Just for Fun

I know a lot of people hate these things, but I love them. Not only do I love reading other people's responses and learning more about them, I love thinking about my own answers to the questions and learning a little bit more about myself (as cheesy and weird as that sounds). I'm in a talky mood, so I'm sorry if my answers get long-winded! (Note: I took some questions out, so that is why there are numbers missing!)

1. what is your current obsession?
Making lists and pondering my future. And being nerdy. I am actually really looking forward to the start of a new semester!

2. what are you wearing today?
Jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt

3. what’s for dinner?
Um, I think I ate broccoli...oh yeah, and a PB&J!

4. what’s the last thing you bought?
Boots on Target.com

5. what are you listening to right now?
Nothing, and it's way too quiet. I will be starting up some music promptly. What it will be, I have no idea! Probably the (500) Days of Summer soundtrack. Or something on Pandora. Yeah, probably Pandora.

7. if you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?
That's tough. How about if I could have many houses? I would have to say Colorado, Washington (the state), South Carolina, NYC, and Boston. And Chicago. And California. I think that's it.

8. one thing you wanna change about yourself?
Be more outgoing.

9. if you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
California...the beach specifically.

10. which language do you want to learn?
French

11. what’s your favourite quote?
"I'm just what I am, that's all." - Death of a Salesman

14. what are you afraid of the most?
Settling.

15. who do you want to meet right now?
A (single) millionaire! (Missy, that one is for you!)

16. what is your favourite color?
Um, green, I think. I don't really have a favorite color. It may be pink, but I'm kind of in denial about that.

18. what is your dream job?
Performer.

19. what’s your favorite magazine?
TIME

20. if you had $100 now, what would you spend it on?
I would probably save it. But if I HAD to spend it, it would be on clothes.

22. who according to you is the most over-rated writer?
Stephenie Meyer. Twilight may be insanely successful, but I think we all know teenage girls are probably not the best judges of literary merit.

23. what brings a smile on your face instantly?
Hmmm. I'm not sure. Probably my friends.

24. a word that you say a lot?
Crap. Or some synonym of that.

25. what kind of haircut do you prefer?
One that is flattering on the person wearing it. I hate when people have bad hair.

26. what are you going to do after this?
Read or watch a movie. It is 12:21 PM after all.

27. what do you do when you are feeling low or terribly depressed?
Listen to music of the depressing, emo variety.

28. what makes you go wild?
Pretty much everything. Good things, bad things. I'm very excitable. haha.

29. what are your favourite movies?
The Notebook, The Family Stone, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Lord of the Rings, Breakfast at Tiffany's...to name a few.

30. what inspires you?
Pictures, movies, books, music, watching behind-the-scenes featurettes.

31. what do your friends call you most commonly?
Becky, Becks, Beck.

32. would you prefer coffee or tea?
Coffee. Tea freaks me out, but I won't go into that now.

33. which other blogs do you love visiting?
A lot of them. My friends blogs of course, and various others.

34. favorite dessert/sweet?
Cheesecake. I don't think I've ever said no to cheesecake.

35. how many tabs are turned on in your browser right now?
I LOVE TABS! I only have 8 right now, which is pretty low for me.

36. when you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
"What's cookin', good lookin'?" Not really. I have no idea! Maybe "good morning."

37. favorite season?
Spring.

38. one wish that you really want to see it come true?
Hmmm. Um. Marrying a millionaire, DUH! But in all honesty, I want to have my own apartment/house at some point. I love the idea of having my own space to decorate all cute and such!

39. what breaks your heart?
Invisible Children

40. what's one thing you really want to do in life?
Make a lot of money then give it all away.

This looks fun!

I love Times Square, and I love large amounts of snow (well, for about a month, then it can disappear as far as I'm concerned). This snowball fight in Times Square looks epic!

Nothing like a smack in the face to wake you up...

I saw this picture on a blog I follow called notebook doodles. As soon as I read it, I thought "HELLO! DUH!" I love when simple things like artsy pictures on random blogs just totally bombard me with truth. It immediately made me think about all the things I complain about not having (new boots, jeans that fit, a digital camera that works, a boyfriend, to name a few), and how stupid it is when I have so many other things to be thankful for (millions of pairs of shoes and plenty of clothes, half of which I don't even wear, amazing friends, the chance to go to college). I think about it and realize, man, I'm really ungrateful sometimes. Actually, I'm really ungrateful a lot of the time. And even when I seem like I'm being grateful, I'm probably still, in some corner of my mind, thinking about all the other things I could get that would make me "more" grateful.

So yeah, that's my thought for the day. What thing that you don't have gets in the way of your appreciation for the things you do have? I think it's a phenomena that goes unnoticed, until a nice little ditty like this comes along to awaken us to the fact that we are totally caught up in our greed. Darn you American dream! But in all seriousness, we can't really place the blame on anyone or anything but ourselves. I guess you can add that to my list of non-new year's resolutions resolutions. Stop being greedy and start being grateful!

New Year's Resolutions

I have never been one to make new year's resolutions. Most people are lucky if they can even stick with them through the end of January. For that reason, I usually don't bother. But this blog post by Donald Miller gave me a new perspective on the whole thing. He suggests, rather than making the usual list of items like "lose ten pounds," we should think of our goals in a story-oriented way. For example, his goal is to be able to climb Mt. Hood with some of his friends. The idea of standing at the top of an 11,000+ foot mountain is definitely a more appealing goal than just trying to lose weight. It also helps that he has other people counting on him to be there to climb the mountain with him. With your pride on the line, you may be a little more motivated to get to work and get in shape.

I highly suggest reading the whole post. It definitely changed the way I think about setting goals, and I'm definitely planning on putting his advice to use in my own life.

Also, here is another little snippet about goal setting from one of the pastors at Riverview:




Do you make new year's resolutions? Have you ever been successful in accomplishing one (or more than one)? Leave a comment and let me know!

A Decade of Favorites

So, I wouldn't be a true blogger if I didn't write a post to commemorate some of my favorite things from this decade. So here goes. My favorite things of this decade, in no particular order (other than that in which I thought of them):

1) Being a teenager. Because who doesn't love teen angst? And goodness knows I had my fair share of it!

2) The OC. I just love it, there's really nothing else to say. You can read my other post to get my more in-depth feelings on the show.


3) Pixar. Though Pixar didn't begin in this decade, they made a lot of great movies in it, from Monster's Inc. to Up!. Hopefully this trend continues for decades to come!


4) Aéropostale. It was basically my favorite store from the age of 11 to the age of 14.


5) Children's Ballet Theatre. Though it was the source of much of my teenage angst (see number 1), it was also the source of six and a half years of performance experience and great memories.
6) Jump5. My favorite musical group until I was about 14, and the first concert I ever attended.


7) Relient K. Though technically formed in '98, the really gained success in this decade. They are still on of my all time favorite bands, and I hope they continue to create awesome music forever and eternity.


8) Hilary Duff/Lizzie McGuire. I was a pretty huge fan.


9) High school. Glad it happened. Glad it's over.

10) Middle school. Even when you're home schooled, it's still awkward.

11) Braces. It only took four years for my teeth to look as good as they do today!


12) Epic movies. From Pirates of the Carribean to Lord of the Rings, you can't deny that this was a great decade for great epic movies.


13) Avril Lavigne. Before she went all blonde and pink and got married. Great background music for my teen angst (see number 1).


14) Digital. Photos, videos, you name it. Feeding the flames of our instant-gratification culture.

15) Facebook/YouTube/the Internet. These things totally changed the way we live. Anything funny that happens on camera is an instant candidate for a YouTube hit. Any picture taken has to be reviewed by it's subjects (immediately after it's taken, thanks to number 14) and deemed worthy or unworthy for Facebook. And of course, my favorite: everyone knows you're not really dating someone until it's Facebook Official (I would not be a bit surprised if this term showed up in a dictionary in the near future).

16) The iPod. I think it would be safe to say this is one of the best products of the 2000s.
17) Children's/Young-Adult Fiction. From Ella Enchanted to Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants to Harry Potter, I read a lot of good books in the past ten years!


18) Reality TV. I can't believe I almost forgot this decade's greatest gift to mankind: the reality television show. From American Idol to Survivor to all those "reality" shows on MTV, I think we can all agree this is a defining product of the past ten years.

19) Tom Izzo and the MSU Men's Basketball Team. They're awesome. Period. Even Sports Illustrated acknowledged this fact.


20) Top 40 Hits. If you know me, you know how anti-Top 40 I am. But sometimes, you just can't help yourself. And this decade has been full of some great chart-topping hits. Or if not great, at least songs that you just can't get out of your head no matter how hard you try. From Usher's "U Got it Bad" in 2001 to Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" (my personal anthem), we certainly have a decade full of hits that we can look at ten more years from now and reminisce about.

So there it is. I'm sure as soon as I post this, I will think of a million other things, but I'm satisfied with this list of 20. Leave a comment with you're favorite memories/products/musicians/movies/etc. from the past 10 years!

End of the year, end of the decade

For those of you who already follow me on twitter, the following statement will sound familiar.

I still remember, very vividly, being ten, and having someone tell me "you're a decade old!" It is absolutely insane to me that I am (in 7 months) going to be TWO decades old! Where has the time gone? I cannot believe that on my next birthday I will be turning 20. I certainly don't feel mature enough for that. Even now, 20 sounds so old. Ten years ago, people who were twenty were adults. They were mature. Do the ten-year-olds I know know look at me that way? I certainly don't look at myself that way.

The end of a decade. It's a weird thing to wrap your head around. Ten years. A lot happens in ten years. I grew up in those ten years. I came into this decade a child, and I came out an adult (well, kinda, see previous paragraph). But even more important than all the changes that happened in the past 10 years, I want to take this chance to say one more time how much my life has changed in this single year, 2009.

If you are a loyal reader of my blog, first of all, thank you, and second of all, I'm sorry, because you've heard all this before. This year, 2009, has been, probably, to use the current vernacular, the most epic year of my life. It's weird to think that in January 2009, not that long ago in the scope of things, I was going to school in Ohio. Exactly a year ago, on New Years Eve, I made the decision to transfer back to MSU. One of the hardest decisions of my life. I was full of uncertainty about the whole thing, but here I am a year later, and I can proudly say that it is impossible for me to be happier with my decision. So that was the big thing that happened to me this year. But there are a lot of little things too.

Little things like performing in my first opera. And the things that some people might overlook, like the movie nights, beach trips, summer days at the pool, and long talks. Staying up until three in the morning listening to choir music, or studying for music theory. I have amazing people in my life, and I am so thankful for every single one of them. So that's how I want to remember this year. Not for all the drama (and oh, there was drama!), the theatrics, or the emotional roller coasters. I want to remember the people. And the time I spent with them. Because that was the best part. Those are the parts worth remembering.

So to wrap it up, I would just like to say I hope you have a Happy New Year. I hope you have as many happy memories from 2009 as I do, and may you have many more in 2010!

Toy Story 3...OMG!

Thanks to one of my favorite blogger/vlogger/internet people Eric Striffler, I found out about this amazing sneak preview for Toy Story 3! I cannot wait for this movie!

The end will justify the pain it took to get us there...

I feel like I've been doing a lot of music blogs lately. Perhaps this is a new niche!

For those of who you don't know, Relient K is without a doubt one of my favorite bands of all time. I don't think there is a single one of their songs that I don't like. It always amazes me how every single lyric they write speaks directly to me and what I'm going through. "Let it All Out" from their 2004 album mmhmm has definitely gotten me through many of life's rough patches.

"And you said I know that this will hurt/But if I don't break your heart, things will just get worse/If the burden seems too much to bear, remember/The end will justify the pain it took to get us there."

Gets me every time! I am happy to say, however, that I have been lucky enough to experience some of that end justification that they are talking about, and boy, was it worth the wait. :D



Edit: I almost forgot to mention that one of the things that makes this song extra awesome is listening to it in sequence on the CD, because the song before "Which To Bury, Us or the Hatchet?" transitions right into it, and it's totally amazing. Listening to "Which To Bury..." with out hearing "Let it All Out" after it is actually really jarring, because they are pretty much meant to go together. Just a little music nerd fact for you. :)

Hallelujah

Hallelujah (originally written by Leonard Cohen) is without a doubt my favorite song of all time. With as many times as it's been covered, you would think the shine might wear off, but the opposite is true. With every new performance I hear, I fall more and more in love with the song. Everyone has their own unique interpretation, but all are equally beautiful and filled with so much emotion. My friend Emily posted this version on Facebook today, and I am once again blown away at the power of this song. It is awesome in the awe-inspiring sense of the word.

Guilty Pleasure

I have a confession to make. I was, and still am, a huge fan of The OC. I think it's safe to say that it was one of my favorite TV shows of all time. I realize that not many people liked the show (although someone must have, because it did make it four seasons), but I always seem to pick the shows that no one else likes (i.e. Friday Night Lights). I had somewhat forgotten about how much I loved the show, but this weeks episode of Gossip Girl (which was created by Josh Schwartz, who also created The OC) caused me to reminisce, and I just had to watch an episode. Man, do I love The OC. I thought I would highlight for you just some of the reasons I love the show:

1) It had, by far, the best soundtrack of any television show ever. Every song is perfectly chosen and perfectly placed in the episode (perhaps the music directors for New Moon could have taken a few pointers from Alexandra Patsavas).

2) It has the perfect mix of drama and comedy (it is, after all, a self-described dramedy). Much of the comedy is thanks to number three...

3) Adam Brody as Seth. He is absolutely hilarious, and basically, I love him. He has some of the best lines in the show, not to mention the fact that he invented Chrismukkah ("eight days of presents, followed by one day of many presents").
4) Sandy and Kirsten Cohen. They are some of the coolest TV parents of all time (right up there with Mike and Carol Brady).
5) There are a million other inexplicable reasons I love this show, but I wanted to keep this relatively short.

So basically, if you like dramedy and haven't seen this show, I suggest you give it a try. I think it is definitely an acquired taste, so you just need to give it a chance. Also, if you are out Christmas shopping and happen to see a DVD box set...I'm just saying, I don't own any of them...yet. ;)