Take Your Pick

Day Sixteen: Nicknames you have and why.

I kind of have a lot of nicknames. Rather, I've had a lot of nicknames in my life. The most obvious one being Lindy. Here's the scoop on that one: My dad worked with a lady whose name was Andralynn and she went by Lindy. He really liked the sound of it, and my mom agreed, and voila, it became my name. My mom apparently had this thing about giving us nicknamable names: My brothers are Benjamin, Robert, and Matthew, with their obvious corresponding nicknames. My sister is RoChelle, and we call her Chelly. Then mine is Andralynn, and I've been called Lindy my whole life. It gets a wee bit confusing. Sometimes I wish I had just gone by Andralynn my whole life. So if you ever want to start calling me Andralynn, go right ahead.

Other nicknames I have had in my life are Andra, Android, Androidlynn, Androidlindy, Andralindy, Linny, Linny-Loo, Lindy-Loo-Hoo who is no more than two. Andy has been thrown around a few times. I had a friend in high school who called me Lynnandra. A friend in my ward persists in calling me Lindizzle. And I have had two people consistently call me Andralynn, and while that isn't technically a nickname, it feels like one because no one else calls me that. (And the fact that they were guys I was interested in [and I think returned the sentiment] made it all the better.)

Most of these nicknames have no reason behind them; they simply sounded funny to whoever was talking to me, so they got used. Not much more to it than that.

Dream a Little Dream For Me

Day Fifteen: Plans/dreams/goals you have.

Well, that's not general at all, is it. I'm not even sure where to start.

I guess I can start with what has been on my mind the most lately, and that is marriage. Cliché, I know, but let's be honest: I'm 24 years old. I'm turning 25 this year, and I'm still single. I really do want a family. I want to meet someone who will be able and willing to deal with my particular brand of crazy, someone who will force his way into my bubble and convince me that I can allow someone into my life without being let down. I want a man who wants to have kids and wants to raise a family in the Church. I want a man who will love me for who I am and won't ask me to change for him. I want a man who makes me want to be a better person, who is my best friend and confidante.

That is my main dream right now, though that doesn't mean I don't have plenty of other dreams. I plan to move out of student housing (finally!) in August. I'll be moving in with a few other girls of my choosing, which will be awesome. We're going to have the awesomest apartment ever in existence, for the reals. The only thing that would be awesomer would be if Cora were living with us, but she's not. It's a shame.

Another dream/goal of mine is to work at a job that is at least closer to my dream job. Magazine editing, fiction editing . . . something along those lines. Wherever that may be. My current job is fine; I love the people I work with, and I very much like that I am so comfortable there. I know my job. I'm good at my job. But it's not where I want to stay the rest of my life. Eventually I will get an opportunity to go somewhere else, to expand my knowledge and my expertise. It will be hard, as change always is, but I'm excited for the day that it will be the right thing for me to move on. Whenever that day might be.

So there you have it: a couple of my long-term goals. I would write more, but I'm kind of in the middle of an episode of 24, and I'm a little distracted. Nerve gas is about to be released in a mall! Oh noes!!

I don't have a choice, but I'd still choose you.

Day Fourteen: Someone you want to switch lives with for one day and why.

I would switch lives with Joy Williams, of the Civil Wars. For many, many reasons. First of all, she has an incredible singing voice that I would love to have, just for a day. She is also a phenomenal songwriter. And she has beautiful dresses. Those three things alone would be reason enough for me to want to switch lives with her.

To make the situation even sweeter, she tours all over the world with the Civil Wars, so she gets to see all sorts of amazing places and meet all sorts of amazing people. She also gets to sing her ridiculously awesome music in front of venues full of fans singing the songs she wrote. That's something that I have always wanted to experience—I want to know how it feels to have thousands upon thousands of people know and love my music.

And the icing on the cake is that Joy Williams sings with one John Paul White, whom I love. I love his voice. I love how he makes playing insane rhythms on the guitar look as easy as breathing. I love how he and Joy lean close when they sing. I love how seamlessly their voices blend. I love how you can't tell who has the harmony and who has the melody. Honest to goodness, I love every little thing about the Civil Wars, and being a part of that duo for a single day would be beyond my wildest dreams. So yeah, I would absolutely switch lives with Joy Williams for a day. It would be amazing.

PS: Thanks goes to Cora for giving me the idea of switching lives with Joy Williams. Cora knows me so well.

Photog

Day Thirteen: Another picture of yourself.

New Year's Eve, 2011. Brittany, Heather, and I were partying with some friends, and we had the best ratio ever: the three of us and seven guys. It was pretty sweet. We played charades, ate tons of food, and watched a movie. It was a super fun night. I love these girls. I love them so much, in fact, that I'm going to be living with them this fall. I can't wait. Our apartment is going to be the bomb dot com. Seriously. We're not going to get any sleep ever. It'll be awesome.

The Shuffle Test

Day Twelve: Put your iPod on shuffle and post the first 10 songs that play.

This could get interesting. I have a lot of really random stuff on my iPod. Here goes nothin'. 

1. "Ritual Dance" by Kaki King, August Rush soundtrack (Told you I had random crap on there.)
2. "The Medallion Calls" by Klaus Badelt, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl soundtrack (I'm gonna start skipping songs if I get a bunch of instrumental.)
3. "Down" (feat. Lil Wayne) by Jay Sean (I always skip this song. I don't even know why I still have it.)
4. "The Dungeon" by Danny Elfman, Alice in Wonderland soundtrack
5. "Every Day," Les Miserables soundtrack
6. "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" by Steam, Remember the Titans soundtrack (Holy soundtracks, Batman.)
7. "Long Tall Sally" by the Beatles, Past Masters Volume 1 (Gotta have a Beatles song.)
8. "A Moment With Me" by Harry Connick, Jr., Come By Me
9. "Two Worlds" by Phil Collins and Mark Mancina, Tarzan soundtrack
10. "The Violet Hour" by the Civil Wars, Barton Hollow

I will freely admit that I skipped a couple of songs. But that was because I kept getting songs from the same album. Thank you, shuffle, for not being as random as usual when I really want you to be.

Da Brown Fambily

Day Eleven: A picture of you and your family.

This is kind of an old picture (I mean really, look at my hair!), but it's our latest family photo, so it's getting posted. I truly have the greatest family on the planet. 

Music is the best.

Day Nine: Songs you listen to when you are happy, sad, bored, hyped, mad.

This is a hard one, since I like so much music. I get in different moods for different music regardless of my emotions. If I like music, I like music, and that's about it. But I'll give this a shot, based on my current music mood. Which means there's going to be a whole lot of Cold War Kids, Mumford & Sons, and the Civil Wars, since I've been listening to them nonstop lately.

Happy: "Marry Me" by Train, because that song just gives me warm fuzzies. So does "I've Got This Friend" by the Civil Wars. "Count on Me" by Bruno Mars also qualifies as a happy song. Then you can throw in stuff like "I've Just Seen a Face" by the Beatles and "Magic" by B.o.B. Oh, and I can't forget "Finally Begin" and "Broken Open" by Cold War kids.

Sad: "Poison & Wine" and "Falling" by the Civil Wars. "Roll Away Your Stone" and "The Cave" and "Thistle and Weeds" by Mumford & Sons. Okay, so basically all of Barton Hollow and Sigh No More qualify as good sad albums. Norah Jones is also a good sad artist, especially "Cold Cold Heart" and "I Don't Miss You At All." Also, can't forget songs like "Someone Like You" and "Turning Tables" by Adele.

Bored: Pretty much anything I can bust out at the top of my lungs. So all of 21 by Adele. "Barton Hollow" and "Birds of a Feather" by the Civil Wars. "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles. "Stoppin' the Love" and "Black Horse and a Cherry Tree" by KT Tunstall. "As Long As You're Mine" from Wicked. "Come Home" by OneRepublic. Stuff like that.

Hyped: Pretty much anything by Sherwood, especially "Song In My Head," "Only Song," "Middle of the Night," and "You Are." They're jumping songs, so it's easy to get a lot of energy out with them. "Runaway Baby" by Bruno Mars. "Forget You" by Cee Lo Green. Anything super upbeat.

Mad: "Where Have You Been?" by Reel Big Fish. They say "Go to hell!" in every chorus, so it's a given as an angry song. "You Already Know" by Train. "Over You" by Daughtry. "Before He Cheats" by Carrie Underwood. "Skip the Charades" by Cold War Kids. "Little Lion Man" by Mumford & Sons. I may never actually sing the f-word in that song, but sometimes just hearing it is an emotional release. "Grenade" by Bruno Mars. Basically anything with an angry undertone that I can sing really loudly.