Ohhh yeah, I get it now.

Anybody out there? I won't blame you if you left. Not one bit. There are way more interesting things happening out there than my stagnant, dust gathering weblog (seriously, have you seen Whale Wars? Way more interesting).

But, I broke out the Swiffer duster, brushed off that neglected bookmark at the top of my browser, and started typing.

I mean, I had every intention of coming in a updating everything a while ago, there was just one problem. 

Where to start? 

You know that day after you finish your 87-day-carb-busting-blaster-diet or your no-eating-until-I-can-see-through-myself fasting? You've met your goal then take yourself to Whataburger and just buckle under the hundreds of salty and sweet options. Honey butter chicken biscuits. 

Or maybe you don't relate to that. That's okay, we'll press forward. Maybe you'll be more at ease with this anecdote: A month or so ago, a friend and co-worker came to work stressed about his Twitter. He had just created an account, and wanted his first tweet to be memorable. I remember the rest of us lightheartedly teasing his about worrying and over thinking his tweet. 

Sans french fries and tweets, I realized I was facing a similar struggle. It's been literally half a year since I've even logged in to this page. So now that I'm finally here, finally typing, finally using dormant brain power, what on Earth do I write about? Better question: What can I say to get my flaky self back into your, readers, good graces?

Well in all kinds of honesty, I don't really know the answer to that second question. What I do know is that nothing is going to happen if I don't start writing again, and fast. 

So the main part of this post will consist of a list of things that I've learned/done/discovered over the past six months. It's been an eventful time, peeps. 

• There is no such this as an "easy" 18-hour-semester. I learned that last spring. Add that to overextending my extra-curricular commitments and stir, and you get me pounding my head against the wall or hysterically yelling "I don't have time to shower!" on a nightly basis. 

• I'm not cool because I'm going to take Ballroom dancing for the third time next semester. Here's a rag-tag team of dancers doing what we do best. 

• I'm officially a senior in college with 28 hours left. This has led me to the realization that I have NO IDEA what to do with my life. This sometimes leads to the reactions in the first bullet. I'm sure I'll have posts about that sporadically for the next year or so. 

• I redecorated my room because I'm not good at keeping things the same and I have loads of this foreign concept known as spare time.

• I have to write a 50,000 word novel sometime between now and the end of the semester. Ideas and suggestions are welcome. 

• Two weeks ago, I went grocery shopping for the first time in five months. 

• I was a bridesmaid in my roommate's wedding a month ago, and it was a blast. Last week, my best friend got engaged, too. Tis the season. 

• I took my first trip out of the country for Spring Break. It was a mission trip to the Dominican Republic, and it was fantastic. I had a blast. And this just made me realize that I have no idea where my passport is. Hmm. 

• In exactly three weeks, I'm moving back into the dorms as a staff member for Camp Crimson. I've talked about it as one of my favorite things. Because it is. Over the past few months I've had the chance to meet and get to know the other staff members and I absolutely cannot wait for everyone to be together, working, and impacting lives and futures. And starting dance parties. Lots of dance parties. 

• I FINALLY picked up another book. Bossypants by Tina Fey. Fantastic. Hilarious. I want to write like that and be that funny forever and ever. 

• In related news, I've discovered that I an quite partial to nonfiction rather than genre fiction. Or maybe "real life" stories that have fake people in them. I don't know, something about masked killers or time travel or post-apocalyptic survival it very hard for me to write about. (Did I lose you? Okay good.)

• More related news: the novel I have to write must be genre fiction. Fun. 

• I got glasses today. They make me dizzy, but now I can see the words I'm typing. Fair enough. Also, they have superpowers, but that's a post for another day. 

Man, for such an absence, that's not really much of a list. But I think it's one of those things like when you know exactly what you need to make dinner then forget half of it once you get to the store. Oh dear. 

To bring this full circle as best I can (circles aren't my strong point), I'll conclude the twitter anecdote. My friend decided the best way to handle his first tweet was to just get it out of the way. Literally. His first tweet simply read: "Glad to get the first tweet over with." After we all laughed for ten minutes and a vulgar/hilarious joke/comparison was made, he moved on and has been tweeting stress free since. 

I get it now. I get that his tweet anxiety is very similar to my blog return. I was thinking so much about what to say, when I just needed to start talking typing. 

I'll probably add more bullets and expand on others as time goes on, but for now, I leave you with this picture of myself trying to figure out how to dodge the reflective glare on my glasses from my computer screen. Cheers. 

Backstreet's back, alright!

Did you know that these guys are coming here on this day?!?!

Anyway yeah, I guess Backstreet really is back.

I'm back too.

I should be out of excuses at this point as to my extended leave of absence, but hey, after a conference like this and a more than addictive show like this... It almost makes sense that I've been out of touch with this here blog for awhile... but no more!

With the new semester beginning, I want to make a point to keep up with this blog and not let it fall to the wayside like so many do. This is not a resolution by any means (I'm personally not a fan of new year's resolutions, but that's another post for another day), just a modest effort.

But for now, I think I'll just leave you with a heads up that new and exciting things are on the horizon for 2011 and these situations I share with you. Cause I want it that way....

Take it away, BSB.

All these things that I've done.

I need to write something. I need to write something. You all need to read something. C'mon, brain, don't fail me now.

So, I'm taking a break from gift card celebrating, facebook creeping, and people watching (hi, I'm a creeper) in E-town to present you with a jumbled, discombobulated list of things I've learned in my two weeks at home (it's the longest I've been home in about a year and a half).

I learned that I'm weirdly intimidated by some people in this town. Maybe that's the right word? Oh well. Fun fact: I believe I'm most "intimidated" by high school girls (have you ever been stared down by a 16-year-old wearing too much eyeliner and a bad attitude?). And there is no shortage of them crawling 'round these parts.

Other people that intimidate me are people that drive around with super scary window decals that threaten to jump right off the glass and gnaw off my right arm. Example:

Whoa! Even in photo form it makes me nervous. Don't get too close!

Another less tacky thing I've learned is that my brother makes a very good model for my new camera. 

But don't worry, Whitney here has no problem still making my older, more casual camera feel loved.

In case you were wondering or didn't notice, yes, they are both wearing Santa hats. I roll with cool people like that. 

I learned that if you put your mind to it (or just have some great natural talent), you too can be immortalized forever at Drummond School. i.e. Hannah:

They even laminated her name! 

I also learned that having Christmas at my actual home this year is the best thing that's ever happened to me (my waistline would disagree). Why? Leftovers. I mean really, imagine having a miniature Christmas feast for 3 meals a day going on four days straight. Yes, please.

Hmm... I learned that my crafting habit might be considered an addiction to some. And I hoard cardstock and fabric. You know, for a rainy day, or another blog post.

I learned that my brother gains a lot of ground when he runs. It's those lanky legs.

I learned that I say inappropriate things at too loud a volume. Another post for another time.

I learned that I can't spell "inappropriate" to save my life, so spell check does for me.

I learned that telling stories can get you two slaps on the wrist, or an angry email. Looks like a fun-filled future career I'm choosing, huh?

I learned that pinky swears and promise rings are still held in high regard.

Finally, I learned that Applebee's and Starbucks are wonderful places to blow off some steam with some old friends.

I warned you: disconnected and discombobulated. But hey, I owe you an amusing post doubling as an inadvertent life update. Plus admitting a problem is the first step.

I will leave you with this, dear friends. Now, I'm off to find some dinner before everything closes and they roll up the sidewalks.

Tis the Season.

Hi.... Remember me? That girl that used to have a blog and post weird stories and youtube videos all the time?

Well, I'm still here. Alive Surviving in the town of Enid, America.

I'll catch you up on several things as we go along, but for now, how about some holiday cheer?

My best friend Hannah and I (along with her sister Darcy and whoever else decides to tag along) have an annual Christmas tradition: Caroling.

Here we are two whole years ago preparing for caroling (I like to rhyme).

No, we aren't those people dressed up like elves that stand in your front yard and refuse to leave, no no no. We typically bake and make platefuls of yummy snacks, then we sneak attack surprise the same several people over the seasons. Mainly our old teachers.







Before you get weirded out, you have to understand that I graduated from a very rural school (what up graduating class of 26 people!), so I've known many of the teachers at my school my entire life...  

And several of those teachers are just too much fun to leave alone. Like Mrs. Hughes, my old Quiz Bowl coach... It's completely normal for her to have random students from years and years ago just drop by her house to hang out on occasion (I have to say Hannah and i do that all the time). 

Or our old science teacher... One time we showed up at his house singing and he slammed the door in our faces. Then opened it again and invited us in as long as we promised we would stop singing. This guy was "that teacher" in high school that refused to decorate his classroom until Hannah and I forced Christmas on him by breaking into sneaking into his room and turning it into a Christmas wonderland. We did it every holiday from then on, too (even arbor day).

This festive tradition is not only a good oppotunity to give back to the teachers that gave to us, but it's also a wonderful opportunity to come together, laugh, catch up.... and other things.

So, here's a glimpse at our Christmas tradition from this year. Cue the warm fuzzy feelings:

Even more warm fuzzies:

Well, maybe they weren't what you thought, but you've gotta admit they made you giggle a little. 

So with that, have a wonderful holiday season with your family and friends that you like, and I will talk to you all later. :)

Friendship is a full-time job.

So, as you all can tell, I have failed my challenge miserably. I have missed writing everyday and hearing from you who are brave enough to comment. But let's be real, people, we all have things to do, places to go, and people to see, and we can't just sit in front of a computer screen all day long. (that's bad for your eyes).

But this weekend, the weekend before the apocalypse finals week officially begins, I was looking forward to just being lazy at home, catching up on laundry (which I hadn't done in about 3 weeks. I just wore the same two sweatshirts all week-- yikes), and cleaning my room which so desperately needed to be cleaned. But then my phone buzzed with a text message:

"I really need someone to talk to."

At first, I thought just a call or a message would suffice, but then the severity of my friend's situation became very real to me, so I postponed my room cleaning, invited them over and just listened (I still did laundry, but made sure that I wasn't being rude by doing so). We talked back and forth for some time, then my friend explained to me that they called me because this kind of thing was "a part of my job description."

I met my friend in a program in which I took on the role of a "mentor," and throughout the year(s) I have been that to this friend and others.

But I didn't give up my lazy Friday night alone because of any job, I did it because my friend needed me, and quite frankly, I like to feel needed. We all want to feel needed, and at some point or another, we all need as well.

The night ended with us sharing in champagne (courtesy of my roommates testing for the wedding) and watching the latest episode of Glee. (click here for the best duet ever).

Sometimes that's all you can do for a friend. I couldn't give my friend answers, I couldn't take their pain and sadness away, but I did clink my glass to theirs and we shared a smile as New Directions sang some campy Christmas cover.

I've already said this but it bears repeating-- Friendship is a full-time job. There are no sick days, vacation days, and you don't get paid overtime. But you do get paid with laughter and trust, and I'll toast to that every day of the week.

Cheers.

Awk-ward......

"It doesn't matter if you're home-schooled, from a public school or whatever, no one really has great social skills." 

My friend Steven inspired this post by saying that in our PW class last week. Of course, that's a little paraphrased, but you get the general idea.

Readers, this weekend I've realized just how socially awkward I am. Ugh. 

I'm pretty sure it's a dynamic combination of a million different things. 

For one, I'm all over the place with my thoughts. Fun fact? the human brain thinks at 400 words a minute and we speak at around 180 words a minute (but I'm sure with the Oklahoma drawl it's more like 130). So, usually my words don't line up with what I really want to say. Awkward.

Also, one of my favorite things to do is make other people laugh. So in order to do that, I have to say funny things, right? Generally. Usually I'm able to get laughs out of people, but every now and then I get ahead of myself and just start babbling, and rambling, and blah blah blah... No one laughs, but that's because it's not funny! I even know it's not funny, I just keep mindlessly pouring out words EVEN THOUGH I know no one is going to laugh... It's just like.... Word vomit. Reference: 

Awkward. 

Also, my attitude and personality is anchored almost too much on the people around me. For instance, if I'm in a room with people that are more reserved than me, I turn into the loudest and most outspoken in the room, and I usually make people laugh. Like camp, for example.  

 Not [really] awkward.

Other times (much like this weekend), I've been around people that are immediately louder and more in-your-face than I am. When in contact with people like this, something really strange happens: I try my best to maintain enthusiasm and my normal happy self, but the other person's energy sucks me dry like a dementor to my soul, and I end up being that quiet creeper in the corner. 

Really. Awkward. 

I can't figure out what exactly it is about the last one, but it's definitely the one that bothers me the most. Why do I freak out and get weird around people that are, in essence, a lot like me, maybe just more?

Why do I let them suck out all of my enthusiasm? I don't get it! Is it insecurity, intimidation, fear or inadequacy? Shyness, self-consciousness, lack of confidence? I don't know!

Is there just something wrong with me? 

Whatever it is, I'm really trying to find a way around it. Has this ever been you? Have you ever felt really awkward around people and you don't know why? What did you do about it? 

Did I ask enough questions?

The best part, part 2.

Remember this post?

Well... I just wanted to catch you guys up on recent youtube wonderfulness that I absolutely love.

For starters:



Oh, and this one. Shout out to the best friend and macbook effects!!



And finally, I waltzed to this song earlier today. I loved it when I bought the CD in sixth grade and I love it now... What up old school pop music in 3/4 time?!



Goodnight my people! :)