow bus when he could have gone around, I had the thought, 'Man, if Casey was driving, we would not be having this problem!'". I will take that as a compliment.

2. I ate my date's fries the other day. I mean, I didn't want to order my own fries, since they're not very healthy and I already had a vanilla shake and some chicken nuggets, but since he was driving and I was holding the food, I started with the ones that had fallen to the bottom of the bag, but then I found myself sneaking some of the original ones, without even meaning to. And then I realized that I didn't even know this guy and what if he couldn't stand fry-stealers? So I awkwardly confessed. He took it pretty well.

4. This leads me to talk about dating. These are some things I do not like about dating: first dates, awkward nervous laughs, guys more than 2 inches shorter than me, being unable to avoid creepy people at Latin dancing, guys born in the decade before me, fast food, listening to anything having to do with politics. This now transitions into another topic...

4. My ex-boyfriend. He may or may not be reading this blog post. Well, I hope you are having fun with your teenage friend-girl and I hope she doesn't mind you going to those parties... Yes, he seems to be the topic of conversation lately, as people find ways to sneak him into most conversations I'm involved in, including a date. He and I don't actually talk, but thanks to some co-workers, friends, ward members, roommates and random acquaintances, I have a pretty good idea of what he's up to. I just hope that the reason they're bringing him up has less to do with people thinking that his actions are a reflection of a secret life that I'm hiding, and more to do with the interesting yet completely unrelated fact that he may or may not have gone off the deep end.

5. After talking with a new missionary today, I was trying to figure out where I knew him from because he looked familiar. I later figured out that it was because he looks like John Travolta.

St. James Cheese Company

2011-03-03T00:31:00.000-08:00

Today I noticed a curious button at the top of the page called "Next Blog." I clicked on it and was whisked away to a random page. Not just any blog, mind you, but that of St. James Cheese Company, which appears to be located in New Orleans. The first paragraph caught my attention because my name was in it. Is this fate? Is it plagiarizing if I copy it here? If I was the St. James Cheese Company, I'd be flattered, so I'm going to post it.

Don't panic! Once Mardi Gras madness is behind us, cheese classes will resume as normal. Casey and Justin have come up with some exciting new themes and have many cheese anecdotes with which to regale you.

Hmm. That is very interesting.

Nail Polish

2011-02-15T12:22:00.000-08:00

During the past month I have been experimenting with a new way of effectively scheduling my time, by using a dry-erase calendar. To prove it, here is a real life conversation I had, after pulling my schedule out of my backpack before class yesterday.

girl: Is that a white board?
me: yes
girl: Are you writing on it with permanent marker?
me: yeah
girl: How do you get it off, do you use acetone?
me: yup
girl: Wait, so are you a biology major?
me: no...
girl: So, you just use nail polish remover?
me: yeah
girl: Oh, yeah, that makes sense, cuz I use acetone in my biology labs and there is no use wearing nail polish because it takes it right off. That is so cool.

We are now friends.

Worst Day Ever

2011-02-09T17:52:00.000-08:00

I would just like to say that this has been the worst day ever. I don't exactly know who to say it to, though, because I am trying to avoid the following common responses:

1) "Oh my gosh, I totally know what you mean, my day was sooooooooo bad, it was waaaaaaay worse than yours, just be glad you aren't me!"

2) "Oh :( I'm so sorry :( That's terrible :( What are you going to do? :( Man, I feel so bad for you :( Poo"

3) "Oh my heavens, snap out of it, that's nothing, your life is fine, what are you complaining about, just be grateful"

4) "Oh.... (awkward)"

but rather, this is the type of response I would like to hear:

5) "Oh man, that stinks, I'm sorry to hear that. Wanna go for a run/ice-cream/walk/drive/dance party/two-person-karaoke-singing/joke contest/love letter writing session/phone call/book read-aloud/secret adventure/grocery store run/old folks home/photo shoot/hopscotch/word game/coloring book time/service project/movie/pancakes?"

The Things We Do For Love

2011-01-23T16:11:00.000-08:00

Today I received a message from my good friend Mannuel in Chile (he's 19):

Dear Casey .... I was just wondering if you could help me with something that I need ... the truth is that I have been searching for some shoe inserts to make me taller and I can't find them in the stores here, so I was just wondering if you could help me ... if you find any like the ones I'm looking for, maybe you could send them by mail ... pleeeeease, they're like this:

He continued:

Well, the truth is that I like a girl who's here on exchange from Austria and she's taller than me....

Time

2011-01-04T19:32:00.001-08:00

What is the smallest unit of time?

The yoctosecond.

Thank you, string cheese wrapper.

Church's Robot

2010-12-26T15:40:00.000-08:00

My brother Jared wrote a story in Church today. He is very proud of it. We typed it, printed it, and emailed it to people. It has been a big achievement. P.S. I did not say those things in real life.

Jared A.

December 26, 2010

Subject: Story

Church’s Robot

I am in Church sitting next to my sister Casey, who is writing. While I was looking up, I saw a robot on the ceiling. On the front it had a big “SR” on it. I told Casey but she said I was lying, then I told my mom and she said I was lying again, just like Casey. So I told my brother Eli, who is 7. He’s like every 7 year old. He started crying. “Never mind,” I said to him. He stopped crying. I saw the robot biting the chandelier, the light, and the speaker, not at the same time. Church was done in 7 minutes. I told myself, “Save them or run!” I chose to run, but I knew what I had to do… run! But for some reason I did not run, I did not even get up. I waited until the right moment. “Now!” I said. I yelled, “A robot is on the roof!” Casey said, “Sit down before I smack you silly.” But everyone saw the robot and called 911*. They found it was a prank and the cops arrested the teenagers and all was well at church. The end.

*P.S. Kids don’t call 911 unless it’s an emergency.

P.S.S. This is fake, remember that.

P.S.S.S. No ideas, pranksters.

Oh Sorry

2010-10-05T16:43:00.001-07:00

"Sorry!" the girl sitting next to me said, when she closed her notebook rather quickly and sent a puff of air in the direction of my notebook, rustling the open page.

I wasn't quite sure what to say...

Fanny Packs

2010-09-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

In one of my classes yesterday, the professor was reliving his travels. He was talking about how much foreign money he carried in a certain country, and he paused as he searched for the right word for where he kept it ...

"in my bottom pouch," he said.

I took my bike to school today

2010-09-13T15:19:00.000-07:00

in the back seat of my car.

Reeewind

2010-09-11T21:51:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have those moments when you say precisely the wrong thing at precisely the wrong time?

Like, for example, when your roommate tries to persuade you to join the group of people in your living room by having a piece of chocolate cake and ice-cream: you don't really like chocolate OR ice-cream, but you happen to begin discussing desserts out loud as your preference for pie surfaces, when you accidentally blurt out "yeah, I hate cake"?

The words seemed oddly out of place as they tumbled out of my mouth, and as I quickly began trying to remember what it was that they were trying to offer me, I desperately began hoping that it was brownies or cookies that were waiting for me on the table. Nope, cake. Chocolate cake.

"Did I say cake? I meant brownies."

"Hate? I mean love."

"Wait! Who am I kidding? My waistline may hate cake but I can't deny that delicious goodness any longer for it looks too good to resist! Hand it over."

The appropriate amount of time available for making a cover-up comment slipped away as I sat in silence, stunned by the rudeness of the mean person that I was shocked to recognize as myself.

The room full of people eating cake went silent as the group turned in unison back towards the movie and left me to my mean self.

fashion

2010-09-07T13:13:00.000-07:00

"Do you like your hair?" a nerd boy asked me, out of the blue.

"Well, I'm undecided..." I said, wondering where this conversation was going. I used to have super-short hair and I loved it; now it's long and I have bangs. Was he going to offer me hair advice? I wondered.

"You look like Cleopatra," he said nonchalantly.

"Oh ... well, I'll take that as a compliment," I replied, unsure of what he meant by it.

"It's a compliment if you like Cleopatra. I believe she had an affair with Mark Anthony and then she committed suicide," he stated matter-of-factly.

Crime-Fighting Fugitive-Chaser

2010-09-06T12:56:00.000-07:00

My mom has been known to shop at a certain thrift store every once in a while. Deseret Industries, to be precise. She usually only gets things that are "brand-new never-been-used with the tags still on!" or so she claims while trying to convince my sisters and me that one of the bargains is actually a super-great deal. [My sisters and I take turns inventing jokes about how people buy perfectly good things and decide to donate them to D.I. rather than return them to the store where they were purchased.] I'm more skeptical about thrift stores because I don't like germs and you never know who's been drooling on your stuff (i.e., dogs and babies). I'm not saying anything against those who shop there, just stating my own personal preference. I like my mom and she shops there.

So the other day I told my mom that I needed a bike, to see if my brothers or sisters had any old ones they weren't using. My mom left me a voicemail the next day about how none of my siblings had bikes they could part with, but that she found one at D.I. for $15. When I returned her call, she already bought it and had the tires fixed for an extra $9. I had no choice in the matter, although I would be receiving a free bike!

Today when I went to register my bike at my apartment complex, the woman asked me a few simple questions: name, apartment number, brand of bike ... "Um, Bounty Hunter?" I replied.

"Oh!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, I think it's kinda old ..." I muttered.

*ahem* (clears throat) "... That's ok!" she chimed, trying to cover up her surprised reaction.

All I have to say is watch out, all you law breakers out there.

wal-mart moments

2010-06-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

According to the guy at Wal-Mart, I am God's gift of beauty to this world.

hmm

2010-05-29T12:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at work, I was sitting at a computer in a room all to myself. When I slipped my shoes back on after a few moments of freedom, I felt something poke me. I took off my right shoe and removed one lonely little chocolate chip. How did he get in there?

oh technology

2010-05-18T23:48:00.000-07:00

It is such a bad idea to stalk old boyfriends, but facebook makes it so simple ...

OCD

2010-05-16T22:28:00.000-07:00

I write in my journal every night, and I happen to always use a black pen. Tonight, my roommate was sleeping when I got home, so I stealthily maneuvered through the dark to find my journal and a pen, and I went to the kitchen to write. When I saw that my pen was blue, I said, "Oh no!" and was half-way back to my room before I realized how ridiculous I was being, so I sat back down and used a blue pen for the first time since last December.

Deflated

2010-05-07T16:07:00.000-07:00

Today at the MTC, some missionaries were teaching a volunteer "investigator" when the baptismal commitment was extended at the pivotal point of the lesson: "We would like to invite you to be baptized," said the missionary.

"Thank you," said the investigator.

Salad, Donuts and Burritos

2010-04-21T11:20:00.000-07:00

I believe I can attribute my eating endurance to my sizable 6'3'' father who once ate an entire Olive Garden table salad by himself, in addition to his regular meal.

But when I was in junior high, I was unaware of the social norms that restricted most girls from participating in eating contests. When I was chosen to represent my class in an assembly, I proudly fought for victory in a donut eating race. I won. Later, when I realized that my female peers frowned upon this activity, I decided that in the future I would try to stick to the status quo and not out-eat the boys.

I have since generally outgrown the need to conform to the general public, and I would enthusiastically give it my best shot if I I were selected to participate in another donut eating contest. But last night I was faced with an ever-perplexing question: how much are you supposed to eat on a first date?

I'm not one of those girls to order a side salad with no dressing and a side of ice-water, but then again one is not supposed to eat more than her date, I think. So when I went out with a guy who had already stated that I was "way more intense" than he was (because he enjoys playing Wii tennis while I prefer an hour-long run in the mountains), I decided that I should probably take it easy at dinner.

I started slowing down a little more than half-way through my delicious Cafe Rio sweet pork burrito, to give the appearance that it would be a struggle to eat the whole thing. "This is great! But I'm kind of getting full," I fibbed.

"Yeah," he said, "last time I ate here was the first time I've ever been able to eat an entire burrito."

That was it for me. I couldn't bear to make him feel like a pansy. I took a few more bites and gingerly placed my fork down. "Yeah, I'm so full," I exaggerated.

Blame it on society, or on my interpretation of first-date etiquette. All I know is that sometimes it is a sacrifice to let men feel like men and for me to try to act more like a girl.

Chair Tipping

2010-04-06T08:59:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty against forwarding forwards, but sometimes there's that one thing that your mom sends you that you laugh to yourself about in the library. What do you do? If it's a video, you probably put it on facebook. If it's a joke, you probably tell it to people. But if it's something else, you probably don't know what to do with it. You could pretend like you made it up, but then when someone else's mom sends them the same thing, people might think you're famous. So you might put it in your blog...

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history when you die.

2. Nothing stinks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

4. Was learning cursive really necessary?

5. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this—ever.

6. Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

7. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

8. Shirts get dirty. Underwear get dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

9. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

10. There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

must be science

2010-03-31T17:40:00.000-07:00

I like how, when I make Easy Mac, it doesn't matter how I pour the noodles in the bowl, they always come out of the microwave pointing upwards in unison.

I also like how someone else put a picture on the Internet of the exact thing I was talking about, so that I could illustrate my point.

I should really say something

2010-03-29T08:34:00.000-07:00

I heard some classical music as I walked into the computer lab this morning. Usually it's pretty quiet in there, so I looked around to see where the soothing sounds were coming from, but there were no speakers anywhere and I only saw people with headphones on. Then the music turned into a commercial, and I realized that one of the girls wearing headphones was also coincidentally watching a commercial. And her headphones were unplugged. Since that time I have listened to a few more songs and a couple family videos, and I am currently enjoying a presentation for elementary school teachers.

On an unrelated yet equally important note, I called and then texted my 18-year-old sister this morning.

me: I have something to say and you're not answering!
Her: I'm at school!
me: Where are your priorities sis?
Her: Well as much as we are allowed to talk on the phone at school....it's frowned upon.
me: I think your teacher would understand. Just tell them its an emergency.
Her: What's the emergency? I'm an office aide.

Office Aides are going to save the world.

help your neighbor

2010-03-25T11:57:00.000-07:00

As I was walking towards the elevator, it started to close. Naturally, I stuck my foot out to block the doors from closing. I'm pretty sure that elevator doors usually open when there's something in the way, but not these ones. They clamped down on my foot and I couldn't move an inch. I started panicking with the possibility of my foot getting ripped off when the elevator ascended in the next 5-10 seconds. I waited there for longer than I'd have liked, precariously perched on one leg, when the girl inside the elevator pushed the "door open" button and granted me my freedom. "Thanks," I said. She merely laughed.

the meaning of kindness

2010-03-22T14:14:00.000-07:00

"Do you want some Smarties?" someone asked. I looked up from the book I was reading, while walking to class, to see a stranger with two packs of Smarties in his outstretched hand.

"Sure!" I said, as I reached for them.

"But only one!" he said, "I only have two."

I took one of the packs of Smarties and said thanks.

"Thank you for only taking one!" he said.

And then we parted ways and I went to class.

A Conscious Decision

2010-02-03T19:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I did something that I have never done in the 16 years that I have been going to school:

I went to sleep in class.

I feel inclined to specify that I didn't "fall asleep" or "suddenly awaken not knowing where I was" or even "feel more tired then than in any other moment of my school career." The truth is, I decided to go to sleep and so I did.

it's all relative

2010-01-23T22:03:00.000-08:00

I got the strangest compliment today. A guy grabbed my arm at a dance party and said, "You are the most attractive brunette I have seen today. Don't dye your hair, that color is really working for you."

That comment made me wonder about a few things: 1)are brunettes usually unattractive? and 2)is there a daily rating scale that I am unaware of? and 3)would it even be possible to change my hair color from near-black to any other color? and 4)of all things to say, why would he choose that?

Genetics

2010-01-13T17:44:00.000-08:00

During my sister's job interview today they asked her an intriguing question:

"If you could be an animal, what would you be and why?"

She replied that she wouldn't like to be a bird because she's scared of heights, and she wouldn't want to be a dog or a cat because she might get run over, but she'd rather be a mole so that she could dig tunnels.

I've never been so proud.

On a slightly unrelated note ... things like dangling from roller coasters, participating in awkward situations, and peeking off of bridges are enough to scare me while still avoiding the creepy-terrified feeling that lingers after watching a scary movie and consequently diving into a stranger's lap at the theatre.

I got that same little scared feeling the other day when a girl from church said, "Casey, I have a question. . . ." I didn't know her very well, but I'd seen her around a lot. Then she said, "On Sunday I was looking around and there were a lot of blondes ... and you didn't exactly fit in ... so I was wondering ... what ethnicity are you?"

I smiled and said, "Well, I'm a quarter Puerto-Rican ..." and she said, "Ohhhhhhh, yeah!" and that was that. I just wish that one of my blonde siblings or cousins had been around to jazz up the conversation a little.

squeak squeakin squeak squeakity

2010-01-06T16:20:00.000-08:00

[in the car, looking at movie choices]

Mom to me: "Ok, there's Avatar, Chipmunks, The..."

6-year-old brother: "Uh! You mean Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Squeakquel!?"

super luck

2009-12-26T21:21:00.000-08:00

Today I got my first speeding ticket for going 89 in a 75

(my sister got a $100+ ticket on the same highway for going 80)

mine was for $75

and the super lucky part is that I was really going 97 mph

but it was Christmas eve and I smiled really big at the officer :)

I made the 3 1/2 hour trip from Provo to Burley in 2 hr. 45 min. (including the time I was sitting on the side of the road)

He caught me a few miles before my exit when my sister called and I got distracted, with the cruise control still on

Don't tell my dad.

sky diving

2009-12-22T06:49:00.000-08:00

What's worse than waking up when it's still dark outside, realizing that in that exact moment you are conversing on the phone with someone in incoherent Spanish and you can't wake up enough to stop saying the things that are spilling out of your mouth? Only the realization that you have no idea with whom you are talking. I'm not sure if there is anything worse than that, but I can only compare the feeling to the time I jumped out of an airplane with a strange man strapped to my back.

I have got to stop answering the phone when I'm sleeping! Talking in one's sleep is dangerous enough, but doing it on the phone, in a foreign language, is no good for anyone.

Things like this happen when I back myself into a corner during a conversation: So I'm not a fast thinker on my feet! When a creepy Chilean guy IM's me non-stop until I respond and then carries on an awkwardly un-fun conversation for a while before asking for my phone number, lying is not the first thing that comes to my mind and saying "no thank you" is not the second thing, unfortunately. I desperately wish that I was braver at times.

Alas, when I finally "came to" after having committed to talk to him another day and apologizing for having wasted his very expensive over-seas phone card, I was wide awake.

stealing library books

2009-12-07T13:40:00.000-08:00

I've walked in and out of the BYU library a thousand times, borrowing books and returning them kindly, and I've never had a problem with the police until today.

While I was exiting the building, the alarm went off signaling that bad people were trying to sneak out of the library with stuff. Yet I was the only person in sight. The guy under the "Campus Police" sign called me over in a stern voice and asked me if I had anything in my bag. "Anything" is a vague word ... my mind started racing: drugs? money? books? I realized that I had a couple books in my backpack, but one was from the public library and one was probably overdue from the BYU library. I pulled out the BYU one on Mapuche Indians in Chile (a thrilling documentary-type book from the 1980's, if you're looking for a good one to steal) and handed it to him.

"Do you have any ID?" he asked gruffly.

I handed him my student ID card. I'd already shown him the "Due By" date stamp in the book (which turned out to be due 3 days from today) and I wanted to ask him if he could renew the book for me while he was at it, but the look on his face told me that it was not the appropriate moment for such things. He scanned my ID card and the book---paused---and then looked from the computer screen to me to my card various times.

"Hmmm ..." he said, squinting his eyes as if trying to stare into my soul. "This book is not checked out to you." He rolled his chair over to the other side of the desk and reached for the phone.

I gasped. Out loud.

And then I remembered ... my then-boyfriend had checked it out for me almost a month ago. "Oh! That's because my boyfriend checked it out for me," I said. (I didn't want to say "ex-boyfriend" because I didn't want the kind officer to think that I was seeking revenge by wracking up late fees on ex-boyfriend's account.)

He paused, the phone still dangling from his hand. "What's ... his name?" he asked, doubt overwhelming his facial expression and his voice.

So I told him my ex-boyfriend's name.

"That is the correct answer. You are free to go," he stated coldly, placing the phone back onto the receiver

I grabbed the book and my ID card and left with as much confidence as I could muster, reminding myself that I was indeed NOT guilty and that even if I felt like a robber, I was not one.

It was not until later that I realized that the public library uses a different barcoding system than the university, thus causing the confusion. Checked-out BYU books don't sound alarms even when they're checked out to ex-boyfriends and other people. I had wondered why the alarm had gone off a second time after I had been cleared for departure, but I had run out of there so fast that that my good friend probably didn't have time to tackle me to the ground even if he had tried.

Hot tubs and Spanish professors

2009-11-23T22:51:00.000-08:00

After an intense kick-boxing class at the gym, my roommate and I went to the locker room to change into our swim suits. I told her I'd meet her out there--the hot tub was only two doors away. With a towel in hand, I walked out into the pool area and around the corner to where the hot tub awaited me, only to see a nightmarish scene unfolded before my eyes: there, hot tubbing away, was my half-naked 50-year-old Spanish professor in all his glory. Luckily he was reading a book, though, because I went flying back into the locker room and I'm positive that I would have done the exact same thing even if he had looked up and greeted me.

I told my roommate what happened, but she didn't seem to be phased by it one bit. "Tough it up," she said. The other two girls standing near her seemed to be on my side, though, because they were laughing pretty hard.

We meandered our way back out to the pool deck, where Professor H. was now lying down, still reading. I tried to not be awkward, and to not sneak glances at his un-teacher-like attire, but it was very difficult. I'm pretty sure that he noticed me after a few minutes, because he sneaked away rather quickly, and that was the end of that.

Friday the 13th

2009-11-13T18:44:00.000-08:00

If a month starts on a Sunday, there will be a Friday the 13th in it. This year, coincidentally, there have been three Friday the 13ths [February, March, and November], which is the maximum number possible per year. The next time that will happen is in 2012.

There was only one Friday the 13th in 2008: June. In commemoration of today, I looked through my journal to see how life went for me that day (as a missionary). This is what I found out:

This morning I was talking to a lady at her door and I felt something at my feet--I thought it was a bush or my skirt or something. Well, it was my slip. It lived up to its name. It slipped right on down and landed at my ankles. I found it when I looked down after talking to the lady. I'm glad she was a lady and not a guy.

The end.

don't eat talking trees, nope nope nope!

2009-11-09T14:50:00.000-08:00

So I made a bad decision the other day. As I was returning from the gym on Saturday, I decided that it would be a great idea to make a turkey-avocado sandwich when I got home. There was delicious bread, a ripe avocado, and in the back of the fridge I found some turkey. Perfect!

As I slid the turkey out of the packaging, I noticed that there was a spot of mold on one or two or maybe four of them ... but there were many other slices to choose from. I thought about it for a moment, coaxed onward by the incomplete bread-and-avocado combination staring at me from the plate on the counter. Throw away the perfectly good start of a sandwich, frightened by a speck of green fuzz? I couldn't possibly.

I grabbed four perfectly normal-smelling turkey circles and placed them gingerly where they belonged: on my sandwich. It tasted just great.

And then, an hour later, my stomach started churning and my forehead started burning and I realized in that instant that my hypothesis had proven false.

I'm unique, just like everyone else

2009-11-02T22:17:00.000-08:00

I feel like I get mistaken for other people more often than usual. On average it happens to me at least once a week. Today a guy from my ward came up to me and said, "I saw you on campus today and you totally ignored me." And I was like, "Um, I didn't see you ..." and he said, "Yeah, you were wearing a green sweater and you walked right past me!" and I said, "Noooo, I was wearing a white shirt and a black jacket..." and he said, "Really? Then you definitely have a twin." That would be funny, except that I get it all the time.

library fun

2009-10-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

I was sitting at a table in the library talking with a friend when I noticed two guys looking at me. My friend was on my left, and they were sitting on couches on the other side of him. I kept looking over to see if they really were gandering in my direction until I decided after about a dozen eye-contact encounters that they really were looking at me. And they were laughing, uncontrollably. I asked my friend if I looked weird because I thought they were staring. He said no, that maybe I was paranoid. I continued to peek over at my buddies on the couches, laughing and staring along with them, while chatting online with my friend so that they didn't know what we were saying.

Then, out of the blue, my friend got up to throw away his gum and plopped down on another couch to talk to them as I sat at my computer, trying to pretend like I was so intent on working that I hadn't noticed that he left. I couldn't really hear their conversation, except when my friend asked me what mission I served in, at which point I walked over and found out that they really were staring at me because they thought I was a girl named Kayley, who apparently looks enough like me that one of the guys had gotten on facebook to write something to the effect of,

KAYLEY, IF THAT IS YOU IN THE PURPLE SHIRT SITTING ACROSS FROM ME IN THE LIBRARY, PLEASE SAY SOMETHING NOW!!! I NEED TO KNOW!!!

alas ...

2009-10-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

This morning I was doing homework in my pajamas at the kitchen table in the front room. It was 11:00am. Perhaps I should have gotten ready earlier. Maybe I shouldn't be afraid of people seeing me in such attire. But so it was.

As I was working on my laptop, blinds closed, skiwampus hairdo, I heard someone walking around outside our apartment on the third floor. I thought nothing of it until I heard a guy yell, at the top of his lungs,

CASEY, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHICH ONE YOU LIVE IN!!!

at which point I ran into the back room and hopped into the shower.
I still don't know who it was.

just call me Grandma

2009-09-29T15:09:00.000-07:00

i think i'm turning into a grown-up:

1. i like the crust on bread

2. texting and chat bug me

3. i'm frequently on-time to things

4. studying, cleaning, and exercising are favorite pastimes

5. Frugal has become my middle name

6. my 6-year-old brother tells me that his mom is NOT my mom

7. i think things like, "Is that a good idea?" before acting

8. the clock still says PM rather than AM when i go to sleep

9. i make schedules and to-do lists

10. the freshman on campus were born in a different decade than i was

paranoia

2009-09-28T16:16:00.000-07:00

my #1 fear is sending a text message to the person i'm telling someone else about.

i.e.

"Bob asked me out again"

"Bob kissed me!!!"

"Bob is a stalker"

men

2009-09-26T12:27:00.000-07:00

during the last few weeks of classes, i've noticed a trend among my professors: they like to wear outfits of one solid color.

the other day i walked into my first class to find my professor dressed in olive green slacks and a slightly different shade of olive green button-up shirt. then, my second professor was dressed in a similar shade of olive green slacks and an olive green polo shirt.

and in the front row of another class i looked up to see that the professor standing behind the podium had on khaki pants with a tan shirt.

i still don't get it.

Bad Luck

2009-09-19T15:06:00.000-07:00

Monday: My cell phone fell in the toilet and died

Tuesday: My roommate borrowed my car and got rear-ended

Friday: Someone broke into my purse and stole every dollar I had in my wallet

Saturday: I got a Turkey Bacon Avocado Sandwich and there was hardly any avocado on it

a melancholy moment

2009-09-15T20:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I dropped my cell phone in the toilet. It happened as I was leaving the stall, actually. I took one step towards the door when I heard a splash. There was only one other step to go til I was out of the stall, but I turned around to look in the pot and there was my cell phone, bubbling up from the bottom. It took me a few seconds to realize that it really was my phone in there and not my imagination. I just stared at it, wondering how it got in there, and then I picked it up and carried it sopping wet for all the world to see.

Waltzing Down the Avenue

2009-09-08T10:22:00.000-07:00

I had just dropped off the sister missionaries on campus when I pulled out onto the main road next to two buses. I was in the right lane, they were in the left. My car was near the middle of the first bus when I thought, "He's gonna hit me!" There was nowhere to go--a group of students was walking on the curb to my right, the two buses blocked me in from the left, and cars were lined up behind me. I figured the bus didn't know I was there and he was gonna switch lanes and there was nothing I could do. He didn't have a turn-signal on and he hadn't started to cross over yet, but I slowed down as much as I could and braced myself for the impact. It was as if we were ballroom dance partners waltzing down the road--he moved over in that very instant, just like I thought he was going to, and his bumper missed mine by maybe an inch. And that is why we should accompany the missionaries, because then we don't get in accidents with buses, cars and pedestrians.

devotion

2009-09-05T11:31:00.000-07:00

why is it that when someone needs us the most, we back off?

when people deal with negative experiences such as divorce, death, disease, drugs, divine doubt and depression, we let them figure it out on their own. we disappear ... maybe as not make it harder on that person by talking about it, perhaps out of fear of not knowing what to do.

Harold from Israel

2009-08-30T18:04:00.000-07:00

As we boarded the Staten Island Ferry on our way back to Manhattan, a guy with a camera (I'll call him Harold) sat next to my friend (I'll call her Bertha) and me. Well, Harold looked like a local, except for the thick accent and the many questions he asked us about the area. Being the tourists that we were, Bertha and I didn't know how many ferries ran back and forth, but I told him there were 6 because it sounded good to me ... one ferry at each port, every 15 minutes, for a 45 minute trip. I have no idea if that is correct. Anyway, Harold believed me. He tried to strike up conversation a few more times but we were mostly interested in other things, so it fizzled out pretty quickly (especially since he guffawed when I said I was from Utah!).

After a few minutes, Harold stood up to take pictures at the railing. He snapped a few shots of Lady Liberty and turned around quickly to aim the camera at Bertha and me, and then he quickly turned back towards the sea. We looked at each other and burst out laughing. "What was that?!" Bertha asked. I replied with a shrug of the shoulders. Then, after a few more touristy shots, he turned back around and aimed the camera at us again for a split-second. This time Bertha and I simply exchanged wide-eyed looks. No sooner had we ended our silent conversation than Harold turned back around and actually took a picture in our direction. We laughed awkwardly to ourselves as he waltzed over and showed me the screen: it was a glamour shot of Yours Truly.

"You look really important," he said.

"Uh ... yeah ... I am!" I replied.

"You look like a famous person," he suggested, squinting his eyes while trying to remember.

"Oh, you know ... I get that all the time ..." I embellished.

We chatted it up for a minute with Harold, who we found out was from Israel. He was on a business trip. Harold asked us to take a few photos of him in front of the scenery, so we obliged. And since our friendship had been well-established by this point, I asked him if he wouldn't mind taking some pictures of Bertha and me with my camera. He agreed.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed some guys to the side of us who looked like they had a camera pointed our way. "I must be traumatized," I thought. But then Bertha blurted out, "They're taking pictures of us!"

And that is how we became celebrities in New York City.

the burden of planning

2009-08-24T13:22:00.000-07:00

In one of my classes (that I dropped) a few months ago I remember one thing:

About 10% of plans are carried out to fulfillment.

Huh.

I dunno if that's applicable to everything in the whole wide world but that one comment has really made me think lately:

1)The reason I hate planning is because it usually never works out, so I like to just fly by the seat of my pants.

2)When I do make plans, I don't usually get too upset if they crash and burn.

Although a spontaneous nature keeps things interesting, it is also prone to cause moments of oh crap! panic in an undesired/unknown situation as well as bad idea! regret while reflecting on a dumb move.

Today I had a triple dose: a bad idea!-plans fell through-oh crap! moment.

First of all, I shouldn't have jumped into a relationship so soon after returning from South America as a Nun. Ok, so I wasn't a real live nun, but all the little kids in Chile thought I was. Then--fast-forward to today--as my To-Do List went from four things to one (due to 2 different friends' crashed and burned plans), I found myself with nothing to do at noon rather than midnight.

I was supposed to be out of town today before I go out of state tomorrow.

Earlier I had received an email from my Spring Fling saying that he wanted to drop some of my stuff off at my apartment and also wishing me well with The Other Guy he supposed I was dating. Well, I was more than willing to get THAT over with, especially since I really wanted my Spanish book back. So I wrote him a reply email saying something along the lines of, "Sure, I'm out of state but my roommate's home but she works a lot so just leave it at the door if she doesn't answer, thanks!" and planned to be gone momentarily.

Then, while I was out and about, I got a text from one friend (and then another!) cancelling the rest of my plans for the day.

Oh Crap. I had nothing left to do all day and I would be in my apartment for at least a few hours. I had just sent The E-mail a few hours earlier but I knew that Spring Fling was a bit of an overachiever and he'd probably swing by my house ASAP.

When I got home, I tried to convince myself to not be so paranoid; I would only be home for a few hours more than expected before leaving town. I thought about shutting the blinds ... but then I'd have to turn on the lights! And what if he saw that someone was home? It's not that I was scared of seeing him in general, but I didn't want him to think I was LYING about being out of town because usually one lies like that when she wants people to think that things are going better for her than they really are.

It was lunchtime, so I walked into the kitchen to make my favorite Chicken And Pepper Sandwich while chatting with a friend on the phone, looking over my shoulder out the window every five seconds waiting for HIM to come by. I couldn't take it any longer--I had been home for less than an hour and what were the odds that he really would stop by my house that same day anyway? Nonetheless, I couldn't shake that creepy, spine-tingling feeling, so I went to my room.

I sat on my bed thinking about how dumb I was being, having jumped into a relationship in the first place, having replied to his email the same day I got it, worrying about seeing him because he'd think I was lying about having a life, wishing I hadn't made plans and then relied on them!

And then ...

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Oh crap! I sat there, frozen, trying to blend in with the silence of my apartment. Would he really come this soon? Would he really knock that loud? I waited a few more seconds, without moving (just in case), and then I crept to the front door and opened it one-half of an inch.

There, lying on the doormat, was my Spanish book.

two months after the last one

2009-08-19T09:04:00.000-07:00

After the Christina incident, I switched my phone number because 1)I was sick of Christina's family calling me more than my own and 2)it was my dad's old number and he wanted it back. My dad says that they stopped calling after that. He also says that he's never had a problem with wrong number calls before me nor since he switched back. Ok. I can handle a fluke.

Then, almost exactly two months later, with my brand new Idaho phone number that I absolutely love because it's aesthetically pleasing and the numbers match and it sounds great when I say it, I got a strange text at midnight.

Tex me back soon poseble thank u ? Sara.

Ok. So I wrote her back:

Who is this?

I had just gotten back from watching Star Trek (again) with my friends, and, for some reason, during the last few years, I have prematurely turned into a grandmother and can no longer stay up past 9:00pm. So I'm lethargically brushing my teeth when I get another text:

Sara Jones

I don't know any Sara Joneses, so I tell her. I dont think I know you... Now, I find that I'm a pretty honest person, and I'm pretty cordial even to strangers. So I try to be straightforward and kind, explaining nicely that perhaps she's a little mixed up. This should be a clear enough answer. I don't expect another text, but as I'm crawling into bed I get another:

You with your boyfriend?

Um, I'm sorry ... I said I don't know you ... uh, what? NOT ANOTHER CHRISTINA, PLEASE!!! So I cut to the chase: I jump right to the inner-rude-part of me, deep deep down.

You have the wrong person. Sorry. goodbye.

He is sleeping with other girls.

OK, Sara is crazy. She's probably also 12 years old. She doesn't take a hint. She has promiscuous little friends. It's 12:18am and I'm just going to ignore her. And then, just like that, I'm out like a light. A few hours later (ok, about 7 or 8), as I roll out of bed to the sound of The Carpet Cleaning Guys banging (literally banging) on our front door, I see that little red light flashing on my cell phone. I've got another text.

Did he hurt you? You ok?