METALIST

Things Other People Have Said About Lists:
-“History is merely a list of surprises. It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again.” Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

-“The Bible give us a list of human stories on both sides of the ledger. One list of human stories is used as examples -- do what these people did. Another list of human stories is used as warnings -- don't do what these people did. So if your story ever gets in one of these books, make sure they use it as an example, not a warning.” Jim Rohn

-“Why can't somebody give us a list of things that everybody thinks and nobody says, and another list of things that everybody says and nobody thinks.” Oliver Wendell Holmes

-“I am scared easily; here is a list of my adrenaline - production: 1: small children, 2: policemen, 3: high places, 4: that my next movie will not be as good as the last one.” Alfred Hitchcock

-“Give me a laundry-list and I'll set it to music.” Giaccomo Rossini

-“Feminism is an entire world view or gestalt, not just a laundry list of women's issues” Charlotte Bunch

-“In all planning you make a list and you set priorities.” Alan Lakein

-“We like lists because we do not want to die.” Umberto Eco

Film

Some of My Favorite Movies, in no order:
-The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, circa 1979
-Cinderella (Disney)
-Wives and Daughters
-The Never-Ending Story
-28 Days Later
-Le Samourai
-Bob le Flambeur
-Le Boucher
-Corky Romano
-Baby Mama
-Spirited Away
-School of Rock
-Band of Brothers
-Pride and Prejudice
-North and South
-Balto
-Elf
-The Count of Monte Christo
-Singing in the Rain
-Bolt
-Red Eye (with my own interpretation, of course)
-Most anything I've seen at International Cinema over the past few years

Movies I've seen at International Cinema this Semester:
-Ikiru (Japanese)
-In the Mood for Love (Chinese)
-The Gleaners and I (French)
-Eyes Without a Face (French)
-Dark Water (Japanese)
-Let the Right One In (Swedish)
-Megane (Japanese)
-The Kautokeino Rebellion (Saami... Norwegian)
-Les Hyenes (Wolof... Senegalese)
-Millions (British)

Movies I Wanted to See But Didn't:
-Decalogue i-x (Polish)
-Pan's Labyrinth (Spanish)
-Crossing (Korean)
-Psycho (Hitchcock...)
-Ringu (Japanese)
-Favela Rising (Brazilian)
-Vampyr (German)
-Nosferatu (German)
-Ploning (Tagolog)
-Army of Shadows (French)
-Water (Hindi)
-Sweet Nothings in My Ear (ASL)
-The Year My Parents Went on Vacation (Brazilian)
-Straight From the Heart (Hindi)
-Howl's Moving Castle (Japanese)
-He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (French)
-The Pope's Toilet (Spanish)

Things to do in the next two weeks:
-Try not to think about the horrible thing I turned in under the guise of a paper
-Sleep
-Eat normally
-Exercise lots
-Analyze some Louise Labe poetry
-Research that some
-Write a paper on it
-Figure out how to make a good spreadsheet from the information to be had from a fifteenth Century account book
-Make such a spreadsheet
-Do research on anything interesting
-Write a paper on it
-Read some critical theory
-Write up a toolbox (a long and tedious system to show I've done the reading and understand it... but worth it a couple years down the line when I'll need a quick reference)
-Write a paper on theory, which will probably end up being the hardest (but shortest) of the three papers I have left
-Stay warm despite wint'ry weather outside
-Get a 4.0 (straight A's or bust this semester...)

Merci

Things I Am Grateful For:
-Dogs
-Entertaining movies
-Good movies
-Good food
-Good family
-Sufficient time to procrastinate
-The time to go home for a weekend in the middle of a semester
-Critical theory
-Humor
-Things/people that/who are funny without knowing it
-Ice cream
-Dark chocolate
-Asparagus
-Salmon
-In-N-Out
-France (the country)
-J Crew
-Warm clothes in winter
-Dentists who fix bad teeth as best as they can
-Doctors
-Good eyeglasses
-Jewelry
-Watches
-Cell phones
-Arguments about stupid things (how else would I pass my time?)
-Music
-When dogs have those dreams where they're chasing something and their legs twitch like crazy
-Papers that are challenging (but worth the effort)

Advertising

My Blogs:
-Life: Listed (http://listoflies.blogspot.com/)
-My Life & Lies (http://lielslies.blogspot.com/)
-Breadbox: An Anthology (http://talesofthebreadbox.blogspot.com/)

I Need to Sleep More

Things I Tend to Over-Do:
-Eating (it's so fun)
-Staying up at night for no good reason
-Staying up at night in an attempt to do homework, only to be unproductive!
-Sleeping in
-Staring
-Self-portraits
-Worrying (it's hereditary)
-Being annoyed

Things I Tend to Under-Do:
-Productivity
-Goals (not so much the setting them part, but the following through part)
-Learning languages, seriously
-Editing
-Drinking enough water on a daily basis
-Eating healthfully
-Keeping records

A Series of Unfortunate Events (From the Past Six Months):
-Mono
-Flu
-Spilling water on month-old Macbook
-Said Macbook growing mold
-Falling down stairs of Kennedy Center
-Falling down in the back of the Marriot in SLC
-Tripping throughout the entire day after two above-mentioned falls
-Expensive plane tickets
-Insomnia
-Lack of motivation
-Biting my lip pretty hard once
-Not knowing everything ever (dang it!)

Good Fortune:
-No lack of employment
-Grad school!
-Internship (which I had to turn down...)
-A good home teacher who took care of me when I needed it
-Graduation!
-I got to go home and see family
-My car hasn't imploded from lack of care
-Funding is awesome!
-Minuscule schmoozing is a plus, right?
-Good friends
-Totally aced a test I thought I bombed
-Despite my jokes, I am pretty literate. Sweet!

Life Goals

Projected Timeline For My Life:
-Graduate, again.
-Live in France. Maybe Belgium, too.
-Become a better francophone
-Do a PhD program somewhere
-Learn Latin, German, etc
-Then I'll have to do one more graduation
-Live some more in France or Belgium.
-Find a job somewhere
-Publish a bit
-Travel to places outside Europe
-Finally write the children's book on Medieval French history I've been planning for forever
-Retire
-Spend my free time in some exotic and random hobby, like directing documentaries or painting large murals
-Move to Scotland, or Ireland, and pretend to not speak English for at least a year

Vivrez Joyeux

Cool:
-passed a test with flying colors
-didn't have to present
-ate truffles
-participated in classes
-did a fair amount of homework (when I thought it was going to be impossible to do it all)
-generally survived

Not So Cool:
-tired.
-in fact, very tired.
-situation with a book
-still have yet more homework to do (it's a vicious cycle, one may suggest)
-have to present next week, which means I have two presentations to do
-so much to do at home, so little energy/motivation
-printer still broken

amuse(me)nt

Signs that Rabelais Wrote the Book You're Reading:
-A Giant is the main character
-There is a lot of emphasis placed on his odd upbringing
-Paris is mocked. Lots.
-The text is in middle French with lots of Gascony slang thrown in
-Lots of drinking is going on
-Maybe some content deemed against the honor code
-Content that makes you think you aren't understanding what's going on, but no, Gargantua really does pee on a bunch of people
-Social and political criticism is hidden under hilarious bawdy humor
-Everyone tells you that the point two above is their favorite moment in the book
-If you tell someone what book you're reading, they get a special twinkle in their eye and tell you how funny/great it is
-The chapters are maybe five pages long, and it's a fairly quick read considering it's not in modern language
-You're not sure you get it, but it's still hilarious
-You do get what's going on, and it's hilarious

Tips on Studying People Have Recently Given Me:
-Why read books when you have wikipedia?
-Learn what you need to and don't waste time on the rest
-Learn how to skim well
-Gain a strong desire to learn and you can do it
-Learn as much as you can
-Don't even worry about it!

The Real World

Reasons I Can't Sleep At Night:
-Stress
-Doing homework
-Too much energy left over from getting things done too late at night (stupid adrenaline system)
-Making lists of what I need and want to do tomorrow/the weekend/this month
-Futurephobia
-My books are never shipped on time!
-I know I've forgotten some assignment
-Right, I'm still working on that ORCA grant. (and by working, I mean, I haven't touched it in a month)
-I've become a slow reader. Why now?
-Thanks to reading some Caillois on Legendary Psychasthenia, the dark is a lot scarier
-Noise/light
-Stupid alarm clocks
-Inability to speak in any language
-Did I lock my car? Did I leave the oven on? Where did I put my glasses/watch/homework?
-Scheming ways to get Warren Buffet to lend me his economic resources
-Must... Use... Peaches...

Desire

Things Which Would Be Nice:
-Clean Dishes
-A Dishwasher, maybe even
-Free laundry in nice washer and dryer
-DVD player
-A manipedi
-More time to go to the gym
-More time to read homework
-A professional grocery shopper
-A personal shopper
-Fluent French
-A cover for my ipod
-Slightly warmer weather

This list wasn't my idea, but it's coming almost a year later...

What It Takes To Be a Boyce (At Least In My Immediate Family):
-Moodiness
-Bossiness
-Perfectionism (explains the above)
-Willingness to argue without regards to others' feelings
-OCD about certain random things
-Sarcastic
-Witty (that's the nicer side of the Boyce humor)
-Know-it-all
-Smart (but different kinds of smart)
-Critical (this isn't always a bad thing. Just saying.)
-Spent at least one term at BYU Provo (it's practically family tradition at this point)
-Awkward relationships with sleep
-Hypochondriac (at least to a degree)
-Speech problems (from a mother who preferred the French phonetics to American)
-Creative names

Grad School

Things I Can't Remember How To Do Properly:
-Homework for all of my classes
-Read quickly instead of perusing
-Speak French
-Speak English
-Hold a conversation
-Eat balanced meals
-Function on a basic level

Things I Am Learning To Do:
-Share a room again
-Read vast material and somehow master its contents without spending much time
-Speak at length
-Work while going to school
-Stress at higher levels

Things I Have Learned Already:
-The Hundred Years War had some crazy politics going on
-Doing the reading before class is actually pretty necessary (Who knew? It was different in undergrad, I swear)
-Babbling random ideas about La Chanson de Roland in French isn't as hard as it sounds
-Being productive isn't overrated
-Cupshakes are an elusive prize that I MUST CLAIM
-Medievalists aren't as rare a breed as they first appear
-The 19th Century is over-represented in the realm of French academics
-Things don't always become more clear the second (or third) time around. Sometimes it only gets worse with more revision.
-TVs aren't essential to survival
-Lyon is pretty cool, guys (sometimes spelled "Lyons" in English)
-I want to live in France (this is more of a reminder, actually)

Things That Are More Fun Than Unpacking:
-Facebook
-Blogs
-Walking to 7-11
-Making lists
-Sleeping
-Almost anything

The Hardest Parts of Unpacking:
-Learning you have more crap than you thought (and yes, it is mostly crap when you're moving)
-Finding spaces for everything
-Organizing things
-Cleaning before putting stuff away
-Having to buy new stuff to organize
-Motivation to actually just do it
-Finding things while in the limbo of being half unpacked

Whatever

Things I Do When I'm Bored:
-Make jokes, especially ones that are inappropriate to the situation
-Watch tv, especially hulu
-Cook
-Eat (more frequent than cooking)
-Read food blogs
-Read tabloid type things
-Get ahead in homework (or often just do homework on time)
-Read a book
-Research something random
-Txtmsg someone
-Call mom
-Play the piano
-Contemplate learning to play the guitar
-Grocery shop
-Take a nap
-Go to the gym
-Think about going to the gym
-Make lists

mid-move inventory

Pros of Moving:
-filter through possessions and purge extra belongings
-potential from change
-cleanliness
-reminder of how temporary everything is
-no need to lift weights
-opportunity to reorganize things
-the puzzle of how best to move things, and then again on where to put them away

Cons of Moving:
-not fun
-strenuous
-not enough room for just one carload ever (not me, anyway)
-(with shared spaces) where to put things that won't get in roommates' way
-not enough room in new place (at least until space is familiar enough to figure it out)
-put everything in a box only to take it back out
-the soreness of lifting things that are heavy and carrying them around
-sore hands from lifting boxes and other such things
-forgetting where you packed things
-having to put everything you owned into boxes and realizing how much you have and yet how much you don't have

Benjamin Franklin Style

Things To Do When Without Electricity:
-Light candles
-Tell scary stories
-Have a (pseudo-)seance
-Go to bed early
-Go somewhere else
-Notice that people tend to look creepy instead of pretty when holding candles lower than eye-level
-Panic
-Realize that you don't have lives outside of electronic devices (TV, radio, computer)
-Play games in the dark
-Theorize about life pre-electricity
-Be grateful for other modern conveniences that haven't suddenly disappeared (plumbing, cars, battery-powered devices)
-Plan what to do when electricity returns
-Try to get over phobia of lighting matches
-Eat all the ice cream in the freezer

Things Which Cannot Be Done Without Electricity:
-Work (in my case, at least-- all my work is done on a computer)
-Homework
-Read once it's dark (candle light isn't sufficient)
-Keeping the house's temperature controlled (no AC or heat)
-Packing (once it's dark, at least)
-Staying up late

Transition

Method of the BYU Student Move:
-Make sure you have a place to live (contracts end usually a week to two weeks before contracts for the next year begin)
-Find people who can help you move heavy stuff
-Don't put anything away for a week or two before you move, using the excuse that you'll just have to pack it anyway
-Don't go grocery shopping for a couple weeks before you move, and eat down your pantry--especially perishables (which makes for interesting meals and dramatically increases cravings to eat out)
-Find packing boxes somewhere, like Smith's or Macey's
-Hope you're the first one to move into the new place. Extreme hope.
-Put off actually packing until a day or two before the move date
-If you're lucky, have a few days to move all your stuff and just move a carload at a time, reducing the need for as many boxes (unpack boxes each time you bring a carload)
-Clean for move-out cleaning check
-Move everything into new apartment
-Arrange to go home for at least a weekend before everything is unpacked
-Feel awkward around new roommates

Sacrifice

Things to Get Rid of In My Life:
-hair length (check...)
-junk food
-sugar
-clothes I don't wear anymore
-all those papers I just didn't want to throw away
-bad habits
-fears (I've got plenty to spare)
-negativity
-clutter

End of August

Recurring Themes for July:
-Ninjas
-Mono
-Cleaning
-Bangs
-Weddings
-Heat

Things to Cook:
-Baked Oatmeal
-Bran muffins
-Chop Suey
-Bread of some kind
-Beef gyudon
-Lemon icebox cake

Glandular Fever

Good Things About Having Mono:
-good excuse to sleep in all day long
-good excuse to get out of doing things I don't want to ("I can't... I don't have the energy... I have mono...")
-good excuse not to share any of my food
-it's almost like a rite of passage for college girls
-people assume I have a better dating life than I really do
-I can play the sick card for a very long time (one of my sisters had the fatigue from mono for three months, so I have two months to use mono as an excuse for things)
-I got to take steroids and make all the jokes I wanted about it
-I got to eat ice cream as a mainstay of my diet for two weeks, and no one thought a thing of it
-I finally have some good sick stories again (it's been a year and a half since my last real illness, and the stories from that one are embarrassing)
-LOTS of tv and movies
-the delirium that accompanied a week of fevers

The Bad Things About Having Mono:
-being sick isn't actually fun
-running a constant low grade fever, and daily high fevers, for over a week
-super swollen tonsils (and glands)
-not being able to swallow anything (sometimes even ice cream was too difficult)
-not being able to eat solid foods for at least a week
-getting dehydrated on a regular basis, in part because of above complaints
-not being able to move around freely
-not having the mental ability to do much more than watch tv and movies
-no energy
-the mono jokes get old!
-actually being sick for at least a month
-having to take steroids (I am currently unsure whether steroids were developed as medicine or as a torture device)
-not being able to share food
-not understanding what is reality and what is fiction for a rather long period of time
-the constant struggle between fatigue

Code Names

Some of My Favorite (Secret) Nicknames For Other People:
-Boone (Boonation)
-Tree Boy
-The Mexican
-Christophe
-La Moustache
-The Pirate
-Juan
-Locke
-Blonde Nate Sharp (not so much of a secret)
-The British Officer
-Bobby Clearwater (not actually a secret at all)

End of June

Goals for the Next Few Days:

-Buy guitar strings and picks

-Pay Rent

-Return books/movies to Olib

-Wake up feeling not-sick

-Final Report for ORCA grant

-Don't get Swine Flu

Goals for July:

-Run in the Lavender Days 5k

-Read Le Rouge et Le Noir

-Finish working on ORCA grant...

-Start learning to play the guitar

-Learn lyrics (and possibly tabs) for Linda Linda

-Don't get Swine Flu (or any other ailment)

-Figure out how to get home in August 

-Figure out moving situation in August

-Cook lots of bread

What separates the boys from the men... reprise

(Original post here)

Things That Make Someone Attractive:

-Confidence

-Intelligence

-Respect for others

-Tolerance/Openness

-A reasonable amount of mystery

-Some kind of (likable) quirk

-Passion (especially for something unexpected)

-Composure

-Good sense of style

-Care for self and others (physically, emotionally, spiritually, etc)

-Willingness to listen

-Constantly changing (to a degree, of course)

-Grounded (As in, deeply rooted and stable, somehow without conflicting with the above...)

Things That Make Someone Unattractive:

-Lack of respect for self/others

-Unwillingness to take responsibility

-Judgmental

-Lack of curiosity (especially about others)

-Apathy

-Vacuum-sealed into pansy pants and doesn't own a pair of man-pants

-Focus totally on one thing without seeing the bigger picture

-Unwilling to keep things simple

-Won't open up to others

-Manipulative

-Cold, hard, unchanging

Life In Real Time

Projects I Am Behind On:

-ORCA project

-MA reading list

-Work

-Car maintenance (I have an appointment tomorrow morning)

-Breaking up (maybe I shouldn't make this one public, but oh well, since when do bloggers have privacy issues?)

-Hair maintenance (I need a haircut, desperately!)

-Cleaning my room!!!!!!

-Road Trips

-Reading scriptures every night 

-Being healthy

Projects I've Actually Followed Through On:

-New Computer (MacBook)

-Relaxing

-Dancing (tango and for fun)

-Going home with Aaron (for a weekend)

-Going to the gym (although I just barely started lifting weights)

-Reading for fun (Currently reading Julie&Julia)

-Making yogurt (although I need to buy more for a starter)

Issues With Getting Things Done:

-Hanging out instead of working

-Thinking I have more time than I really do

-Loss of interest

-Loss of budget

-Lack of moral support (mostly for the road trips-- I can't do them alone)

-Sleeping in too late, staying up too late, repeat

-Fickleness, Timidity, etc

Interests

Current Obsessions:
-Meyer lemons
-The newest Star Trek movie
-Martha Stewart
-Food science
-Sweaters (cardigans, in particular)
-Rain

To Do List For June:
-Road trip to Grandma's in St George
-Finish ORCA project
-Finish Bonheur D'Occasion
-Start new book for MA
-Reorganize room

A Short List of Some of My Favorite Reasons to Go Home:
-Shopping with Mom
-The food is so much better (especially produce-- California's produce is so much better than Utah's!)
-Roxy
-Sunny weather
-Being around people who not only accept sarcasm, but deal it right back to me
-Going through Mom's closet
-Reading Mom's magazines
-Asking Dad ridiculous questions (which is ridiculously fun)
-Gaining five pounds (maybe not my favorite thing, but it's inevitable so I just accept it every time)

Types of Salsa I Enjoy:
-Pico de Gallo
-Salsa Verde
-Mango Salsa
-Medium/hot, depending on the spiciness level (medium in California, hot in Utah)
-Dance
-Peach and pineapple Salsa
-Fresh salsa

Youtube Videos I'd Like to Share With the General Public (for general perusal):
-Larroca
-Milonga
-Danish Language
-The Universal
-Mauvaise Reputation
-A la Faveur de l'Automne
-Fairytale (Norway's Eurovision 2009 Entry)
-Hard Rock Hallelujah (Finland's Eurovision 2006 entry, cover by a men's chorus)
-L'Amour A la Francaise (France's Eurovision 2007 Entry)
-Ca Me Fait du Bien
-Mon P'tit Gars
-Mentirosa by Rafaga
-Come Me Mira
-Anjelah Johnson
-Good Milk Gone Bad (Good Eats)
-Gafieira
-Party in Sweden's Pants!
-Push the Button! (Israel's Eurovision 2007 Entry)
-Cakkidi
-Vay Anam Vay
-Escaping the Sun
-Stephen Colbert singing in korean
-Histoire de Babar, le Petit Elephant (by Damien and Renan Luce)
-Repenti

short update

Reasons I Don't Publish Some Lists Here:
-Privacy
-Not really legitimate
-Bad memory
-Incomplete
-Potential embarassment

Penniless Sitar Player

Reasons I Am Broke:
-Pedicure
-Buying a lot of food
-Tango lessons
-Dancing a lot lately, which costs money, unfortunately
-Ordering books online
-Ordering a new sports bra online
-Spending money as if I weren't broke
-Paying a deposit and last month's rent on my housing for next year
-Life

Purpose

Kitchen Accessories I Want:
-Kitchenaid mixer (still figuring out the color)
-French Oven (a dutch oven by Le Creuset)
-Immersion blender
-Food Processor (how else can I do half of Alton Brown's recipes??)
-Pastry cutter (mine went missing in my last apartment)
-Corningware
-A nice china set
-Candy thermometer
-A tea set
-A tea kettle
-Crock Pot
-Waffle Iron

Kitchen Accessories I Already Have:
-A set of Pyrex (minus a missing pie dish)
-Toaster oven
-Blender
-Small crock pot
-Cast Iron skillet
-a couple other pots and pans
-Yogurt Maker
-Fondue Pot
-A set of dishes
-Silverware
-Three pairs of chopsticks

Summer

Guilty Pleasures:
-ice cream (I've been told I eat "missionary-sized portions," and it's true.)
-CATS the musical
-French music (especially Tony Parker)
-private dance parties in my room
-giggling at jokes in my head and not explaining them to others
-chips and salsa (I have no self-control when it comes to this delightful nosh)
-watching "Good Eats" on DVD (yes, I do have it on DVD)

Accomplishments of the week:
-those extra five minutes on the stairclimber at the gym (twice this week)
-dancing with Jose Luis (maybe not an accomplishment, per se, but fun nonetheless)
-going to the hiphop class at 24
-knowing what Cinqo de Mayo is (although I do kind of sympathize with the other side... Who DOESN'T love Napoleon????)
-running 3 miles in ~35 minutes
-working (seriously.. it's hard to motivate myself here)
-writing in my journal twice (and I plan on doing it again soon here)
-reading the scriptures every day
-watching LOST (I almost forgot about it... and it was a REALLY good episode)

self-evaluation, pt II

Things I'm Good At, and By Good I Mean Average:
-Overeating on holidays
-Dancing
-Empathizing
-Cooking
-TXTMSGing
-The internets
-Reading

Things I'm Bad At:
-Arithmetic
-The Alphabet
-German
-Poetry
-Interior decoration
-Relating to others in a visible way
-Getting excited about things, especially if it's not in my own life
-Research
-Pointing my toes
-Being competitive (I kind of like being ridiculous instead)

Things I'm Good At, Legitimately:
-The silent treatment (often not on purpose)
-Avoiding eye contact with people
-Making stories up that people take as true
-Inside Jokes
-Being the best-kept secret at Campus Plaza (haha, in reality this one is making fun of myself... and others too, actually)
-Staring at others without shame. Especially if I'm not wearing my glasses.
-Wasting time

Goals for the summer:
-Read books for fun
-Read books off of the MA reading list
-Work
-Weigh less than Travis (it's an old goal, but it's a fun one, and near impossible since he is constantly losing weight himself)
-Run 3 miles in a half hour
-Go to the gym at least 3x a week
-Finish ORCA grant (by June, actually)
-Write the musical with Tasch and Bobby
-Finally write a breadbox story
-At least one road trip, even if it's just to St George for a day or two

Issues to overcome to accomplish these goals:
-laziness
-forgetting about them
-finding motivation
-apathy
-creating new goals in the moment
-not taking them seriously
-giving up
-Writer's block
-falling into a coma
-relapsing into an analphabet stage of life
-sudden amnesia

Books on my Summer Reading List (So Far):
-The Handmaid's Tale (done)
-He's Just Not That Into You (done)
-Love in the Time of Cholera (a little over a 1/3 of the way through this already)
-Les Lettres Persanes
-Bonheur d'Occasion
-Le Rouge et le Noir
-Lots of cookbooks (Julia Child, Martha Stewart, etc)

FINALS

Things To Do This Week:
-Film paper/scene presentation
-Latin final
-GRADUATE!
-General commencement
-FHSS convocation
-CATS party
-Figure out what to do with the next four months of my life
-Start the process of finding a place to live for next year

Things I Have Yet To Learn:
-Not procrastinate papers (especially term papers)
-Not procrastinate pretty much any homework
-How to play the guitar
-Self-control (especially with sugar/desserts involved)
-How to be nice to people
-How to run properly
-Nutrition
-How to talk to other people
-When staring is appropriate in public
-Girly things

last week

Current Obsessions:
-Rahm Emanuel
-Joe Biden
-Cupcakes
-Martha Stewart
-Good Eats
-Spices
-Argentine Tango
-J Crew
-Home blogs/magazines

Good News of the Week:
-Acceptance to grad school
-Acceptance to internship to Lille
-Realizing my grades won't suck this semester
-Finishing up classes
-Graduation in two weeks!
-Actually doing over half my to-do lists daily
-Good weather!!! (kind of)

j'aurais voulu

Birthday Presents:
-Yogurt Maker
-Lots of candy bars I found in my bed by sitting on them....
-Necklace
-Bracelet
-Money
-A decorative "L"
-Birthday poems from my roommates +Aaron + Dave
-Good Eats DVD (which I bought for myself)
-Really good cake made by my roommate
-Flowers
-Balloons
-Cupcakes made by friends
-Birthday Donut at 7 am

early morning procrastination

Consequences of Living in Utah:
-Dry skin
-Forgetting what it's like outside of "the bubble"
-Excessive judging
-Dressing in layers (who knows what the weather will REALLY be like any given day?)
-Dressing modestly

Things to Be Excited About This Week:
-Lauren coming to visit
-Watching Pleine Soleil in film class
-Finishing the midterm for French class
-St Patrick's Day (actually it's one of my least favorite holidays...)
-Watching Le Doulos

Jean-Pierre Melville Films I Have Seen:
-Le Samourai
-Bob le Flambeur
-Les Enfants Terribles
-Le Cercle Rouge
-L'armee des Ombres

New Month

Goals for March:
-Eat less sugar
-Eat less in general (ie go back to a normal appetite level)
-Get ahead in homework and studying
-Put in 5-10 hours a week for ORCA grant
-Start exercising again (cardio at least twice a week)
-Keep a clean room
-Create a daily routine

Stubbornness

Things I Find Difficult To Do:
-Call people on the phone, no matter why
-Write thank you letters
-Write any letters, of late at least
-Keep my promises to people lately, as well
-Stay on top of everything I need to do
-Not play with my hair when it's straight
-Not picking at my split ends
-Speak coherently
-Stay Sane

Blessings In Disguise:
-Stubbornness
-Shyness (when misread as mystery...)
-Somewhat average height
-Freakish memory

My Passions:
-Thinking of ideas for new blogs (I've got a few ideas that I'll implement some day)
-Dogs
-Movies about dogs
-Medieval history
-Medieval manuscripts
-Learning
-Laughing
-Martha Stewart

Accomplishments This Weekend:
-Eating out for four meals within three days, and eating leftovers for two days
-Practicing tango and gafiera for the first time in a long, long time
-Going to SLC with the roommates
-Shopping in SLC (I got a cardigan, belt and shoes-- all on sale)
-Visit teaching (yes.. it was done the last Sunday of the month, but at least it was done...)
-Eating little sugar (I did cave and eat banana muffins tonight)

The Dead of Winter

Music That Makes Me Happy:
-"The Rise and Fall of Ziggie Stardust" by Bowie
-K'naan (especially "Dreamer" and "When the Lion Learns to Speak")
-Tété
-Francoise Hardy (especially "Le Premier Bonheur du Jour")
-"The Great Escape" by Blur
-Some Beyoncé ("Freakum Dress" especially)
-"Dead Flowers" by the Rolling Stones
-"Norwegian Wood" by the Beatles
-Debussy
-Ragtime music (Joplin and James P Johnson)
-Early jazz (especially piano in stride style- ie Fats Waller)
-ABBA (mostly just the upbeat disco songs)
-Dick Annegarn
-"Mercedes Lullaby" (and most of the other songs off the Pan's Labyrinth soundtrack to a slightly lesser degree) by Javier Navarrete
-"Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo" by the Grateful Dead
-"Je Me Suis Fait Tout Petit" and "Mauvaise Reputation" by Georges Brassens
-"Ne Me Quitte Pas", "Le Plat Pays", "Marieke", and several other Jacques Brel songs

What Exactly Is Getting Me Through My Final Semester?
-I actually like the subject matter in my classes
-I'm taking my classes for fun
-I refuse to fail
-It's my last semester, so I should make it the best one
-The actual class part of my life is the easiest part of my life currently
-The above point makes it an excellent method of escapism from the rest of my life
-I am slightly perfectionist, and must do as well as I can
-School is one of the few things I'm competitive about. I have to be above average in my classes or else I won't function.
-Did I mention the rest of my life is harder than classes? Thus homework is a way to distract myself from other problems
-I think I've finally got the whole undergrad education thing figured out. It's time to move on...

Meditation

Things I Like in Other People:
-Good sense of humour
-Intelligence
-Patience
-Curiosity
-Passion for something unexpected
-Tolerance
-Quiet confidence

My Tragic Flaws:
-Inability to express myself correctly
-Not following through on things
-Forgetting the details because of obsession with other details
-Overanalysing minute details
-Timidity
-Sarcasm
-Weakness for sugar in almost every form
-Red hair (just kidding...)
-Too quick to laughter

CNN

Good News of the Week:
-ORCA grant ($1500 mentored research grant)
-I got 3 professors who know me fairly well to write my letters of recommendation
-I got mail
-Roommate's birthday
-Free dinners several times
-Birthday dinner from Zupas
-Key Lime Pie from the Village Inn (delicious)
-Not failing my classes
-No Latin on Friday (test in the testing center...)
-Dad's surgery went well
-Good friends
-Good LOST episode (ie any episode with Ben)
-Chocolate
-Finished a project for work
-Pepe le Moko
-Presented biography in German class and didn't make total fool of self
-Not called on in Latin class when unprepared this morning!

Future

My Plans for Next Year:
-English teaching assistantship in France
-Masters program for BYU
-Saving money for a masters program somewhere
-Learning better Latin, German and French
-Combating better my addiction to pulling at my split ends
-Establishing greater self-control
-Getting a large grant from Warren Buffet

My Favorite Places on BYU Campus:
-The mac lab in the JFSB
-The third floor of the JFSB
-The new addition to the TNRB
-The MOA cafe
-The RB
-The Reading Room of Special Collections
-The large ramp behind the Testing Center in summer

Odd Encounters with People This Past Week:
-The cashier at the BYU Bookstore who told me that France doesn't like America. (I've been to France, I study the French, I think I know better than comedians)
-Rose, the lady my roommates and I gave a ride home from Walmart. She gave us a blessing before being dropped off: to find three handsome, nice LDS boys to marry. Or just go out with, I can't remember.
-Running into a professor at a restaurant, which was probably the highlight of my weekend, to be honest.

Tagged

25 Random Things About Me:

1. I can never remember how to spell chief.
2. I really don't like it when people ask me why France hates America. Especially since they don't listen to my response, and obviously don't actually care.
3. I don't really like explaining my name to people, mostly because I'm not completely clear on the story myself.
4. I frequently hold opinions purely for the sake of arguing. I like to argue with people.
5. I hate going public places alone. The only exception to this is grocery shopping, which I actually prefer to do alone.
6. I don't function well if I don't have time to do nothing everyday. This is probably the most significant trait I've inherited from my Dad. I like to relax, and I actually schedule time to relax into my day.
7. I probably know a little too much about popular culture. The storage space it takes up in my brain could be put to much better use.
8. I've cried in every movie I've seen about animals (read: dogs) except Old Yeller. And that's probably because I had to watch Old Yeller in my 7th grade english class, and there was no way I was going to cry in front of all my classmates. And yes, this does include movies like Bolt. And sometimes even commercials (read: the commercial about Polar Bear extinction).
9. I watched School of Rock while going to sleep every night for almost a month straight. I still haven't gotten tired of it.
10. I get upset when people tell me I'm blond. Or even strawberry blond sometimes. My hair is red. Just because it's not a bright, fiery red doesn't mean it's not red.
11. I am partially tone-deaf. There are certain tones that I haven't been able to hear since third grade. Apparently, this is one of the possible side effects of tubes.
12. No one ever told me, until I was 18, that I had my adenoids removed in kindergarten. You'd think someone would have told me at the time...
13. I have anti-goals (things I want to never do). Hiking the Y and reading Twilight are on this list.
14. I don't like talking to people that I don't already know in most social settings. In fact, I am likely to think you're super creepy if you talk to me in a social setting as if you did know me. This is why I have adopted the motto of "stranger danger".
15. I am 1/8 German, 1/8 Latvian. The rest is a mix of various British and then a little Danish thrown in, with a pinch of Cherokee. Also: Norman, which just means more Danish, really (french speaking Danes...).
16. I don't want to go to law school simply so that I don't develop my argumentativeness. I truly believe law school would make me a much meaner person. And really good at it, too.
17. However, law school is still one of the options I'm considering if I don't do graduate school in french.
18. I take it extremely personally if anyone belittles my intelligence.
19. I hate performing.
20. Actually, I just don't really like being the center of attention. If I do perform, though, I expect some kind of praise in the end.
21. Until recently, I refused to talk about my dating life with pretty much anyone. There are still large categories of people I refuse to discuss this with, and I rarely will divulge details unless I'm comfortable and trust the other person.
22. I'm aware that I'm hard to read. Another issue on top of this is that I don't explain myself to the people who deserve it the most.
23. I very rarely buy meat when I grocery shop, and I rarely eat pork products out of principle.
24. I have a hard time remembering what the people I care about most look like if they're not around.
25. I have an irrational love for German Shepherds.

Dove

Messages from Dove Chocolate from Christmas Stocking:
-Whisper in the dark (x2)
-Sing along with the elevator music
-You know what? You look good in red.
-Smile at yourself in the mirror
-Make a list of your dreams
-Don't think about it so much

Things Without Explanation:
-most of what my brother-in-law says (impossible to explain)
-my fake pheasant (no need to explain)
-my love for Hello Kitty, Europe, Socialism and critical theory
-my love/hate relationship with consumerism and capitalism
-my life (until I write my memoirs...)
-quantum physics/mechanics (no explanation to date satisfies me)
-mysteries
-the tree joke

multicultural day

Activities Of the Day (so far, soon to pass):
-latin test
-transcribe middle french manuscripts for three hours
-german 103
-research irridentism in Somalia
-go to International Cinema to see Blue Gardenia (by Fritz Lang after he moved to Hollywood)
-ate Potstickers for the main meal

Life

How I Spent the Last Week:
-studying the first, second and third declensions in Latin
-studying declensions in German
-studying Latin first conjugation
-studying German conjugation
-memorizing Latin vocabulary
-writing an auto-biography in German
-reading the Book of Mormon in German
-reading a book on learning German through pictures (stick figures)
-trying to understand German phonetics
-going to institute
-watching movies with my roommates
-grocery shopping (with roommates)
-writing in my journal
-napping on the luvsac in my living room
-reading about crime films and Les Vampires
-watching Les Vampires
-talking to professors
-talking to librarians about missing books
-banruko puppet theater workshop
-emailing
-internship application (finally done!)
-facebook
-making flashcards
-muttering to myself in Latin
-muttering to myself in German
-mumbling to myself in French
-looking things up in a German dictionary
-laughing about stupid things
-taking quizzes on conjugation
-class
-FHE
-devotional
-CES Fireside
-baking banana bread
-translating Latin sentences into English
-translating English sentences into Latin
-studying flashcards in the middle of conversations
-trying to be warm
-trying to do the right thing
-watching whatever is outside the front window in my house
-txtmsging
-cleaning the house
-cluttering my bedroom

A New Semester

Classes I'm Taking This Semester:
-German 103 (intensive first year)
-Latin 111 (intensive first year)
-French 453 (aesthetics of crime in french cinema-- kind of a retake)

My Plans For Next Year:
-Plan A: English teaching assistantship in France
-Plan B: Masters program in French at BYU
-Plan C: Job
-Plan D: ?

Things That Help Me De-Stress This Past Week:
-Listening to James P. Johnson, Scott Joplin, and Fats Waller
-Studying for Latin and German
-Facebook (doesn't do anything but make me forget what time it is, but it's a temporary relief)
-Pretending to clean my room, but really just moving things to different places
-Sitting in the front room of my house
-Trying to get in contact with people
-Getting things crossed off my (mostly unwritten) to-do lists

Happy (Belated) New Year!

New Year's Resolutions:
-Exercise/eat healthy (these two seem obligatory)
-Study better (aka procrastinate less)
-Sleep better
-Keep a journal
-Learn the guitar

My Favorite Books (In a Loose Sense):
-the Complete Collection of Stephen Crane's Poetry
-Lord of the Flies (Golding)
-Hamlet (Shakespeare)
-Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card)
-The Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis)
-Prisoner of Mao (Prisoniers de Mao, Jean Pasquelini/ Bao Ruo-Wang)
-Farenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)
-The Empty Pot
-A Panda Cake
-Wives and Daughters (Elizabeth Gaskell)
-The Westing Game
-The Windup Bird Chronicles (Haruki Murakami)
-Le Petit Prince (Antoine Saint-Exupery)

My Favorite Things to Play on the Piano:
-Scott Joplin (Swipesy Cakewalk and Pineapple Rag)
-Debussy (especially Golliwog's Cakewalk and Le Petit Negre)
-Sonata in C (Mozart)
-Mazurka (Chopin)
-Arrangements from ward choir performances I accompanied a couple years ago
-A selection of Michael McClean music (some from The Garden, some from The Forgotten Carols)

My Favorite Music (At the Moment, At Least):
-Tarkan (especially Karma)
-Kenan Dogulu (especially Cakkidi and Shake it up Sekerim)
-Blur
-Most of what plays on KROQ
-Renan Luce
-Tété
-Jacques Brel
-Georges Brassens
-Francoise Hardy
-Serge Gainsbourg
-Early Blues
-Eurovision (except the boring ballads; the kitschier the better)
-Beyoncé, Rihanna
-Kanye West
-Dick Annegarn

Songs Frequently Stuck in My Head:
-Paint it Black (The Rolling Stones)
-Dead Flowers (The Rolling Stones; covers by Townes Van Zandt, Poison and Guns 'n' Roses)
-Various hymns
-Various Christmas songs (no matter what time of year)
-Natascha's a capella version of Hell's Bells by AC/DC
-Most of the songs I know by Dick Annegarn
-ABBA (most especially SOS, Take a Chance on Me, Gimme Gimme Gimme and Money Money Money)
-Le Premier Bonheur du Jour, and other Francoise Hardy songs, too
-Bullet with Butterfly Wings (Smashing Pumpkins)
-Several songs by Blur (mostly the Universal and Charmless Man)
-Several songs by Nirvana