One of Those Days

Today is one of those days when I kind of wish I had an anonymous blog so I could write about everything that I'm frustrated about right now in wonderful detail. But, since I don't want everyone on the interwebs to be able to read about what I'm feeling right now, I'll sum most of it up in two words:

BOYS SUCK!*

The end.

*Don't ask me why. There are no specific reasons right now. This is just one of those times of general frustration.

Waking Up Fail

Fail #1: I set my alarm at 6:00 a.m. this morning so I could go to the gym before work. As soon as my alarm went off, I promptly turned it off and set it for an hour later. So much for working out. I don't know if I'll ever be able to get myself to go to the gym in the morning ever again. Ugh.

Fail #2: My first thought when I woke up (again) was, "Wow, it's bright outside." I glanced at the clock, and it was 8:52 a.m. I'm supposed to be at work at 9:00. Awesome. I jumped out of bed, threw on some clothes, yanked my hair into a ponytail, applied some mascara, brushed my teeth, and was out the door. I made it to work by 9:20, which is a major accomplishment, I think. Too bad I've felt like a schlump all day.

Two major failures without even leaving my bed. Way to start the day, Lindy.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

This book has to be one of the most well-written and well-planned books that I have ever read. J. K. Rowling should be a mystery novel writer with how well she set up the twist at the end of Prisoner of Azkaban. It is at once completely unexpected and entirely plausible. As I read the novel this time around, all I could think was how much planning it must have taken to plant all of the little clues that led to the end revelation. It's absolutely brilliant. And Rowling wrote it in just a year, which is ridiculous.

Prisoner of Azkaban also sets up so many events that drive the rest of the series. Without Pettigrew's escape, the next four novels wouldn't have happened. Voldemort wouldn't have had a servant to help him return to full power, and who knows if he would have ever regained power again. As much as I hate the fact that Pettigrew gets away, it was an essential part in Harry's journey toward destroying Voldemort for good.

The Good: Really, what's not to love about this novel? Harry getting his first ever birthday presents; Harry blowing up Aunt Marge; Stan Shunpike and the Knight Bus; everything about Remus Lupin; Defense Against the Dark Arts classes; Fred and George giving Harry the Marauder's Map; Harry getting the Firebolt; Gryffindor winning the Quidditch Cup; Ron and Hermione standing firm with Harry, even to the point of giving their lives for him; Lupin and Black telling their story in the Shrieking Shack; "You're both mental"; the introduction of the idea that the dead we love are never far away: "In a way, you did see your father last night. . . . You found him inside yourself."

The Bad: Malfoy taunting Buckbeak, getting attacked, then milking his injury for all it was worth; Harry and Ron's anger at Hermione—seriously, that poor girl is always the odd man out; Snape's complete refusal to even hear Sirius out because he's still so consumed by his school-boy grudge.

The Ugly: Ron's leg snapping as Sirius pulls him into the Whomping Willow; Snape's incredible fury when he finds that Sirius has escaped.

Heck to the Yes

So, I recently found out that a band that I quite enjoy just might be heading back Utah way next month.

 

This time, I'm totally getting my QU shirt signed. Concert #5 here I come!

New Roomie

After stressing about housing for next year for a few weeks, I have finally made a decision. I'm staying at Carriage Cove for another year. Now, I'll be the first to admit that Carriage Cove hasn't been my favorite place to live. The apartments themselves have been fine, but it hasn't exactly been the most social of places.

Well, hopefully that will change, at least a little bit, come this fall. Meet my new (future) roommate:

 

Yeah, Carriage Cove won't know what's hit it when the two of us start living together. Woot.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Holy moses, three posts in one day! That's some kind of record for me, I'm sure. I guess I just have a lot to say today.

I finished HP 2, so it is time for my second review. I'm sure nobody really cares, but I have fun writing them. Chamber of Secrets is probably my least favorite Harry Potter book, though that's not to say that I don't still enjoy it. When I first read the series (when Goblet of Fire had just come out), I remember thinking about how Chamber of Secrets seemed like a bit of a tangent. Books one and three were all about trying to thwart Voldemort's return to power, but it seemed like book two was its own separate story. I guess it's true that if Tom Riddle had taken all of Ginny's soul he would have been back, but it just didn't feel the same as when Voldemort returns in book four. Then, of course, Half-Blood Prince came out, and the revelation that Riddle's diary was a horcrux suddenly made Chamber of Secrets much more pertinent and important. What Harry does in the Chamber is one of the most important things he does in the course of the story. It is the first time that Harry moves toward permanently destroying Voldemort.

The Good: Ron, Fred, and George coming to rescue Harry from the Dursleys; Harry's first stay in the Burrow; Harry beating Malfoy at Quidditch despite having a broken arm; Ron's bravery in following the spiders; the Ford Anglia saving the day; Harry and Ron discovering that Moaning Myrtle was killed in the last attacks; Harry and Ron visiting Hermione and putting all the puzzle pieces together; the teachers ganging up on Lockhart just to get him out of the way; Lockhart getting blasted by his own Memory Charm; Harry defeating Riddle and the basilisk and saving Ginny with Fawkes's help; Harry discovering that he pulled Godric Gryffindor's sword out of the hat; the introduction of agency as a main theme: "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"; Lucius Malfoy getting blasted down the stairs by Dobby.

The Bad: The Dursleys hitting an all-time abusive low; Dobby sealing the barrier to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters; Snape finding Harry and Ron after they crash the car; the rogue Bludger; the dueling club fiasco; Harry finding Justin Finch-Fletchley and everyone thinking Harry did it; Aragog and the spiders.

The Ugly: Everything about Gilderoy Lockhart, but especially his willingness to attack two twelve-year-old boys for the sake of saving face; Draco Malfoy saying it was a pity Hermione hadn't been killed by the monster; Harry getting covered in slime, blood, and ink—I'm not sure why, but the description of Harry wiping slime and blood off of his glasses grosses me out every time.

Best $500 I Ever Spent

I was up in Salt Lake yesterday, so I decided to go to Guitar Center and look at their digital pianos and keyboards. And what did I find? A sale. The digital piano I had already been looking at (because it was the least expensive one I could find that still got good reviews online) was a good $150 less than what it usually sells for. And since my tax return had come the week before, I bought the piano.

Isn't it pretty? Unfortunately, they didn't have it in stock, so I couldn't take it home with me. But they placed an online order for me, and it should be here by the end of the week. Soon I will have my own piano! It's not the best quality, but the keys feel pretty good and it actually looks like a piano. And the best thing about it was that with the sale, it was well below what I was expecting to spend. Hooray for staying under budget! Now I have a little extra so I can buy a decent pair of headphones and maybe a bench. I can't wait until it comes.

Best Girls' Night Ever

On Friday night, Faith and I decided we would have a little girls' night out. We had both found some cool-looking spots in Provo/Orem, and we wanted to try them out, so we made a night of it. All I have to say is that café hopping was pretty much amazing, and it's really too bad neither of us had thought of it before.

We started out the night at Spark. I had already been to Spark, but Faith hadn't. We got some appetizers and drinks, which were really good. My apple martini (non-alcoholic, of course—don't go getting the wrong idea) wasn't nearly as sweet as I thought it would be, but it was still really yummy.

 

The food was also really good. We decided that the next time we go to Spark (because there definitely will be a next time), we'll go a little bit later and sit at the bar. It just sounds like fun.

Our second stop was the F Stop Café. At first, we thought the place was closed. There wasn't a soul in sight, and their hours were a little confusing: 5 PM to 12 PM. I think someone needs to let them know that 12 PM is actually noon, not midnight. In the end, we tried the door, which was open, so we went in. There was local art on the walls, which was kind of cool. Faith got a hot cocoa and I got a peach Italian soda, both of which were delicious. I loved the atmosphere of the café; it was really loungy and comfortable.

After F Stop, we headed over to Anna's birthday party, which was pretty fun. Poor Faith didn't know anybody, but she was a trooper and came with me anyway. It was fun to go to the BC and see a bunch of people that I hadn't seen in a while. We also planned a little BC Apt 8 ice cream reunion for President's Day, which should be fun.

Once we had finished socializing, we ran over to Wyview to pick up Cora, then stopped at the dollar theatre to pick up our tickets for the late-night movie we were going to see. Then we headed up State St. to a little place I had passed a few times, called The Chocolate. As soon as I walked in, I knew I loved the place. It was adorable—there are really no other words for it. There were couches and armchairs and candles on the tables. It had a great atmosphere. Plus, one of my former roommates was behind the counter. It was fun to catch up with Rachel—I hadn't seen her in over a year. 

There was so much to choose from! Luckily, Rachel helped me out and told me to try the Kitty Katrina, which I did, and it was amazing. Faith tried a turtle brownie. She liked it so much that she put the last bite that she couldn't finish in a napkin so she could eat it later. Cora had a mint brownie, which was equally tasty. 

 

The Chocolate also sells bottles of Madagascan and Mexican vanilla, and after eating that delectable piece of vanilla cake, I've decided that I'm buying a bottle the next time I go. Because there will definitely, definitely be a next time.

After stuffing ourselves full of good food and drinks all night, we headed over to see Fantastic Mr. Fox at the dollar theatre. It was an awesome movie. I would highly recommend it, especially if you like dry humor. It was about as dry as it comes. 

Overall, it was an awesome night. I haven't had that much fun in a really long time.

A (not so) Recent Discovery

I have come to a conclusion: I am awkward. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. No matter how hard I try to not be awkward, I just seem to get worse.

My awkwardness comes out mostly in the normal, everyday, brief social encounters, such as passing colleagues at work or saying hi to people in church. I try to be pleasant and friendly by saying hi, or simply smiling, but the hi will get caught in my throat or the smile will feel more like a grimace.

Lately I've been noticing a couple of situations where my awkwardness comes out in full force. The first is the stair encounter. KLAS is located on the top floor of an office building, and I always take the stairs. The worst possible thing about walking on the stairs is when someone is walking behind me. For some reason, it makes me feel jittery and stressed. If I get to work at the same time as a co-worker that I don't know very well, I will hang back so they enter the stairwell first. I also hate the awkward pleasantries that pass between acquaintances. *shudder*

The second situation is the bathroom conversation, which is so much worse than the stairs. If someone else is in the bathroom at the same time as I am, I will either book it to wash my hands and get out of there before the other person is done or hang back until the other person leaves. The thought of having to talk to someone while I'm washing the bathroom germs from my hands stresses me out for some reason.

Why do these situations stress me out? I don't know. Oh yeah. Because I'm awkward.

Though I do have to say that once I get to know someone, I become significantly less awkward. I am still awkward—that won't go away anytime soon—but I like to think it's not debilitating.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

As I was searching for a picture of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to post on my blog, I came across this awesome little blog. I spent about half an hour perusing her incredibly well-written posts and promptly forgot to copy the picture of the cover and post it to my blog.

Anyway, I was reading her Harry Potter posts, and I decided that I was going to do something similar and review the books that I love so dearly. This just might get me to look at them a little differently, which could be refreshing when considering how many times I have read this series.

I really love Sorcerer's Stone. There's just something so fun about the very beginning—before the crazy fanatics and the movies and the hype; before J. K. Rowling was richer than the queen; before Harry Potter was a name everyone knew, whether they'd read the books or not. Harry's naivete about the wizarding world is such a fantastic way to pull the readers in and make them care about what Harry is discovering. As readers, we learn as Harry learns, and we grow as Harry grows throughout the series.

The Good: Uncle Dursley singing "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" and jumping at small noises; Hagrid telling the Dursleys that their "great puddin' of a son" doesn't need more food; Harry's first trip into Gringotts and Diagon Alley; Harry discovering he's a natural on a broomstick; Ron knocking the troll out with its own club: "Oy, pea-brain!"; Neville trying to fight Crabbe and Goyle; Ron's sacrifice on the giant chessboard; Hermione figuring out the potion riddle; "Alas! Ear wax!"; Dumbledore handing out the extra points at the end of term to give Gryffindor the House Cup.

The Bad: Hermione's overwhelming bossiness at the beginning; Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback—I hate that stupid dragon; Harry getting treated like an outcast after losing 150 points—hasn't the poor kid been through enough? (Well, obviously not, since there are six more books to go.)

The Ugly: Quirrell drinking the blood of a dead unicorn; Voldemort's face sticking out of the back of Quirrell's head—I mean really, how creepy is that?

Random Yet Highly Entertaining Blog

So, I was looking at my friend's blog today, and she had a link to Confessions from a Mormon Bachelor Pad. I think it's quite clever. Though I must warn anyone who decides to read it that you might just be offended. Pretty much, I'm just really curious about who the heck these guys are. Because they intrigue me.

Oh, and I'm sorry for another random/super short post. I guess I just haven't thought of much else to write about lately. My life is rather uneventful at the moment. I'll let you know when things pick up.

I just might have an aneurysm

from how incredibly excited I am that LOST is starting again tonight. Does this make me a nerd? Yes. Will I annoy people throughout the course of the sixth and final season? Yes. Will this stop me from geeking out about it? No.

(This picture intrigues me, since it's a representation of da Vinci's The Last Supper. Though I must admit that the fact that John Locke is in Jesus' position kind of freaks me out.)