Heart to Hardt

a case of you [james blake]

2011-11-09T18:12:00.001-08:00

found this little treasure today.
i hope it gives you the same shivers it gave me.

my life in bullet points

2011-11-09T09:58:00.001-08:00

based on my last post and my six-month absence from blogging ever since, you might have begun to think that the rapture actually did happen. while i wish i had an apocalyptic excuse for my neglect of our heart to hardt, i don't. (unless you consider five upper-division courses, two jobs, and work on my teaching credential apocalyptic). nevertheless, here is my obligatory "don't worry, i'm still alive" post and a brief, bullet-pointed update on my life:

nathan and i celebrated 5 years together (i love that man more than ever)
got in on a styffe family vacation, yosemite style

had some adventures in the beaver state
i turned twenty-two
i have a new roommate, in the form of a very old, very good friend
substitute taught for a 10th grade english class (scary, but amazing)
i've been accepted to a teach conversational english in asia this summer and can't wait to fill you in on all the details

2011-05-21T18:01:00.000-07:00

welp, it's six o'clock on may twenty-first and the rapture hasn't happened.
tough break, harold camping. maybe the myans will have better luck next december.

2011-05-06T23:39:00.000-07:00

"october fullness" by pablo neruda
[quite possibly my new favorite poem]

little by little, and also in great leaps,
life happened to me,
and how insignificant this business is.
these veins carried
my blood, which i scarcely ever saw,
i breathed the air of so many places
without keeping a sample of any.
in the end, everyone is aware of this:
nobody keeps any of what he has,
and life is only a borrowing of bones.
the best thing was learning not to have too much
either of sorrow or of joy,
to hope for the chance of a last drop,
to ask more from honey and more from twilight.

perhaps it was my punishment.
perhaps i was condemned to be happy.
let it be known that nobody
crossed my path without sharing my being.
i plunged up to the neck
into adversities that were not mine,
into all the sufferings of others.
it wasn't a question of applause or profit.
much less. it was not being able
to live or breathe in this shadow,
the shadow of others like towers,
like bitter trees that bury you,
like cobblestones on the knees.

our own wounds heal with weeping,
our own wounds heal with singing,
but in our own doorway lie bleeding
windows, indians, poor men, fishermen.
the miner's child doesn't know his father
amidst all that suffering.

so be it, but my business
was
the fullness of the spririt:
a cry of pleasure choking you,
a sigh from an uprooted plant,
the sum of all action.

it pleased me to grow with the morning,
to bathe in the sun, in the great joy
of sun, salt, sea-light and wave,
and in that unwinding of the foam
my heart began to move,
growing in that essential spasm,
and dying away as it seeped into the sand.

to travel

2011-05-03T16:09:00.000-07:00

i try but fail to contain my devastating desire to travel. somewhere, anywhere. i am engulfed in the urge to see and experience all things new. i need my breath to be taken away by something bigger than poetry and pictures. i want to be in a place, have an adventure, that stirs in me the need to create literature and art of my own. i feel like finding myself and losing myself amidst landscapes that swallow me whole and architecture that bewilders me. i am eager to absorb a culture; eastern, western. it makes no difference. i long for the goosebumps and heart-skips that the wonders of the world have given me before. i want to, need to, deeply desire to travel. somewhere. anywhere. please.

a terrorist dies, america cheers, and i write a blog

2011-05-01T21:50:00.000-07:00

my heart is conflicted on a daily basis. but tonight it is torn in two pieces. two pieces that have been thrown on opposite sides of a great, tall wall. osama bin laden has been killed, and i can almost hear the unanimous roar of american pride resounding through the nation. in fact, i can hear it. loud and clear. my t.v. is on in the background, and america' s voice is coming through the speakers chanting, "U-S-A! U-S-A!" but i've found myself incapable of cheering along.

i love my country; really, i do. and i so understand and even feel the sense of justice pulsing through the veins of the united states. this country lost thousands of lives at the hands of terrorism and bin laden. he has been the face of the enemy, of evil, of terrorism these past ten years. and for many, his death represents a victory over all of those. but in the midst of all the hype, all the congratulations and hoo-rahs, i can't help but stop and wonder if god would be chanting too, would be high-fiving america. i sort of doubt it.

people might find me insane, may call me crazy, but after hearing president obama's address to the nation, i took a moment to think about what had happened, to think about osama bin laden, and out of the blue popped psalms 139 into my mind. bin laden was a child of god. he was "fearfully and wonderfully made." i mean, wasn't he? i know it sounds unfathomable, but i believe it's true. and no matter how utterly monsterous the man was, god still loved osama bin laden. i mean, didn't he?

i'm not saying that i am mourning the man's death. far from it. there's a part of me--you know, the other side of my heart on the other side of the wall--that's glad he's dead. that is relieved that he's gone. that finds justice in his death. i read a quote tonight, some words of mark twain that resonated with me: "i've never wished a man dead, but i have read some obituaries with great pleasure." i want to embrace that pleasure. i wish i could. but i don't think i'll be shouting "U-S-A!" and fist-bumping america. at least, not with my whole heart.

2011-04-14T22:51:00.000-07:00

these three poets belong on my book shelf.
why they aren't there already is a mystery to me...

langston hughes

e. e. cummings

robert frost

2011-03-20T20:55:00.000-07:00

"the minute i heard my first love story
i started looking for you, not knowing
how blind that was.

lovers don't finally meet somewhere.
they're in each other all along."

- - - - -

"we weep God's rain.
we laugh God's lightning."

- - - - -

"listen to the presences inside poems,
let them take you where they will.

follow those private hints,
and never leave the premises"

- - - - -

-rumi, selected poems

seven days, four states, one spring break

2011-03-14T16:04:00.000-07:00

it's that time of year, and spring break has sprung again. that is, it sprang last week and has now wilted away, leaving behind only memories, photographs, and a good amount of home work that i neglected on my many days off. last year, i literally stayed in my pajamas 99% of the time and embraced every moment of rest and relaxation that seven days without school provided. however, this year, i nixed the r & r and spent my break state-hopping and adventure-having on the east coast. we (varying combinations of alanna, jared, nikki, claudia, and myself) ate cupcakes in georgetown; road-tripped to new york, where we frolicked through the city streets and took in a goose-bump-giving production of phantom of the opera; made a pit stop in philidelphia to eat some cheesestake and put on our best rocky impressions; consumed large amounts of country cuisine at cracker barrel (in virginia and new jersey); explored the smithsonians and beheld the monuments in washington d.c.; and had an all around wonderful time experiencing new places and reexperiencing old ones.

d.c. cupcakes in georgetown

smithsonian the monument & me
philidelphia: the windy city. ...oh wait, that's chicago? are you sure?

rocky!conquering the rocky steps
30 rock-yum!

poison & wine [the civil wars]

2011-03-14T15:07:00.001-07:00

this song is just too beautiful not to share.

happy birthday dr. seuss

2011-03-02T15:06:00.000-08:00

"today you are you, that is truer than true. there is no one alive who is youer than you." -dr. seuss

(shell silverstein and dr. seuss? this bookshelf has my heart)

if he were still around, theodor seuss geisel would turn 104 today. i wish rather badly that the man were still here, to fill more pages with silly scribblings and imaginative stories and rhymes. nevertheless, he's left behind some wonderful work and some thoughtful thoughts, and i love them all quite a lot. so thanks, dr. seuss & happy birthday.

remember the days?

2011-03-01T20:16:00.000-08:00

remember the days i used to blog? let me be the first to admit that i not only failed my new year's resolution of being a better blogger, but that i've been a worse blogger in the past couple months than i've ever been before. it's no coincidence that the posts stopped the first week of the spring semester. upper division classes and a dedication to graduating summa cum laude have pushed blogging down on the priority list, among other things.

but don't worry, my other commitments will not keep me from blogging entirely. i have a week off of school starting saturday, and will be flying to the wonderful world of washington...dc that is. i'll be spending time with the dearest alanna moine, nikki lalague, and claudia iglesias whilst exploring the nation's capitol. i'm hoping that at some point over the break i'll be able to catch up on all the things i've been wanting to share with you, as well as blog about the trip itself. so, here's to hoping for some down time, some blog time. in the mean time, here's a few posts sitting in my "drafts" pile, just waiting to be published, to be part of this heart to hardt:

+TAG: a new transfer student program at plnu
+slow-cooking sundays: my crock-pot and me
+journey: my new home church!

l-o-v-e

2011-02-14T14:05:00.000-08:00

i am in love with a wonderful man. and i adore the fact that there is a day to celebrate him, and us, and our love.

i also happen to be in love with my friends and my family and all those people who i might not kiss on the mouth but still hold close to my heart. so, don't feel left out. this day is for you, too.

most of all, though, this day (like any other day) is about our god; he's the one who made love possible in the first place. and i for one am so grateful that he did.

"we love because he first loved us" -1 john 4:19

happy valentine's day. i hope that your day is filled with loving others and feeling loved. and maybe some chocolate and flowers and cards, too.

2011-01-17T13:31:00.000-08:00

“justice at its best is love correcting all that stands against love.”–Martin Luther King Jr.

silence

2011-01-11T15:52:00.000-08:00

10. which is worse, being in a
place that is too loud, or too quiet?

i am all about silence. all. about. it. in my opinion, there is no such thing as too quiet. in fact, it's difficult for me to function when i'm surrounded by noise. things like reading and writing, and sleeping and thinking become impossible for me unless it's utterly silent. the more quiet, the better. too loud, on the other hand? there are plenty of things that are too loud. the screaming, shouting, grunting boys that play football outside my window, for example. or the drummer who lives on the other side of my wall and likes to host band practice at my expense. apartment complexes in general--too loud. don't get me wrong, i love where i live. but i also love silence.

i am not affianced

2011-01-10T15:48:00.000-08:00

9. how long was it from 'the first date' until the proposal of marriage? how long until the wedding?

this questionnaire seems to be under the impression that i am engaged. i hate to break it to you, survey, but the diamonds and white gold on my left hand is a purity ring, not an engagement ring. and though i've been dating the same guy for four and a half years, he remains to be merely my boyfriend and not my fiance. i could see why you might be confused, though, and so i'll let it slide. but i expect you to remember from now on that i am not affianced.

ready or not

2011-01-09T23:02:00.000-08:00

it's that time again. winter break is over as classes begin at 8:30 tomorrow morning. one thing i've found is that the start of spring semester never has the same romantic air to it as that of the fall semester. it very well may be because we've already just spent four months with our noses in books, and the thought of doing it some more so soon seems daunting rather than rousing. three weeks away from school, papers, and tests is not enough time to come to miss it. over summer, when those weeks become months, we begin to forget the headaches and stresses of school, and find ourselves ready and excited to fill our brains with new curricula by the end of it. there's also something about september that just makes a person feel scholarly. whether it be the changing air and leaves that we associate with freshly sharpened pencils and new notebooks, the back-to-school sales that help ease us in the the academic mind set, or what have you. january doesn't just doesn't help build the same anticipation. it leaves us missing the holiday season more than the classroom. at least, that's how i feel. with all that said, i may not feel ready to go back to class, or wake up at 7am, or write papers and take tests. but i am ready to learn more, grow more, and take in all this semester has to offer. ready or not, spring semester, here i come.

rock, paper, scissors

2011-01-09T11:24:00.000-08:00

8. rock, paper, or scissors?

rock. ...definitely rock. most people pick scissors. maybe it's because it's the word you say while you decide which weapon you're going with, who knows. but that seems to be the case. so, the majority of the time i've found that paper loses, scissors ties, and rock wins. rock always (okay, usually) wins. also, do you realize how silly it is to believe paper could destroy rock? it's completely unrealistic. it's no wonder that the name of the game starts with rock. rock is just the best. i choose rock.

captain hook

2011-01-08T11:23:00.000-08:00

7. what do you think captain hook's name was before he had a hook for a hand?

my theory, and you might disagree, is that his name was captain hook all along, even before the tragic loss of his hand. see, i think that he replaced his hand with a hook because of his name, to provide a visual representation of who he was. rather than being named for the hook, the hook was created for him. i mean, that's what makes the most sense. why else would someone want a hook for a hand? there are so many more advantageous items that could've been used instead. if his name was captain back scratcher, he would never again have an itch he couldn't scratch. captain bubble gum machine? he would've been much more well-liked by children. a pen would've been my first choice--how handy would it be to have one at all times rather than digging around in a desk drawer or purse? a hammer, screw driver, or ruler all might have come in more handy than a hook. and, needless to say, it would've been a lot easier for everyone had his name been captain hand. i know it may be a long shot, but that's my theory and i'm sticking with it.

messy or clean?

2011-01-07T23:22:00.000-08:00

6. are you messy or clean?

my friends have told me that i look like a clean person. upon first meeting me, people seem to assume i'm a neat freak. take one look at my hand writing, and you might feel the same (it's often been compared to computer typing). there are some other things about me that are very put together. however, take one look at my car or my room, and you will instantly feel much, much differently. in short, i am messy. very, very messy. cleaning just doesn't come naturally to me. i never grew up in a home where having a tidy room was a necessity nor a priority. i also don't mind messes. it doesn't bother me to have clothes all over the floor or my bed unmade for weeks on end. and while i'm content with being a messy person, i also realize that it's something i should work on. if you saw my new years resolutions, then you saw that this is an area of my life that i know needs some change. so, ask me this question again in a year and i hope to give you a much, much different answer.

movie snack

2011-01-06T12:25:00.000-08:00

5. what is your concession stand must-have at the movies?

truth be told, i am not a candy-lover, soda-lover, nor a popcorn-lover. the good thing about this is that i'm rarely tempted to spend the $84 it costs to get any of these items at the movie theater. however, there are times when my shy little sweet tooth pipes up and i give in. when i do, it's either dibs (the chocolate-covered ice cream balls) or bunch-a-crunch (little pieces of a nestle's crunch bar). all in all, though, there are no "must-haves" when it comes to me, the movies, and concession stands.

vacation

2011-01-05T10:22:00.000-08:00

4. it's your first day of vacation, what are you doing?

first of all, i would be at kukio. it's a private resort on the shore of kona, hawaii. i haven't been there in six years and so often wish i could go back. it's owned by nathan's uncle who is a friend of my dad. and so, funny story. my family had vacationed there twice, spending time with his uncle's family in hawaii, before i had even met nathan. and then we ended up dating. sometimes this world feels so small. but moving on from the tangent and back to the question. i wouldn't want to pack in too much fun in the first day, but then again...yes, i would. so, i'm laying out on the private beaches, drinking smoothies, reading a book, swimming in the pool, going spear fishing and canoe riding, napping in the hammock, eating hawaiian banana bread, playing with sea turtles, getting a massage, manicure, pedicure, and facial, and ending the day eating a five-star meal. sounds heavenly, right? i'm jealous of the fifteen-year-old me that spent her spring break at kukio doing all of these things.

a childhood memory

2011-01-04T22:57:00.000-08:00

3. what is your favorite childhood memory?

childhood is far too much fun to only have a single favorite memory. i have dozens. but i'll share just one of them with you: my fifth birthday. it was the biggest and best birthday party i've had to this day. my parents invited everyone in kindergarten to join in the festivities, and we spent the afternoon in the park, playing games, eating cake, and opening presents. i can still feel the summer sun on my freshly-turned-five-year-old cheeks as we sat in a circle and i unwrapped my very favorite present of all. it was a small jewelry box with a ballerina that, when opened, would pop up and twirl to a soft tinkling tune that i can't seem to recall; i only remember that i loved it.

burgers

2011-01-03T11:57:00.000-08:00

2. what are your choice of toppings on a hamburger?
and do you prefer gas or charcoal grilling?

i'm gonna be honest and say that i'm not a hamburger connoisseur. so i will go ahead and disregard the latter question as i have no idea what the answer is. as far as toppings go, my choice would be cheese, grilled onions, lettuce, and a little bit of ketchup. sometimes, though, if i feel like clogging my arteries a little bit more than usual, i love a burger with onion rings, barbecue sauce, and bacon. oh, and cheese. cheese is always good on everything. it's a fact.

...is it just me, or does a hamburger sound really good all of the sudden?

costume party

2011-01-02T09:48:00.000-08:00

1. if you were to attend a costume party

tonight, what or whom would you go as?

an important part of costume parties is their theme. no one just throws a "costume party." they throw a things-starting-with-the-letter-s party, or a super star party. both of which i've been to and went as a sailor and baby spice, in case your were wondering. the point is that i don't appreciate the lack of specificity of this question. but with all that aside, i suppose that if i could attend any costume party, it would be a masquerade ball. i got a beautiful mask while in venice a few summers back, and have yet to find an excuse to wear it. along with that mask i'd wear a fantastic gown that twirls and flows like any dreamy dress aught to. and while it may be bending the rules, i would not go as anything or anyone specific. just a girl in a mask from a magical city in italy.

the pursuit of better blogging

2011-01-01T22:13:00.000-08:00

or just more blogging, at least. let's be honest, through the duration of fall semester i was less than awesome at blogging. as i mentioned previously, one of my new year's resolutions is to blog more often, and to guarantee that i get off to a good start i'm going to steal an idea that i've seen going around tumblr. it's a very myspace-esque survey-thing, circa two-thousand-and-five, but it'll do the job just fine. i'm going to post a post every day for the next thirty days, and to make sure i do it, i've got a list of thirty questions to answer. one for each day of january. i full heartedly encourage you to join in. steal my questions, find new ones, or make your own. if you don't have a blog, post your own answers as comments to mine. may this interrogative heart-to-hardt get me back on track, help you learn a little bit about me, and visa-versa. here are the questions:

1. If you were to attend a costume party tonight, what or whom would you go as? 2. What are your choice of toppings on a hamburger? And do you prefer gas or charcoal grilling? 3. What is your favorite childhood memory? 4. It's your first day of vacation, what are you doing? 5. What is your concession stand must-have at the movies? 6. Are you messy or clean? 7. What do you think Captain Hook's name was before he had a hook for a hand? 8. Rock, paper, or scissors? 9. How long was it from 'the first date' until the proposal of marriage? How long until the wedding? 10. Which is worse, being in a place that is too loud, or too quiet? 11. What is one quality that you really appreciate in a person? 12. At the good old general store, what particular kind of candy would you expect to be in the big jar at the counter? 13. What is the most distinguishing landmark in your city? 14. Everyone hears discussions that they consider boring. What topic can put you to sleep quicker than any other? 15. How many times did it take you to pass your drivers test? 16. If you had to have the same topping on your vanilla ice cream for the rest of your life, what topping would you choose? 17. What food item would need to be removed from the market altogether in order for you to live a healthier, longer life? 18. You are offered an envelope that you know contains $50. You are then told that you may either keep it or exchange it for another envelope that may contain $500 or may be empty. Do you keep the first envelope, or do you take your chances with the second? 19. If you had to choose, which would you give up: cable t.v. or internet? 20. What is your highest level of education? 21. What are you looking forward to right now? 22. What kind of lunch box did you have as a kid? 23. What would you rather have, a nanny, a housekeeper, a cook, or a chauffeur? 24. Would you rather be trapped in an elevator, or stuck in traffic? 25. Lets say a brick fell on your foot, and your kid is standing right next to you, what is your 'cleaned up' swear word? 26. How many children would you like to have and what will you name them? 27. Have you ever gotten a traffic ticket? 28. When was the last time you cried? 29. Tattoos & piercings? 30. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?

new year, new resolutions

2011-01-01T10:55:00.000-08:00

be a better blogger
i nearly went a whole month without blogging this past october. unacceptable. and the few posts that i have posted in the past months have been sub-par at best. a song here, a quote there. not okay. time to get back to being a better blogger.

find a church
since high school, i have not regularly attended a church. being an ex-pastor's daughter, i am all too familiar with church politics and drama, and the last experience with a church left my family somewhat scarred. however, that is no excuse for not having committed to one in san diego yet. i have been to a church called the flood quite a bit, and i do like it, but want to try a few others before deciding and committing to it.

learn to cook
i'm 21 years old. it's time to broaden my culinary horizons past macaroni & cheese, tuna helper, and other sundry meals that come in a box. for christmas i got a slow cooker and intend to use it once a week for the next 56 weeks. and by the end of the year, i want to make my own recipe.

run a marathon
not anything crazy. a 5k, 8k, or maybe a 10k. one of the k's, depending on how things go. i just got new running shoes and intend to break them in ASAP. right now i can't run a mile in under eight minutes or touch my toes. so, along with this resolution comes getting in shape. so cliche, i know. feel free to roll your eyes.

become organized, tidy, & clean
i'm usually pretty good at this for the first few weeks of the semester. but as time goes on, various papers get shoved in various text books and by the time finals roll around, my notes are nearly impossible to find and sort through. this year, though, i am determined to use folders and stay organized. this resolution doesn't only apply to school, though. if you've been in my room or car, you know that any and all organization, tidiness, and cleanliness is much lacking there as well. i solemnly swear to clean both once a week.

2010-12-27T19:53:00.000-08:00

"someone like you"
-adele, 21

i could listen to this on repeat for a week. in fact, i probably will.
counting down the days until i can listen to the rest of the album.
february 22nd, you could not come fast enough. hurry up, please.

2010-12-22T11:12:00.000-08:00

hello from oregon!
i'm spending the winter break at my parents' new place in sherwood.
here's what it looks like from the sky. and yes, all that brown stuff is their back yard.
for now we're staying in that guest house while the big house gets remodeled.(i'd show you pictures from the ground, but i don't have my camera cord)

"that's what i think is love"

2010-12-14T08:32:00.000-08:00

“mom, listen, i haven’t been together with topanga for twenty-two years, but we have been together for sixteen. that’s a lot longer than most couples have been together. i mean, when we were born, you told me that we used to take walks in our strollers together around the block. when we were two, we were best friends. i mean, i knew everything about this girl. i knew her favorite color, her favorite food. then we became six, eric made fun of me because it wasn’t cool to have a best friend that was a girl or even know a girl. so for the next seven years i threw dirt at her. i like to call those 'the lost years.' then when i was thirteen, mom, she put me up against my locker and she kissed me. i mean, she gave me my first kiss. she taught me how to dance. she always was talking about these crazy things and i never understood a word she said. all i understood was that she was the girl i sat up every night thinking about, and when i’m with her, i feel happy to be alive. like i can do anything. even talk to you like this. so that’s, that’s what i think is love, mom. when i’m better because she’s here.”

- cory matthews, boy meets world

2010-12-13T21:31:00.000-08:00

one week. five finals.
ten minute presentation.
twelve page research paper.

...i. can. do. this.

breathe again

2010-12-01T21:02:00.000-08:00

2010-12-01T19:34:00.000-08:00

the best
month
of the
year has
begun.

embrace the brisk winter air and the coziness of curling up with a blanket and a good book. sing carols as often as you can, while you can. take in the scintillating sparkle of twinkle lights and the enchanting scent of pine. if ever there was a time to be merry, this would be it. may your december be filled with whimsy and felicity and loveliness.

2010-11-25T19:04:00.000-08:00

happy thanksgivingfrom the reinhardt family

i am a regret-er

2010-11-15T22:36:00.000-08:00

people like to think they have no regrets. "i don't regret anything; i learn from my mistakes." we've all heard it. and some of us have said it (you know who you are). well, i am not one of those people. i fully admit to having regrets. yes, i learn from my mistakes, but that doesn't mean i don't wish i didn't make them. i wish i had gone to more high school dances while i went to a school that actually allowed dances, i wish i'd never backed into that red convertible that one time, and i wish that i hadn't eaten avocados on my 21st birthday, landing me in the emergency room because of a severe allergic reaction. i regret all of those things. and, most recently, i deeply and severely regret cutting my hair.

last month i bade adieu to six inches, turning my long golden locks into a short shock of hair. it wasn't an impulsive act; on the contrary, i've been wanting to cut my hair for a while now. i did it a few years back and really liked it. i felt it made me look a little older and was a nice change from the long hair i'd had since the 5th grade bob. (every girl gets a bob around the 5th grade; it's just a part of life). this time, however, like is the furthest feeling i have towards my new do.

keeping in mind the mentality of the regret-less, though, i am trying to find the good amidst the bad, and the good that i've found is a lesson in humility. cutting off my hair has been like throwing off a security blanket. i'm realizing that my long hair kept me feeling too secure in my appearance, and amidst this lack of hair lays an abundance of insecurities. sometimes i just feel ugly, i'll admit. but other times, i feel an overcoming sense of humility. not in a bad way. in a good way. in a way that makes me say to myself, "you are human; you make mistakes," and, "let go of your appearance; looks aren't everything."

with all that being said, i do not plan on keeping my hair short for the sake of learning from an ongoing mistake. no, i plan to let my hair grow. and grow. and grow some more. but not letting go of the lesson i've learned along the way. and as a reminder to myself in the years to come: the grass is not greener on the other side, nor is your hair cuter when it's all gone.

see it, love it, eat it

2010-11-10T16:42:00.000-08:00

"once a little boy sent me a charming card with a little drawing on it. i loved it. i answer all my children’s letters — sometimes very hastily — but this one i lingered over. i sent him a card and i drew a picture of a wild thing on it. i wrote, 'dear jim: i loved your card.' then i got a letter back from his mother and she said, 'jim loved your card so much he ate it.' that to me was one of the highest compliments i’ve ever received. he didn’t care that it was an original maurice sendak drawing or anything. he saw it, he loved it, he ate it." —maurice sendak

happy october!

2010-10-31T23:21:00.000-07:00

it's been a busy month of midterms and visitors, rainy days and puzzles. i chopped off all my hair, tried a new recipe, and got a new computer, among other blog-worthy events. i hate that i didn't post a single post all month (until now), and since today is the last day i can say it--happy october! and while i know it doesn't make up for 30 days of absence, i'll still fill you in on the past 3.

on friday, in the spirit of the spookiness of halloween weekend, nathan and i saw the broadway production of beauty and the beast. ...what? beasts are spooky. okay, maybe this one isn't so much. but still. plus, how could i resist the $15 dollar tickets? albeit, they were in the very back row on the very highest balcony. but we had a great time laughing at lumiere (who thought he was borat) and spent most of the two-and-a-half hour show watching the two adorable little girls in front of us bounce around on their seats.
on saturday, sean, lauren, nathan, and i ventured to julian in hopes of picking some pumpkins and eating some apple pie. only one of those things turned out to be a success. we went to the pumpkin patch thinking it would be great. i mean, you get to pick them off the vine and everything; it doesn't get much more legitimate than that. the only problem: there was one pumpkin left in the patch...and it was rotten. how sad. what wasn't sad, though, was the satisfaction of four bellies full of apple pie and ice cream. i don't even like apple pie, but this stuff was really yummy. we also had a blast chasing turkeys, rummaging through a used book store, browsing the town--hot chocolate and apple cider in hand (it was so cold)--and driving through the beautiful countryside. we took a detour to look for some quail to shoot (of course nathan brought his gun), but didn't find any birds. what we did find, though, was a stunning view and a photo op. it was a great double date, and the best part is that there is still some apple pie in the fridge...

turkeys!rotten pumpkin :(
a beautiful view on a beautiful day

mom's apple pie

today was a day of pumpkin carving and pumpkin seed baking. since we didn't get any good pumpkins in julian, i only had my baby pumpkin that i got at the grocery store last week. but i made it work and carved a little face on that little guy. we passed out candy to some cute kids and some who were really not kids at all and much too old to be trick-or-treating. we also had a smoke machine going outside, which a neighbor mistook for our house being on fire. woops. here's my pumpkin and me:

leaning larry and tiny tim

i hope you had the best of octobers and loved every moment of your pumpkin-carving, costume-making, and candy-eating. i know i did...

"there's too many things i haven't done yet"

2010-09-30T00:09:00.000-07:00

however, seeing sara bareilles in concert is not one of them. miss bareilles is probably my favorite artist. scratch that, she's definitely my favorite. and tonight, shea and i strolled to the heart of down town san diego to see her play at the house of blues. if i thought i loved her before the concert...man oh man, did i only love her bundles more afterwards. she was incredible. so sassy and fun, and so gosh darn talented. i just want to be her friend, for two reasons: 1) she's cute and likeable and funny and would make me laugh a lot, i'm sure and 2) so that she could sing and play for me any time i wanted. opening for her was greg laswell, whose music makes a regular appearance on one of my favorite shows--grey's anatomy. so how could i not love him too? it was a great night, filled with great performances, and shared with a great friend.

h.o.b.

greg laswell (he graduated from plnu!)
sara bareilles (her bass player graduated from plnu!)

the etymology of me

2010-09-27T21:22:00.000-07:00

everyone has seen the cards before. you know, the ones with your name on it and a definition of what it "means." those cards have always told me that allison means "honest," and while i didn't necessarily believe it (not because it's not true, but just because those sort of things are gimicky) i never thought about what it might actually denote. that is, until recently. for my linguistics class, i had to do a little write up on the eytmology of my name...in other words, i had to find the real origin and definition of what it means to be "allison reinhardt." and while it would never fit on one of those little playing-card-sized book mark things, it will definitely fit on a blog post. so here she is, a little heart to heart on the meaning of reinhardt.

A Virtuous, Pure-Hearted, Strong Counselor

Ever since I can remember, I have thought my last name meant “pure of heart” in the German language—rein, meaning, “pure,” and hardt obviously translating to, “heart.” My dad told me this as a little girl, and what good little girl doesn’t trust every word her daddy says? Plus, who wouldn’t want to be thought of as pure-hearted? I pictured my ancestors being named for their innocence and genuineness. I quite liked this so-called meaning of my last name, and therefore never sought out to discover just how true the translation was myself. This ignorance and bliss was wiped away the moment I began my research. Look up the English to German translation of “pure of heart” and you will not get, “rein hardt,” but rather, “ein reines Herz” (“English German Dictionary”). Close, but no cigar. Rein does in fact mean, “pure,” and it’s possible that while hardt isn’t a literal translation it could be more of a phonetic transliteration of the English, “heart”. Still, I must admit that this new information left me full of doubts and questions. Has my whole self-concept for the past 10 years been a lie? What does my surname really mean?
It turns out that its origins aren’t quite as simple as an English to German translation. In fact, its origins aren’t even German at all. It is likely that Reinhardt is merely a German cognate of the French surname Reynard. According to A Dictionary of Surnames, Reynard came from the Old French words ragin, meaning, “counsel,” and hard, meaning, “hardy, brave, or strong” (449). While it might not be as poetic as, “pure of heart,” I can definitely accept, “strong counsel.” In a way, it describes me rather well. I have always considered giving advice one of my strengths, and love listening to my friends in their times of need, offering what words of wisdom I might have up my sleeve. The phrase, “strong counsel,” also describes my dad to the letter. He makes a living as a consultant, providing expert advice to his clients, while also providing fatherly advice to his children. Albeit his area of expertise is not in the etymology of names, he has rarely led me astray otherwise. And despite the fact that I am now privy to the actual meaning of my surname, I prefer a combination of the two meanings, picturing my ancestors as pure-hearted, strong counselors. After all, what is advice if it isn’t honest and genuine?
With the misconceptions about my surname now set right, I can move on to my given name. Bare with me while I take you back through its origins. Alli is a nickname for Allison, which is an alternate spelling of Alison. Alison is a Norman French diminutive of Alice, and Alice is originally a variant of Adelaide, representing an Old French spelling of Germanic ‘Adalheidis’ (A Concise Dictionary of First Names, 6-8). It would appear that my parents were unknowingly consistent in giving me a name with Old French origins to match with the Old French origins of my last name. Adalaide comes from the words adal, meaning, “noble,” and heid, meaning, “kind or sort.” It was borne in the 10th century by the wife of Holy Roman Emperor Otto the Great, as well as the wife of King William IV (A Concise Dictionary of First Names, 2). Clearly this name comes with some big shoes to fill, or, in this case, some rather large crowns. Seeing as I have a pretty small head, though, and have not even an ounce of blue blood running in my veins, I don’t think the name suits me in any reference to royalty. Instead, I might consider myself as noble in the sense that I have high moral principles and ideals, stemming from my relationship with Jesus Christ and my desire to follow His ways.
I started the day merely thinking of myself as Alli Reinhardt. Now, I see myself as much more—a virtuous, pure-hearted, and strong counselor. With all that to say, after learning this lesson in etymology, it appears I might need a lesson in humility as well.

Works Cited
"English German Dictionary." Reverso: Free Online Translation Service. Web. 18 Sept. 2010.
Hanks, Patrick, and Flavia Hodges. A Concise Dictionary of First Names. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1992. Print.
Hanks, Patrick, and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1988. Print.

2010-09-15T20:15:00.001-07:00

i am
allergic to
avocados.

it's sad, but it's true. and i haven't always been; apparently you can develop food allergies as an adult. this allergy of mine is quite new. it's only been a couple of weeks since my last avocado, and i'm already having withdrawals. i love them. on sandwiches, on tacos, on chips, and even just plain. they're so darn yummy, and i miss them so darn much.

and although this avocadoless diet of mine stinks, i suppose it could be worse. at least i haven't become lactose intolerant or developed an allergy to grains. i can live without avocados (i'm not saying i like to, i'm just saying i can). but i simply cannot live without milk and cheese, pasta and rice. i just can't.

so while i'm so bummed that i can no longer eat avocados without my stomach feeling like it's going to explode, this whole ordeal has made me extremely thankful for all of the things that i can eat and drink. and who knows, maybe someday my body will become un-allergic to avocados. ...what? a girl can hope, can't she?

one, two, three, four, five, SIX FLAGS

2010-09-12T19:18:00.000-07:00

six hours of driving. six hours at the park. six rides. whataya know, the night was just full of sixes at six flags. and also full of firsts, as i had never been there before. friday night was "naz night" at six flags magic mountain, meaning that they close the park for anyone and everyone afliliated with nazarene churches or nazarene schools. seeing as i go to point loma nazarene university, i obviously got an invite, as well as a discounted ticket. so after class we hopped in the car and onto the freeway, where we didn't go over 30 miles-per-hour the majority of the time. four hours later we hopped out of the car, into the eerily empty park (apparently there isn't an abundance of nazarenes in california), and onto the first ride of the night: tatsu. now, i've been on roller coasters before, but this was on a whole nother level. they strap you in and rotate you onto your belly so that you're floating through the air, superman-style. then they bring you up, up, up, and all the while you're forced to look down at the very distant ground below, hoping and praying that your harness holds tight. and before you know it, you've reached the top and woosh, you can't even see the ground anymore because it's all a blur and you're just flying through the air like some oversized, wingless bird, looping up, down, and around in circles and spirals. it's incredible. so was the picture of my face that it took halfway through. (if it didn't cost insane amount of money, i would have bought it and shown it to you all). after that we made our way through the park, seeing familiar faces here, there, and everywhere, eating ice cream sandwiches (thanks julia!), playing frisbee, and waiting in ridiculously short lines for more ridiculously crazy rides. and without the joy of rush hour traffic, we got back in half the time it took to get there, meaning i had to stay up only four hours past my bed time. all in all, i'd say it was a very successful night of sixes and firsts filled with new experiences and great friends.

happy birthday! (to my favorite boy)

2010-09-07T23:26:00.000-07:00

no, that's not the boy i'm referring to; just his dog. (and don't worry dad, you're still my favorite man).

today was nathan's birthday! (that's my boyfriend, if you didn't know). he turned twenty, which means i'm no longer dating a teenager. (it's about time; i'm enough of a cradle-robber already). in honor of his special day, i made him some special treats: twenty angel food cupcakes and twenty cute coupons (done in masculine colors of green and blue, of course, to make up for said cuteness).

i had a wonderful time celebrating with him and his family (which included eating a delicious home cooked meal, laughing at mrs. styffe's inappropriate jokes, and singing "happy birthday" 37 times for each of his different desserts. ...okay, that might be an exaggeration, but still). this was the sixth birthday i've spent with nathan, and each year i become more and more thankful that he was born. (seriously, i don't know what i'd do if he wasn't in my life). so, one last time before the day is done: happy birthday, nathan! (love love love you!)

2010-08-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

i'm
twenty-
one
today.

happy
birthday
to me :)

2010-08-22T22:33:00.000-07:00

"don't you just love...the fall? it makes me want to buy school supplies. i would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if i knew your name and address." -joe fox, you've got mailwhile autumn does not technically start for another month, fall semester begins tomorrow. i've bought my school supplies, set my alarm, said, "so long," to summer as i've known it, and done so without a bit of woe. see, joe fox and i have a mutual affinity for all things fall, and few things are more romantic to a girl like me than a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils. of course, i'm inevitably full of the night-before-the-first-day-of-school-jitters. but as i make my way into my junior year of college, these jitters have far less to do with wonderings like "will i find my class rooms?" and "who will i eat lunch with?" and much more do with the anxiety of upper division courses and the pending work load about to ensue. so, please be praying for a peaceful night sleep and for all the unknown ups and downs of the semester ahead...

one week later

2010-08-21T12:30:00.000-07:00

i can't believe i've already been in my apartment for a whole week. it's been a whirlwind, full of all the nicks and knacks of setting up a house and whatnot, and things aren't slowing down any. so while i don't have much time to recall every little detail of everything i've been up to, i will say that all is well and share just a handful thoughts and happenings.

-i adore my room mate. though, i already knew that. we've been friends through high school and college, having been in the same small group off and on over the years. and while i already liked her a whole bunch, i didn't realize how perfect a room mate she would be. some fun facts: we have the same boyfriend. not literally (as if i would share nathan with anyone), but they might as well be personality twins. and we both love puzzles. here's the first one we've done of many to come (i know, i know...it's missing a piece).
-we've had our fair share of vistors already. our friend nikki came to play and can claim the title of first to slumber party at our place. a few hours after she left, claudia and jess (some of my old hall mates from last year) arrived. we all got burnt to a crisp at the beach and tori (another friend and hall mate) joined in on some fun and froyo, too. they're all moving into the dorms today, which means i get to sleep in my room again. and tonight, lauren's man is heading down to break in the couch and pass the last weekend of summer in the city of san diego.

-setting up cable and internet is much more complicated than setting up anything should be. three consults, two trips to best buy, and one great big headache later, my dad and i got it all figured out. phew.

-keeping an apartment tidy is hard work. thank goodness lauren's around to help with the porch-sweeping, dish-doing, bed-making, trash-taking-out, junk-picking-up, and whatnot. also, if anyone would like to donate a vacuum cleaner to us, it would be greatly appreciated. our carpet is starting to get gross. please & thanks.

-oh, and i'll post pictures soon!

2010-08-13T15:46:00.000-07:00

it's my last day in this house. so sad.

i'll miss you, piano. wish i could take you with me.

i don't wish i could take bailey, but i'll miss her too. even more than the piano.

goodbye bedroom. goodbye bathroom. (even though you'll look pretty much the same in my new place).
bon voyage, orange county. i'll be seeing you...

wish list

2010-08-11T08:47:00.000-07:00

two weeks from today i will turn twenty-one. and everybody knows that when a birthday is coming, a wish list is to be made. so i've started making such a list, of gifts i'd like to get in honor of my special day.

a macbook

[i know i already have one, but it's been acting funny lately. it won't download software or read discs. plus, they say it's normal to get a new computer every three years anyways, and i'm just a few months short of that. is it completely and utterly neccesary for me to get a replacement? probably not. but it's my birthday and i'm dreaming big.]

ipod speakers

[i don't have anything to play music from other than my computer, and let's face it--computer speakers stink. i think it would be nice to be able to listen to some decent-sounding music around my new apartment while cooking in my new kitchen or tidying up my new living room. also, how strange is the word "speakers"? say it a couple times outloud. think about it. it's strange.]

friends: the complete series

[i watched friends for the first time this past year in the dorms and fell head-over-heels in love. in six months i watched nearly every single episode of all ten seasons. ask my roommate, claudia, and she can vouch that i was obsessed. nix that, i am obsessed. and would love nothing more than to own my new favorite t.v. series on d.v.d.]

chanel chance: eau tendre[i'm not a big perfume person, especially designer fragrances. that is, i wasn't, until i smelled this particular perfume. it is lovliness in a bottle.]

a tea kettle[no, not a tea pot. a tea kettle. you know, the kind that's put on the stove and whitsles when it's ready. i love tea and i love cute things. so what could be better than a cute thing that makes tea? my friend jess gave me the idea to put this on my birthday list. thanks jess, you know me so well! *and like she said in the comments, she tap-taps this one.]

salt & pepper shakers

[unlike most things on the list, this is something i need. there are plenty of cute ones on etsy.com, but i happen to like these ones the most. oh, and these little acorn ones are pretty adorable too.]

slumdog millionaire[i love this movie; it's in my top-five, for sure. it's a shame, really, that i don't already own it. but i'm not one to buy movies unless their on the $5 rack at target.]

etc.
[i'll be posting more things as i think of them.]

home

2010-08-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

home has become such an abiguity to me these days. at the moment my family is in the process of packing up our home in orange county. we're all in the midst of moving, but we're not all moving to the same place. my brother and his wife are moving to malibu, making their home near pepperdine law school where he'll be working on his degree. my parents are moving to oregon where a house has been donated to my dad's nonprofit; they're remodeling it and when it's all done they'll either sell it or settle down in it, depending on how things go. and as for me, i'm moving to point loma, making the city of san diego my official home.

home home home. i've always supposed that you're meant to have just one. but right now i feel like i have a hundred. other times i feel like i don't have one at all. i mean, home is being pulled in so many places at the moment that it almost feels nonexistent. it's a bit reminicient of my childhood (i moved fourteen times before ending up in this house). though back then, i never really settled down, never really had a "home town." my family and i were too busy moving from here to there and the next place for me to ever really feel a connection to the places we lived. but here? here i've gotten connected. this? this has been home for the past twelve years. and while i've had plenty of time to adjust to the idea, to slowly chip away at my attatchment to this place, i'm still going to miss orange county. how strange will it be not to come back here for the holidays? to come back here ever? i mean, i will come back to town for the occasional visit. but i will never walk through this front door, hop up these steps, come into this room, and lay down on this bed, looking out this bedroom window to see this view. i will never call this house my home again.
it's bitter sweet, really. because amongst all that schmaltzy nostalgia, i am so looking forward to settling down in san diego. it will certainly take some adjusting, and i'm not saying that it will be a walk in the park. what i am saying, though, is that i'm excited to be in a city that i love surrounded by friends that i adore. i'm excited for the adventure that it will be. and after all, my parents will only be a two-hour flight away instead of a two-hour drive. and instead of coming to orange county to see my high school sweetheart and my high school friends, they can come down to visit me (i've got a couch with all of your names on it).
so while the old english proverb says, "home is where the heart is," i say that is far too complicated. my heart is with my family and friends, and all of them are so scattered about these days, my poor heart wouldn't be able to handle it. instead, i'll stick with a much more simple definition: "home is where your rump rests" (pumba, you are so wise). i'm looking forward to my rump to residing in san diego. and exactly one week from today, that's precisely what it will be doing. the move-in date is set for august 14th, and in the mean time i'll be packing up everything and soaking up every last moment i get in this home before moving on to the next...

the summer i spent with harry potter

2010-08-01T16:05:00.000-07:00

summer is a time for reading. i mean, as a literature major, every season is a time for reading. but during the fall, winter, and spring, i am consumed with assigned readings. i don't get to choose the books that i read, rather they are decided for me, marked out on a syllabus with the pages i am meant to read by the dates i am meant to read them by. but then june rolls around, marking the beginning of a very special time of year in which i have the privilege to read for fun. for three glorious months i am able to read what i want to read at the pace i want to read it and i enjoy every moment of it. so as school was coming to a close i made a list: love in the time of cholera, pride and prejudice, and the road made an appearance among other novels that i wanted to read. there was one series of books, though, that i placed at the bottom of the list. they were sort of a second thought, pushed aside in place of other novels. putting them on my reading list in the first place was half-heartedly done. see, i never actually had any real desire to read the harry potter books.

over the years people have planted the seeds, telling me to read them, insisting that i'll love them, etcetera. none of these seeds actually took root, though. not until i went to england. spending a month with a group of fellow literature students in the country that the novels are set led to constant banter about harry this and hogwarts that and all these comments were being made that i couldn't even try to understand because i had not read about any of it. everywhere we turned it seemed someone made a remark along the lines of, "oh! it's like in harry potter!" it quickly became quite obvious that i was missing out on something big. i mean, i always knew that i had been on the outside of the circle, but i never really cared. being in england, though...well, it made me care. and what better place to start my delve into the world of witchcraft and wizardry than the place where it all started. see, i made the deciscion to start reading them while in edinburgh, where jk rowling wrote on that napkin that would evolve into a seven book series. and i got my hands on a copy of the philosopher's stone (yep, the british version), finally opening it up under the oak trees in hyde park.
so it started in london two months ago, and now 4,100 pages later it has come to a close. how fitting that in the final hour of harry potter's own birthday i would finish the last page of the last book.
and so, somehow, all those novels that had pushed harry potter to the bottom have now been thwarted themselves by the seven book series. and while there are still a few more weeks of summer, my time of reading-for-fun is nearly done. am i glad that i spent my summer with harry and dumbledore and all the rest of them? yes, i suppose so. all in all, though, i hated the fifth book and thought that ron and hermione's kiss deserved much more than what jk rowling gave it. i am proud to say that i believed in snape and his goodliness all along, just knowing that his vindication would come and so glad when it finally did. i shed a tear or two when dumbledore died (even though i knew it was coming. what can i say? i've come adore that old man). the prisoner of azkaban, the half-blood prince, and the deathly hallows were my faves. and while i will say that i liked the series, i don't know if i loved it. what i do love, though, is that i am finally in on the inside jokes and able to contribute to the harry potter banter.
so thanks for the good times, harry. england, thanks for giving me the push that i needed. and thank you, summer, for giving me the time read.

...i miss hogwarts already.

rafting the rogue

2010-07-02T10:13:00.000-07:00

have you ever been white water rafting? before today my answer to that question would have had to be "no." but now? now i can say that i have roughed the rapids of the rogue river and had an amazing time doing it. my brother and his wife (wow, it's weird to say that) met up with my dad and me in southern oregon and together we set off for the river, decked out in water shoes (that's right. water shoes) and life vests, ready for the adventure ahead. spending the afternoon floating down a gorge, we were surrounded by walls of pine trees with the brilliantly blue skies above us reflected in the water below. some herrins and turtles joined us intermittanly along the way. and every once in a while we'd come up on a rapid, hold on tight, paddle, paddle, paddle, and come out the other side soaking wet. it was the perfect combination of relaxation and exhilaration.

so, what about you? have you ever been white water rafting? because i have. ...oh wait, did i mention that already? woops...

three plays, two days, one shakespeare festival

2010-07-01T00:05:00.000-07:00

earlier this summer i took a trip to europe. on that trip i saw two productions shakespeare plays: romeo & juliet at stratford-upon-avon and macbeth at the globe. i, of course, blogged about them, and how much i loved them, how enthralled i was with the language, and how i so enjoyed watching the books i've read come to life. the minute my dad read about all this, he was stoked and wasted no time booking us a trip to the oregon shakespeare festival in ashland. see, my dad fell in love with shakespeare when he was in college, and what father doesn't love to see their child follow in their footsteps? he used to go to the festival and see plays when he was my age, and now he got to take me. we've spent the past two days strolling around the quaint little town of ashland and taking in the wonders of the stage.

the first production we saw was of hamlet. and it was incredible. the best shakespeare production of the four that i have now seen. the dialogue was all as written, but the staging and wardrobe and whatnot were all set in the modern era. let me just say that there was rapping involved. for-rizzle. it was awesome.

the opening stage for hamlet

later that day we saw not a shakespeare play, but my all time favorite story portrayed on stage: pride and prejudice. unfortunately, elizabeth bennet, mr. darcy, and the rest of the gang didn't really strike my fancy this time. that is to say, i didn't like the actors. the girl that played elizabeth scowled the whole time and the man that was mr. darcy smiled the whole time. if you know anything about either of those character, you know that they got it all wrong. i will say, though, that seeing what a failure it was on stage (okay, that might be a bit harsh, but still) made me appreciate it as a novel even more.

the opening stage for pride and prejudice

we spent the following afternoon shopping and eating yummy sandwiches and hanging out at starbucks. i found a used book store (my idea of bliss materialized) and browsed about the shelves. eventually, i walked up to the cash register with ten books bundled in my arms, but fighting the overwhelming urge to buy them all, i honed my self control and narrowed it down to two (wuthering heights and random harvest) before checking out.
that evening we went to a preliminary session on twelfth night, the play we were seeing later that night. they talked about the plot and themes and costumes and staging and whatnot. it was actually really interesting, and a helpful refresher before seeing the outlandishly bemusing shakesperian comedy. the play itself was well done, and though i didn't enjoy it as much as hamlet i still appreciated the time and talent that went into it and the wild imagination of good old will.

if you like shakespeare, strange street musicians (there were lots of those), and used book stores this festival is definitely for you. it was definitely for me, and i'm sure i'll be back again someday.

ore egg in. or again. oregon!

2010-06-27T16:38:00.000-07:00

i'm packing my bags for the second time this summer. this time i'm off to oregon. over the next two weeks (maybe more) i'll be going from ashland to mitchell, antelope to madras, and back again. you can expect blogs about rafting down the rogue; an adventure at the antone; frolicking, fishing, and having fun at the big muddy; and celebrating a second reception at the riffle. now, you're probably thinking to yourself, huh? the antone? what's the big muddy? the riffle? don't worry, i promise to explain over the next couple of weeks and fill you in on all the fun stuff oregon has in store. beaver state, here i come!

2010-06-24T12:10:00.001-07:00

i want to swim with an elephant.

happy fathers' day!

2010-06-20T22:21:00.000-07:00

how awesome are we?

thanks for being the best dad ever!

my brother got married!

2010-06-20T19:32:00.000-07:00

my brother tied the knot yesterday with the amazing megan zimmer (well, i suppose now she's megan reinhardt)! it was the cutest little backyard wedding, right on big bear lake. we walked down the aisle, taffy performed his first wedding ever (way to go, taff), and they said their vows and became "man and wife." pictures were taken, bocce ball and horseshoes and croquet were played, and s'mores were made. we ate some delectible roast beef dinner and delicious cake and candy and cookies, cried with laughter at the best best-man speech ever given (props to david hughes), and danced the night away until the happy couple drove off down the mountain...

i couldn't be happier for mark and megan. and i hear they're settled in, soaking up some hawaiian sun and honeymooning their little hearts out. congratulations guys & i love you both!

i am a hero

2010-06-16T17:17:00.000-07:00

because today i saved ten little baby quails from being eaten up by a big mean hawk. there i was, just reading some harry potter and soaking up some sun in the park, when a mommy quail came out of the bushes, and then out popped ten little baby quails following behind her like a little swarm of adorable bumble bees. they were just frolicking about pecking at little bugs or seeds or whatever it is they eat, when all of the sudden this giant hawk comes and tries to grab one! they all race back into the bushes and the hawk follows them. now all i can see is the bush shaking and little baby birds chirping panicked chirps and squealing pitiful little squeals. it was heart breaking. they might as well have been shouting, "help us, alli!" and so, i did. i ran over there shouting and waving my arms and yes, at this point i realize i look like a complete freak. luckily no one else was there, and even more luckily, it worked! the hawk flew away and all the little birdies were saved. i've never felt so foolish and so heroic at the same time. you're quite welcome, baby quails. as a thank you, feel free to fly to my doorstep and be my pets.

2010-06-11T15:18:00.000-07:00

“sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.” -a.a. milne, winnie the pooh

nants ingonyama bagithi baba!

2010-06-11T11:10:00.000-07:00

if that doesn't sound familiar, maybe this will: naaaaaa sayvenya babaditsi baba! ...no? that's what i always thought it was, at least. and by "it" i mean the opening of "the circle of life." no matter how you sing the intro, though, does not matter. what matters is that you just can't help but love the lion king. and last night, i took my mom to see the broadway production at the orange county performing arts center. if you haven't seen this award winning musical, you need to. even if you don't like musicals. because, like i said, who doesn't like the lion king? trust me, no matter how old you are or whoever you are, you will thoroughly enjoy it. my mom and i definitely did. what's not to love about people in giant elephant costumes trapsing down the aisles? seriously, though. the costumes are incredible. in-cred-ible. the whole thing was, really. so next time it comes to town, go. don't think, just get tickets. you won't regret it. oh, and try and sit on the aisle...

where in the world?

2010-06-09T08:41:00.001-07:00

i realize that some of you might be wondering where in the world i have been these past three weeks, and why haven't a posted and post? well, i mentioned it before, but you might have forgotten. i've been studying abroad in the british isles! and, alas, i have been posting many posts. just not on this blog. but rather, on this blog. you can read all about my trip there, if--for whatever reason--you haven't been keeping up already. and now that i'm back home, i'll be back to this blog. let the heart to hardt recommence!

adieu to the dorms

2010-05-14T23:57:00.000-07:00

the past nine months have been so great for so many reasons. but the biggest reason of all, i think, is that i lived in the dorms. now, i have to admit that at first i wasn't entirely thrilled at the thought of being surrounded by 25 girls all day every day, never having any personal space, and all the other "joys" that come with living on campus. i value "me time" more than anyone i know. but after a couple weeks--or maybe it was a couple months (i'm telling you, it took some serious adjusting)--i really began to love it. there are so many memories and good times that i would have missed out on, so much girl talk and laughter that i would have never been a part of had i not lived in the dorms. nease hall, second south, room 210 truely became my home away from home this year, and the girls around me became my family away from family. this room has brought me so much happiness:

that's what it looked like before. but today, i moved out. my once cozy room now looks like a depressingly empty void. here's the after...it's so sad.

i never thought i'd say it, but the fact that i won't be living on campus next year kind of breaks my heart. this was the only year that i will ever haved lived in a dorm, and i feel so blessed to have had such a wonderful experience, that i'm able to look back on the year with fantastically fond memories. i won't ever forget the nine months i spent in that cubby hole of a room with my crazy new mexican of a room mate (love ya ceej) and all my other hall mates. so thanks for all the good times, nease second south room 210. i've had a blast. adieu.

first annual library dance party

2010-05-11T00:12:00.001-07:00

so it's finals week this week at point loma. everyone's studying. everyone's stressed. and everyone could use a break. thanks to ian mckay and a handful of others, that's just what happened. one big study break in the form of a dance party. in the library. it was a little bit out of control, but so much fun. if you've ever wondered what it would look like to cram nearly 500 college students into a relatively small space and crank up some miley cyrus, soulja boy, and ke$ha...today is your lucky day because i got it on film. it went a little something like this:

upswing

2010-05-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

there's something so uplifting about a before and after, about immense improvement. i took a beginning tennis class this semester and experienced just that. at the start of the semester we--twenty-five other students and me--picked up our rackets, awkward in our unexperienced, unathletic hands, and played a very sad game of around the world. i was the third one out. since that pitiful attempt, i've been learning step by step how to hold a racket and how to swing it; how to hit a forehand, backhand, lob, and smash; how to keep score and what things like "luv" and "deuce" mean. i've been learning how to play tennis. each day i've felt a little more comfortable with a ball and a racket. every day i've gotten a little bit better. it's been sixteen weeks since that first day, and today we had our last day of class. and how did we finished it off? with one last game of around the world. this time i was not the third one out. this time i got third place! this game lasted twice as long as the first, and i did ten times better. and i was the only girl left (if that really matters). i know that it might sound like a silly feat, but i'm proud of myself. in my head i see two distinct pictures: one of myself at the beginning of the year and one of myself now. there is a big improvement between the two, a before and after that look very different. i might not be the best tennis player in the world or anything and i don't plan on making it to wimbeldon any time soon, or even on the school's tennis team. to be honest, i'm still not that good. but i'm better than i was. there's been an upswing. i've improved. and i'm proud of that.

a "heart to hardt" of literary proportions

2010-05-02T15:55:00.000-07:00

i love literature. obviously, it's a significant part of my education as an english major. and as someone who studies the ins and outs of literature on a daily basis, i can't help but find certain aspects of it in my daily life. as my high school english teacher always said, "literature is everywhere! you just can't escape it." (thanks for the wise words, nuz!) it's so true. i find myself thinking the same thing so often. and the past twenty-four hours of my life have been especially filled with literature. elements of foreshadowing, dialogue, and character development were major themes yesterday, last night, and this morning...
my friends and i often randomly break out in song. yesterday, annie seemed to be playing on repeat in all of our heads. "the sun will come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there'll be sun..." we sang it intermittently throughout the day, a line here and a line there. little did we know that we would actually see the sun come up that morrow. foreshadowing. it's ironic and sometimes unexpected; you never really know when one small thing will play itself out in a big way.
the girls and i got to talking last night. minutes turned into hours as we took turns talking and listening, listening and talking. and before we knew it 11o'clock at night became 6o'clock in the morning. questions called for answers, sentences turned into monologues, tidbits became insights, and giggles grew into lots and lots of laughter. dialogue. it's amazing how much there is to say. about this, that, and everything. and it's incredible how our words, what we say, and how we say it, form us into who we are.
in the seven hours we spent sprawled out on our tiny dorm room beds, chit chatting into the wee hours of the morning, i learned so much about my friends. in some ways, more was said in one night than has been said in months and months of smaller conversations. something about the secret safeness that exists in the hours between sunset and sunrise heartened our heart to heart. we shared secrets, both silly and sincere. we layed out our hopes and dreams. we put our whole selves on our sleeves. character development. it's remarkable how many pieces of ourselves there are to put together, making the fragments of who we are into a whole. we found and shared pieces, both new and old, bringing us leaps and bounds closer to knowing ourselves and knowing eachother.
with all that to say, i do love literature. i love that we can't escape it, how it pops up in almost every part of our lives. but even more so, i love my friends. they are all such incredible girls with incredible stories and incredible spirits. i love the all-nighter we pulled thanks in part to unhealthy amounts of sugar and the phenomena of insomnia. i loved watching the night sky illume into day, knowing that sleep is far over rated in comparison to quality time with people we love. and i loved our "heart to hardt." it was definitely one for the record books, and one of literary proportions.

thanks girls, for being who you are. thanks for the memories of last night and of the year as a whole. i love you all SO much!

thirtyone flavors for thirtyone cents

2010-04-29T16:55:00.000-07:00

last night was 31¢ scoop night at baskin robin's, and how could i pass that up? it's all for the sake of the firemen... and my belly. three scoops of goldmedal ribon, please & thank you!

"isle be seeing you"

2010-04-27T14:54:00.000-07:00

did you know that i'm studying abroad this summer in the british isles? well, if you didn't before, now you do. i'm off to ireland, scotland, and britain in just twenty days! to keep up with me and my travels before, during, and after the trip, check out my "isle be seeing you" blog.

2010-04-18T18:50:00.000-07:00

"love and a question"
by robert frost

a stranger came to the door at eve,

and he spoke the bridegroom fair.
he bore a green-white stick in his hand,
and, for all burden, care.
he asked with the eyes more than the lips
for a shelter for the night,
and he turned and looked at the road afar
without a window light.

the bridegroom came forth into the porch
with, 'let us look at the sky,
and question what of the night to be,
stranger, you and i.'
the woodbine leaves littered the yard,
the woodbine berries were blue,
autumn, yes, winter was in the wind;
'stranger, i wish i knew.'

within, the bride in the dusk alone
bent over the open fire,
her face rose-red with the glowing coal
and the thought of the heart's desire.

the bridegroom looked at the weary road,
yet saw but her within,
and wished her heart in a case of gold
and pinned with a silver pin.

the bridegroom thought it little to give
a dole of bread, a purse,
a heartfelt prayer for the poor of god,
or for the rich a curse;

but whether or not a man was asked
to mar the love of two
by harboring woe in the bridal house,
the bridegroom wished he knew.

[my sophomore year of high school i read this poem for the first time, and it was love at first sight...or well, read. now, in my sophomore year of college, i reread it and fell in love with every line all over again. it very well may be my very favorite poem of all time. it's just perfect. so, so perfect.]

for it's root, root, root for the home team

2010-04-17T00:48:00.001-07:00

now that i live in san diego, i feel almost obliged to be a padre's fan (though my heart will always lie first and foremost with the angels). and tonight marked opening day at petco park, giving me the perfect opportunity to try out my new fandom. we got great tickets through point loma for a fifth of the price they sell for, and spent the four fifths we saved on cotton candy, peanuts, pizza, and popcorn. the game started out slow, but ended with a bang--literally! we were down by three, and caught up in the last inning, finishing it all off with a three-run homerun. and after the game there was a firework show in honor of opening day. so it look s like being a padres fan isn't too shabby after all. i'll be rooting for my new home teem and sporting blue & beige this baseball season.

the GET in get-a-day

2010-04-15T22:25:00.000-07:00

remember the whole "give a day, get a day" thing? well this past weekend i got my free day at disneyland, along with my three mousekateers: claudia, tori, and jess. this has been the first year in very long while that i haven't had an annual pass to the happiest place on earth, and boy have i missed it. i'm almost certian that i could live at disneyland--preferably in the castle, or maybe they could build me a nice little place on tom sawyer's island--and never get tired or bored of it. there are just so many things that i love about the place. i love how everywhere you turn, a different disney song is playing, each one bringing back some cherished childhood memory; i love the anticipation of getting soaked on splash mountain, followed by my even greater love of the laughter that insues after actually getting soaked; i love the freezer-burnt chocolate-covered bananas; i love taking astro-blasters way too seriously; i love watching the leashed children try with all their might to break free and run rampant; i love looking for hidden mickeys, even though i can never seem to find any; i love the fireworks, the ridiculously long lines, and the relief of resting my aching feet on the tram ride back to my pinochio parking spot. really, i just love it all. and i was so glad to experience it all again, even if just for a day. the girls and i had a great time, spending a fantastic fifteen hours riding rides, taking pictures, and channeling our inner child. and i hope with all of my heart that disney does the whole "give a day, get a day" diddy again next year.

one day without shoes

2010-04-08T21:25:00.000-07:00

once a year TOMS shoes encourages people around the world to take part in "one day without shoes," a day in which you kick off your heels, flip-flops, or flats and spread awareness for those who go every day without shoes. so i did just that, baring my feet for the day. at times it was liberating; there's something freeing about unfettering your feet. i loved feeling the warmth of the sidewalks and the squish of dampish grass. there are so many sensations that shoes prevent your feet from feeling. and feeling those feelings was what i enjoyed most about today. it also felt good to walk around with the knowledge of what my bare feet stood for. but to be honest, there were times that i found myself a bit self conscious, as some people looked at me with disdain rather than interest. at the beginning of the day, before the word got out and the shoelessness caught on, people were giving me glances that screamed, "ew. where are that girl's shoes?" and instead of asking me about my bare feet, they just walked on by, likely thinking i was some sort of unsanitary hippie. by the time someone stopped and asked, i was more than happy to finally share the purpose behind my day without shoes. but as glad as i was to spread awareness to others, it was my own awareness that really grew today. i mentioned before that today was liberating. but there were also times that it was hard. crossing the occasional unpaved road or path shoved sharp rocks in my uncalloused souls, and the hot asphault of the parking lots burned the bottoms of my feet. i couldn't help but imagine those who have to cross much more difficult terrain and travel much longer distances. my heart goes out to those people and their feet. and so i have gained a new understanding and a fresh sense of gratitude. i am so thankful for my heels, flip-flops, and flats. i am so thankful for this one day i spent without shoes.

two broken airplanes & twenty-four hours later

2010-04-06T16:30:00.000-07:00

it just took me twenty-four hours to get home from oregon. two canceled flights. one delayed. a free meal and a free hotel room. i could have driven home faster. phew. i may or may not blog about my trip later. for now, i'm just glad to be back.

2010-03-30T21:38:00.000-07:00

what happens to a dream deferred?

does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
or fester like a sore --
and then run?
does it stink like rotten meat?
or crust and sugar over --
like a syrupy sweet?

maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

or does it explode?

-langston hughes

a picnic & a boat

2010-03-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

this past weekend the boyfriend came for a visit to the land of loma! few things make me happier than when nathan stops by for a day or two. i love spending time with him, and i love the adventures we have. on this particular visit we picnicked at the park, watching airplanes and kites fly over head, and ventured to the u.s.s. midway, an aircraft carrier museum in the san diego harbor. we had tons of fun and learned lots of things throughout the day:

1. snuggies make great picnic blankets

2. north park is a perfect place for a date.
it's not too crowded & not too empty. it's a great place to fly
a kite or take a nap. and it has military gadgets on the ground
& airplanes in the sky to entertain and amuse any boy of any age.
3. i can eat a whole chipotle burrito in one sitting.
nathan cannot.

4. the uss midway is huge!
in the three hours we were there we only saw 2/3 of the ship.
5. wax figures are frightening.
to give tourists an idea of what life was life on the uss midway, there are wax figures throughout, meant to represent different people in different roles on the aircraft carrier. they were very scary looking.

6. i will never live on an aircraft carrier.
first of all, i would get lost all the time. i've never been in a more confusing mess of hallways, levels, and ladders. second of all, i would get extremely claustrophobic. there are practically no windows and the rooms and passageways are compact and constricting.
7. how to tie fancy navy knots, 8. how to ring a giant navy bell,
9. how to captain an aircraft carrier, and 10. how to fly airplanes (kind of)

2010-03-19T10:47:00.001-07:00

have you ever eaten funfetti cake with chopsticks? i have.

march seventeenth

2010-03-17T17:06:00.000-07:00

according to legend, saint patrick used the shamrock (you know, those three-leafed plants we call clovers) to explain the holy trinity to the pre-christian irish people. and while i think that is a super neat use for a clover, this saint patrick's day i'm just using them to add a bit of color and life to my dorm room. happy st. patty's day! i hope it was full of green things and luck.

pajaros. oiseaux. uccelli.

2010-03-16T23:51:00.000-07:00

if you know spanish, french, or italian you know what this blog is about. but for those of you who are monolingual, i'll just tell you in english: this blog is about birds. today we took our third and final field trip for my ecology and conservation lab course. and what did we do? we went bird watching at the famosa slough. i had never actually been bird watching before, and i don't think i'll be doing it again any time soon. it's not so much that it wasn't interesting. i think animals are really interesting. really. i think its amazing how many different types of birds there are, and how many of those different types we saw in just one marsh. we saw tall birds, colorful birds, fluffy birds, all sorts of birds. i don't remember the names of all the species we identified or the exact amount, but i think the total came in around 25. and i could go on and on about how interesting the birds were. but i won't. because that's not the point i was trying to make. the reason why i don't plan on bird watching in the future is not the birds, but the binoculars that we watched them with. they should come with a warning label: "using binoculars may result in dizziness, nausea, and severe headaches." i'd rather view close-ups of nature through the television screen, planet earth style. that way i get the cool brittish-accent-narration without the binocular-induced-discombobulation. the birds and binoculars weren't the only interesting part of the field trip, though. while we were hiking along the trail, my professor (who, staying true to tradition, sported his field trip outfit once more) brought us to a sudden hault, and with excitment he shouted, "look! a veracious predator!" in unison, we gasped, without even knowing what this "veracious predator" was. "where?!" "a coyote!?" "a bobcat?!" "oh...a cat." apparently house cats are considered veracious predators at the famosa slough. and there were lots of them. we even saw one on a leash. we also encountered some obnoxious children whose mothers would have been ashamed at the things they said to us. i wont repeat the profanities and insults. i will just say that i hope that my future children will not 1) know those words and 2) harass strangers (or anyone, for that matter). as we continued on the trail, the boys eventually stopped following us and shouting profanities and we came across a woman, crying and crouching over something. it turns out that that something was a bird, and that bird had been attacked by her dogs and was dying. poor lady. poor bird. but at least i got to see a bird close up without looking through those darned binoculars. rest in peace little guy. and r.i.p. to you too, field trips. it was nice knowing you. thanks for the opportunity to get out of the class room and into the tide pools, trails, and sloughs. from here on out its back to the laboratory...

goodbye spring break, hello blog

2010-03-14T16:52:00.000-07:00

this week has been wonderful. full of r & r...with two capital R's. lots of rest and tons of relaxation. it's all because this week has been spring break. and let me tell you, i really broke (breaked?). ...i mean, i really took a break. from everything. and as you might have guessed from the lack of recent posts, "everything" included blogging. but now it's sunday night, and spring break is officially over, which means i'll be back to blogging, well...now!

bang bangs

2010-02-27T20:30:00.001-08:00

for years now i've wanted to get bangs. i mean, i've had side bangs for quite a while. but i'm talking about real bangs. bang bangs. ya know? well anyways, i've always found excuses not to get them, or chickened out at the last minute when the hair-cutter asked, "what do you want?" but today when the hair-cutter popped the question, i answered boldly, "bangs." and i'm so glad i did. not because i think they look great (i actually haven't decided whether i like them or not), but because i finally did it.

fortuneless cookie

2010-02-25T21:58:00.000-08:00

tonight i had chinese food for dinner. and like any asian restaurant they served fortune cookies for dessert. so i picked a one, peeled the wrapper, and cracked the cookie open to discover what my future held. apparently my future holds, well...nothing. at least nothing fortunate. my cookie was empty and fortune-less. how sad.

the GIVE in give-a-day

2010-02-21T14:14:00.001-08:00

have you heard about disney's "give a day, get a day"? this year, if you give a day of service, volunteering around your community, disneyland will give you a free ticket into one of their parks. i don't know about you, but i think that is the best deal i've ever heard of! not only do you get to lend a helping hand, but you get to spend a day at the happiest place on earth too? it doesn't get much better than that. the moment i heard about it i knew i had to do it. but going to disneyland by yourself is no fun, so i recruited some of my favorite friends and fellow second-southers claudia, jess, and tori to join in on the giving & getting and signed us all up. this weekend we put the give in give-a-day, and prepped, primed, and painted a house as part of san diego's "community serve day." we were just four of the fifteen-hundred people that volunteered around the county.

here's the house before
(i forgot to take an after)

we scraped...we caulked..and we painted...
and they gave us some super cute xxl tshirts for
all our hard work. ...best suvineers ever?
no, probably not.

we are now the proud owners of four tickets to disneyland. so be sure to stay tuned for the "GET in get-a-day" blog that will be posted in the somewhat near future. and if you're interested in participating in the "give a day, get a day" campaign (what am i saying? of course you're interested), just click here. even if you already have a pass, you can still take part. volunteer and donate your tickets to the boys and girls club, or get a day worth of fast passes or some mickey mouse ears. all the details are online. so what are you waiting for? go sign up!

pancakes and waffles, waffles and pancakes

2010-02-20T13:32:00.000-08:00

here at nease second south (the dorm that i live in) we have the greatest RA ever. this morning she made us chocolate chip pancakes and mickey mouse waffles for breakfast. thanks, megalicious, for a yummy start to the day! you're the best!

jellies!

2010-02-19T21:56:00.000-08:00

if you know me, or have ever seen my feet, there's a good chance that you have noticed the jellies that i wear on a regular basis. i got them two years ago at walmart for $5. as if the price wasn't enough reason to love them, they are also so comfy and, because they are clear, they match with anything and everything--hence why i wear them all the time. but because of all the wear, they've began to tear. for the past year, really, they've been falling apart. but i haven't been able to let go of them, and i haven't been able to find a new pair to replace them. until now, that is!

here are the oldies.
and here are the newsies!

you've got mail

2010-02-18T17:02:00.000-08:00

there are few movies i love as much as you've got mail. and today, i watched it twice--likely for the 267th and 268th time. or something like that. it's my go-to movie for almost all occasions. if i need a pick-me-up, you've got mail. if it's a rainy day, you've got mail. if i'm sick, or bored, or even just looking for some background noise while i clean my room (as was the case today)...you guessed it, you've got mail. i could watch kathleen and joe fall in love on repeat for the rest of my life. and you know what? it would never get old. ever. there are so many things i love about this movie, and i'd be here all night if i wrote each one of them down. so i won't do that. but i will leave you with something said--or written, rather--in the film that i especially adore, that gets me every single time, that goes like this: "sometimes i wonder about my life. i lead a small life--well, valuable, but small--and sometimes i wonder, do i do it because i like it, or because i haven't been brave? so much of what i see reminds me of something i read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around? i don't really want an answer. i just want to send this cosmic question out into the void. so goodnight, dear void." ...and goodnight to you too, reader.

shmo. shay-bay. shea butter.

2010-02-17T15:28:00.000-08:00

whatever it is you happen to call her, it's her birthday today! shea has been one of my dearest, darlingest, bestest friends for years now. you see...it all started one day on the school bus in the fifth grade. and if you know the two of us, you know that our present day amity started off as more of a mutual enmity. maybe it's because she physically abused me by means of a binder to my face, or because i used my popular friends as weapons of mass derision towards her. but years later--whether it was because we were both just too darn lovable to resist one another, or because it was jr. high and we were desperate for friends--our hatred for one another was tossed aside and replaced with what would come to be a lifelong friendship (well, okay, so far it's only been an adolescent-long friendship, but it's well on its way to lifelong status). i will never, ever forget the stroll we took at summer camp nearly seven years ago. arms linked, we were walking out from chapel and onto free time when she looked at me, smiled, and simply said, "let's be best friends." with a laugh, i agreed and added, "we will no longer be known as just shea, or just alli. from here on out, we will be 'alli and shea.'" and while the whole "alli and shea" thing might not have stuck, our friendship has. i can't imagine my life--or this world, even--without shea in it. and in honor of this day that is devoted to her existence, we celebrated! the birthday girl's mom, dad, aunt, nan, boyfriend, and i took her out for some delicious italian food and fun.

so thanks, shea, for being born and for being my friend. i love your guts more than you'll ever know. oh, and happy birthday!

the day that did not love me back

2010-02-14T22:51:00.000-08:00

i love valentine's day. i always have. even before i had a valentine to celebrate it with, i adored the holiday. my love for this day likely stems from my love of love. i am a helpless, hopeless, humongous romantic. so, it is no wonder that the fact that there is an entire day devoted to celebrating love and romance and warm, fuzzy feelings thrills me completely. ...i love valentine's day. but this year, it did not love me back.

i won't go into all the dismal details. but i will say that all of the plans that nathan and i had plotted fell through. and all of the surprises that we had in store for one another got spoiled. everything that could go wrong did go wrong, and by midnight last night it became quite clear that valentine's day was not going to happen for the two of us. at least not the way we had hoped. but rather than stress and sulk (although, i admit, there might have been a bit of both on my part), nathan and i decided to wipe the slate clean and treat this fourtheenth of februrary like any other day of the year. of course, we still spent the day together. he and i whiled away the day in the kitchen. we cooked and baked, sang and danced, and laughed and laughed. it was a perfect mixture of work and play, and somewhere along the way a meal was made.*

in the end, it turned out that this valentine's day was much less about the day--the plans and the surprises--and much more about the valentine. i suppose that's the way it should have been all along. and the way it should be from here on out. that's not to say that i don't still love valentine's day. i do. but hopefully next year it will love me back. and even if it doesn't, i'm pretty sure i have a valentine that will. ...i love you, nathan! thanks for today, and every day you spend with me.

*the meal we made included orange chicken, rice, and broccoli. and for desert we made milky way cake. the chicken was surprisingly yummy. if ever i make it again, though, i'll be sure to add less orange zest and corn starch. as for the cake, it actually tasted nothing like milky ways. a bit peculiar? i think so. also a bit of a let down. oh well!

fun with foliage

2010-02-10T16:43:00.000-08:00

if you read about my trip to the tide pools last week, then you know that i field tripped again this week. another tuesday, another ecological adventure, and, as promised, another blog. this time we went to the bayside trail to observe plants in their natural habitat. sounds enthralling, doesn't it? i know that i titled this post, "fun with foliage," however, do not be fooled--it was the aliteration that i enjoyed, not the vegetation. in fact, "misery with greenery" would probably be a more fitting description of the day. the wind blew, the clouds rained, and i lost feeling in my fingers within the first five minutes. these conditions were not entirely conducive to the task at hand: spend 2 hours outside identifing, drawing, and labeling 10 plants throughout the 3-mile walk. for the sake of optimism, though, i'll stick with the original title and say that it was not all bad. looking on the bright side, i got a bit of exercise while hiking around the great outdoors, and i learned how to identify coastal sage scrub plants using a dichotomous key--a skill that i will surely use all the time. and by "all the time," i mean never.

professor mooring sported his fashionable field
trip attire once again. how can you not love that
hat, vest, zip offs combination? i know i do...

portlan asked me to take a picture of
this "cool erosion." ...here ya go, port
and this one pretty much sums up the trip...
me, being cold

we won't be taking anymore field trips for a couple of weeks. but hopefully next time the topic will be more rousing than plants, and the forecast won't involve freezing rain and arctic winds. ...i'll letcha know if those wishes comes true.

superhero bowling gyrad extravaganza!

2010-02-07T11:19:00.000-08:00

every year my school puts on an event called, "superhero bowling." (i believe it's pretty self explanatory, but just for clarification: everyone takes turns rolling a ball down an alley in hopes of knocking down pins, while dressed as a superhero of their choice). every year, they've done this...until this year. however, just because it was no longer a school-wide event didn't mean it wouldn't happen. but how would it happen? ...have you ever heard of a gyrad? it's an acronym, really, that stands for, "get your room-mate a date," but i'm going to use it as a verb for a moment to tell you that we, at nease second south, gyraded and on saturday. we got our room mates a date and we took those dates bowling...superhero bowling. some of us were from comic books and video games, others from movies and t.v. shows, but all of us were superheros.

the heroines of the night

my room mate, claudia, got me the best date in the world.
nathan came all the way down to san diego to
be the mario to my luigi :)

julia and ben were my favorites of the night:
mermaid man and barnacle boy!
as judged by the girl working the register at fiji yogurt,
here are the winners of the costume contest: tmnt
and if you can tell me who jess and michael were
dressed as, i will be impressed. because i had absolutely

no idea who these people were prior to last night...

even though we didn't neccessarily bowl like superheros (myself inparticular), it was a super night, filled with super friends, topped off with some super fiji yogurt. and needless to say, i can't wait for the next time point loma cancels an event...

anemones, barnacles, and molluscs. oh my!

2010-02-02T19:04:00.000-08:00

every tuesday afternoon i spend three hours in an ecology and conservation lab course. sounds fun, doesn't it? of course, i could understand why you'd be jealous. usually this lab consists of filling out tedious, tiresome lab reports about biomimcry and trophic levels. but this tuesday was neither tedious nor tiresome. it was actually a lot of fun. because instead of analyzing graphs of population trends or watching movies on global warming, we took a field trip! we spent the afternoon at the tide pools, hopping and slipping from rock to rock, hunting for all sorts of sea critters. we found all kinds of creatures--hermit crabs, starfish, regular fish, and even some strange sea mushrooms. of course, my camera died before we came upon the cool stuff. but i did managae to snap a few snippits of our safari.

you know you go to point loma when your
school is only a quick stroll from the beach

tide pools! ta-da!
lab partners, best friends, partners in crime...
a cave! neat-o!

it was a fun-filled field trip, full of...

anemones!barnacles!and molluscs!...oh my!

speaking of sea anemones, for some strange reason, our professor, dr. mooring encouraged us all to lick them. he did it himself, along with the majority of my class. as enticing as they all made it sound ("ouch!" "it burns!" etc.), i opted to keep my tongue to myself. here are two such participants, shea and portlan...making out...with one such anemone.

...other than that, the afternoon was quite normal. and also quite fun. nothing beats ditching class to scamper about with sea creatures. next week we're field tripping again. ...to go where? to do what? find out next tuesday!

the awakening

2010-01-29T20:23:00.001-08:00

dear kate chopin,

your story of edna--of her animate emotions, of her awakening and her demise (being both one in the same)--is, in short, extraordinary. and your prose is profoundly accesable and absolute. thank you for telling this tale in the way that you have told it. here are a few of my favorite lines:

"the voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude; to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation. the voice of the sea speaks to the soul. the touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace."

"no multitude of words could have been more significant than those moments of silence, or more pregnant with the first-felt throbbings of desire."

"`well, for instance, when i left her to-day, she put her arms around me and felt my shoulder blades, to see if my wings were strong, she said. 'the bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. it is a sad spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth.'`"

"she had been with him, had heard his voice and touched his hand. but some way he had seemed nearer to her off there in mexico."

"she went on and on. she remembered the night she swam far out, and recalled the terror that seized her at the fear of being unable to regain the shore. she did not look back now, but went on and on, thinking of the blue-grass meadow that she had traversed when a little child, believing that it had no beginning and no end."

based on this book alone, i must say you were a remarkable author, ms. chopin. i cannot wait to read more of what you have written. it is worsmiths, novelists, storytellers like you and writings, novels, stories like the awakening that remind me why i love literature, and why i want to teach it to others. i hope someday to enlighten my students of the wonder of your work. thanks again. and again. and again.

your newfound fan,
alli reinhardt

hotel, hotel

2010-01-27T12:38:00.000-08:00

there's no place like home. especially when you're sick. and after spending one night back at school on monday, this cliche became all the more true to me. it was pretty easy to do the math: being sick + being in the dorms = no fun for anyone. for some reason, when you're constantly coughing and sneezing and blowing your nose, people don't really enjoy your company. or living with you. and at the first mention of the swine flu, i had my hall mates running away in horror (kind of). i didn't enjoy myself all that much either. dorm beds are not the most comfortable things in the world. combine that with the inability to breathe and you don't get much sleep. at least i didn't. when my parents called the next day to check up on me, i told them how horrible i was feeling and how i wish i could go back home. the next thing i know, my dad is getting a hotel room so that i can stop scaring my hall mates and get some r&r, and my mom is coming down to stay in it with me so that she can take care of me. so now we're staying at shelter island, with a beautiful view of the city skyline and coronado island. i got a wonderful night sleep last night. and today was a beautiful day. things are looking up.

here's the hotel

and the beautiful view on the beautiful day

the conclusion: i love my mom and dad. and i love hotels. i also love the girls in my hall. claudia got me some gatorade and chicken soup. tori got me some lovely get-well-soon tulips:

and everyone wished me a quick and speedy recovery. (whether that was for my benefit or theirs is unlcear. just kidding. kind of.) and even though i couldn't come home, little pieces of it came to me. ...in the spirit of hotels and all their greatness, i will leave you with this little ditty. enjoy!

it's a bird! it's a plane!

2010-01-25T12:41:00.000-08:00

its...swine flu?! ...i went to the doctor today and apparently the proper name for "everything's-going-wrong-with-my-body-itis" is actually "swine flu." hm. who knew? it has now turned into some sort of interal infection in my sinuses and lungs, which is just peachy. and while i'm no longer contagious, i was on friday. so to anyone that i saw/touched/breathed on, i'm so sorry if you catch it. consider this post my apology. and to make it up to you, i'll leave you with a joke or two...

what do you call a pig thief? a hamburglar!

what do you call a pig with no legs? a groundhog!

what do pigs like with chow mein? sooey sauce!

...you're welcome.

the never-ending weekend

2010-01-24T19:15:00.000-08:00

hello reader, how was your weekend? mine was...long. and i don't mean "long" as in a holiday weekend with a day or two off of school. i mean that the past three days have felt rather less like a weekend and much more like a week. or two. okay, maybe just one. "why?" you might ask. the answer: some strange mixture of laryngitis, the stomach flu, strep throat, viral pharyngitis, and bronchitis. sounds lovely, doesn't it? web md's symp tom checker could not give me a clear answer as to which specific illnesses i've had the privilege of experiencing this weekend, but my symptoms dabble in all the previously mentioned diagnosises. the name i find most fitting would be something along the lines of "hit-with-a-truck-itis," or "everything-is-going-wrong-with-my-body-itis" because that pretty much sums up how i've been feeling. besides the sporadic twinges of nausea, the body aches that would make hulk hogan cry, and the inability to talk, swallow, or breathe...it's been a lot of fun.

i must admit, though, that this weekend wasn't all bad. i got to spend some quality time with my mom, and it was nice to see her in her element. you know how moms have that innate, dire need to take care of someone or something? well, my shotty immune system provided mine with all the ingredients she needed to tune right into those instincts. from buying me a snuggy to making me soup, renting some chick-flicks and administering all the neccessary drugs to keep me sane...she did it all. so thanks, mom, for taking such good care of your baby girl! thanks, also, to nathan (the boyfriend) who made me some delicious spider man macaroni & cheese and sat with me as i napped, coughed, and cried the days away. you are the best of the best! i don't how i would've survived this weekend without the two of you...

keeping on a positive note and speaking of people i'm thankful for, ali labelle's birthday dinner was on friday. luckily, it occurred prior to the complete and total downfall of my health. not-so-luckily, i didn't get to stay for the whole shindig. it was nice to see some friends from high school, though, even if i couldn't actually talk to them (i had already lost my voice by this time). it was espeically nice to see the birthday girl herself. i've never had a friend more similar to myself than ali. even though we may not look a whole lot alike, she and i are, basically, the same person. same name. same temperament. same mole on the left side of our chin. same everything, really. there is one big difference between us, though, and it is that ali has heaps and loads more creativity than i ever will--take one look at her blog and be amazed. needless to say, she's a special, special friend, and i'm so blessed to have her in my life. happy (belated) birthday, ali!

...like i said, this weekend went by slowly. and that birthday dinner feels like it was weeks ago, rather than days. it is now sunday night, and i'm still at home in orange county. but don't worry, point loma, i'll be back soon to spread around this joyous viral infection to you all. in the mean time, pray that i get well. pretty please and thank you!

invitation

2010-01-22T15:28:00.001-08:00

"if you are a dreamer, come in.
if you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
a hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer...
if you're a pretender, come sit by my fire,
for we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
come in!
come in!"

-shel silverstein

welcome!

2010-01-21T23:51:00.000-08:00

bienvenidos! willkommen! boa vinda! ...and all that good stuff. this is my brand new baby of a blog. isn't she cute? the last time i made a blog, i lived in orange county, was a sophomore in high school, and had no idea where i would be in five years. not even a clue.

well, four of those five years have gone by and a few things have changed. i now live in san diego, i'm a sophomore in college, and i have a pretty good idea of where my life is headed.

with that said, i'm glad to be back in the blogosphere. but perhaps you're wondering, why the sudden come back? well, let me give you a reason or two as to why i'm here, writing this post, and making this blog:
1. i recently had an encounter with an academic adviser whose job is to, well, advise me. and the advice he had for me was a bit disheartening. when i told him that i didn't write all that often, he told me to change my major. what a downer, right? i'm currently working on a degree in english education, and plan on becoming an english teacher after graduation. in my meeting with mr. adviser-man, he asked me, "so you don't write poetry? or short stories? or even a blog?...we teachers have rather high standards for ourselves, and considering what you've told me, you may want to consider a different path." well, mr.adviser-man, i'm here to prove you wrong. i will be an english teacher someday. and if meeting your "high standards" means blogging once and a while, then blog i shall.
2. being in college, it's a tad difficult to keep in contact with friends and family. between classes and homework and dorm life, things can get a little hectic. amidst the chaos of college, i still want to share my life and experiences with everyone, even if i don't have the time to tell each person everything. so to the people who care about me--about the places i go, the people i meet, the things that i do, and the thoughts that i have--this is for you.
3. this blog is also for me. i can't wait to look back in 10, 20, 30 years and re-experience the experiences and rethink the thoughts that i put on this blog. both the little things, and the big.

so, consider this blog a conversation between you and me, between me and the world. ...let the heart to hardt begin!