Christmas numbers.

Back when I was a wee little lass (yes, I definitely was Scottish in those days) I used to count how many presents under the Christmas tree had my name on them. I didn't do that this year...mostly because I couldn't find where my mom had labeled them. We open our presents on Christmas Eve anyway, so thats over and done. (My mom always claimed it was some German tradition, but I just think she didn't want to deal with an over-excited child at 5 AM.) However, in the spirit of my inner child, and because I should really be writing a talk right now, I feel like listing off some other things I've counted on this Christmas day.

Number of...

Books downloaded onto my new Kindle: 27

Massive slices of chocolate cake devoured: 3

Episodes of Lost watched: 5

Times I've pondered on the parallels between Lost and Lord of the Flies: 8

Dollars I spent buying Lord of the Flies so I could re-read it to better understand said parallels: 7 

Times I've wondered how big of a nerd that makes me: .....1 actually. Just now.

Hours slept in past eight: 4

Times I told myself I was going to start writing my talk: 32

Times I've actually prepared to start writing said talk: 4

Words of talk actually written: 0

Blog entries written instead of talk: 2 (1 unpublished for now)

Weird, depressing, opera-ish songs about being weary listened to: too many (aka 1)

Thankful prayers said for not having an awkward family dinner this year: 3

Houses driven to specifically to see their Christmas lights: 1

Realizations that Christmas lights can be kind of ugly sometimes: 1

Yep...all in all a productive Christmas?

Have a nice day!!

Oh! One last thing.....

Getting lost in Lost.

I came home to find that my parents had gotten Netflix to use with the Wii. Bad idea!! 2 days and 15 episodes later I'm starting to realize that the only thing I'm going to accomplish this break is watching every single season of Lost. Oh, that and knocking down a massive, 30-cookie box of those sugar cookies with the colorful frosting all by myself.

And heaven help me if I DON'T finish Lost by the time next semester starts. See...I found out that I can also get Netflicks on my laptop, which wouldn't be a big deal if I had some form of self control. But I don't. And the thing about watching TV shows not on the TV is that they always end in some form of cliff hanger to keep people tuning in next week. (Whats going to happen with Claire's baby! I HAVE to know!) But when you don't have to wait until next week, its just so hard to not keep watching. Even now I'm sitting on the couch in front of the TV struggling with myself. It's like being an alcoholic. (11 AM is too early for a drink, right? I think to myself.)

The other issue is that I've heard that the series finale was really stupid...what's the point of spending hours and hours watching Lost if the ending is lame? Not that I could just walk away now...self control issues, remember? Oh well. If you need me, I'll be watching Lost.

Have a nice day!

On the tenth day of Christmas, or why Christmas is kind of overrated.

I have a confession to make. This may come as a shocker, but I don't love Christmas.

(Which, with all the emphasis everyone puts on it kind of makes me feel like I'm some sort of freak.)

Let me explain. When I was little, what do you think Christmas was about? Thats right...presents! I would start counting down from like February until that happy day where I could unwrap the veritable mountain of boxes with my name on them. Then I would spend the next two days in a blissful Barbie/Lego/Computer game coma. Now that I'm older though presents don't really mean that much. It's been a few years since I've gotten anything really all that exciting that I didn't know about before hand. ("Thanks for the Dustbuster, Mom! Its exactly what I asked for!") Which, you know, not really a big deal. Presents are pretty overrated. 

So since I can't be excited for what I was when I was little, what does that leave me? Pretty lights? Hot cocoa? Extremely cheesy music on the radio? I know that logically Christmas is supposed to be celebrating Christ's birth, but I also know logically that Christ was actually born in April...(unless you're the astrologist guy on the shuttle, then He was born on March 3, 5 BC, at 9:30 in the morning) which makes Easter a bigger deal than Christmas. Maybe Christmas has sort of become like Twilight to me. Something that was cool when it was more of a personal enjoyment, but once everyone else started freaking out about it and making money off it, it lost any appeal it may have once had.

Now before you decide to exile me to Mount Crumpet with my dog Max, there are a couple things about Christmas that I do enjoy. First off, I LOVE to give the perfect gift. LOVE LOVE LOVE. This is really hard to do sometimes, but when the fates align and I manage to pull it off...best. feeling. ever. The other thing I love about Christmas is watching Elf. Elf is just one of those movies that I've seen about a jillion times, but it still makes me laugh so hard I want to cry. ("Fraaaaansisco! Thats fun to say!")

So I don't know. I tried to make an effort this year to be really excited. Sadly, my efforts mostly included changing my laptop's wallpaper to something sort of Christmasy and doing this whole 12 days of Christmas blog thing, which I'll admit, is pretty half-baked at best. Maybe I could have a better attitude about Christmas if it just wasn't so commercialized, if I didn't feel like by celebrating it I was some crazy person just following a fad. 

Oh well, what can you do right?

Have a nice day!

On the eleventh day of Christmas.

Dear finals,

Thank you for leading me to discover an awesome little out-of-the-way niche in the library. Its quiet. It has zen-like appeal. And the best part? Hardly anyone knows where it is! No longer do I have to listen people yell "If I sound really quiet it's because I'm in the library!" into their phones. No longer am I subjected to the life and times of that really annoying girl sitting behind me bemoaning to her friend all about how her roommate won't pick up her laundry. No longer must I try to block out the make-out sounds of the couple in the chair next to mine.

Studying nirvana = best Christmas present I could ever hope from you? I believe so!

Thanks again,
Marie

P.S. As always, have a nice day!

On the twelfth day of Christmas.

Dear Santa,

I know its been a while since you heard from me last, but I feel as though I am entering that stage of life where it gets hard to figure out what I want for Christmas. Therefore, in order to make your job easier I have compiled a handy list for your viewing pleasure. 

1. A real, live reindeer. Preferably one that makes purring noises when you pet it.
2. A Lego castle, the kind I could actually live in.
3. A one-way ticket to whatever planet Avatar was filmed on. (Because its a documentary, I know it is!)
4. A full twenty-four hours in which I don't lose my keys.
5. The ability to use the Force.
6. A reserved parking spot outside my house on Officers Circle.
7. Thirty-seven gallons of glow-in-the-dark paint.
8. The Pope's hat.
9.  A tree house in the rain forest.
10. Motivation.
11. A law that states that its legal for me to sell marijuana to fund my college education.
12. A snowman made out of birthday cake ice creme.

So that's it, in no particular order. Although if you could hit me with a strong dose of number ten sometime before Wednesday it would be greatly appreciated. Hope all is well with you! Merry Christmas!

Sincerely,

Marie

P.S. Have a nice day! 

Things I learned this semester.

Well...its that time of year again! One week of finals and my sophomore year is halfway over! Whoo! Its funny though, because without a doubt those big, bad, scary finals will not cover the most important things I've learned this semester. Namely...

• Living in a house with a 10:2 girl:guy ration girls isn't as obnoxious as I thought it was going to be.
• Getting missionary letters is awesome. Actually, getting any mail at all is awesome. Even junk mail. "Hey! This random shoe company knows I exist! I'm so popular!"
• Age old idioms lie, sometimes there isn't a tomorrow.
• And sometimes hope is just a pesky feeling you want to get rid of.
• But thats ok. Life goes on.
• Andy Hoffman is basically the best professor of all time. The end.
• Racquetball is an excellent class in which to meet boys.
• Ironically so is the Presidents Circle shuttle stop...
• My driving skills improve dramatically when I'm upset, and take a definite dive when I feel calm. Take that every statistic I've ever seen! You lose!
• Midnight showings are sometimes really not worth the effort.
• First dates are awkward, but this isn't always my fault.
• Nathanael is a perfectly acceptable name for a little boy.
• Sometimes one cricket trapped under a plastic tube can magically turn into two.
• And then disappear.
• And then reincarnate as a carton full of mice.
• But only if you work in a lab.
• Sometimes its ok to feed the chipmunks.
• Never date anyone with an oxygen tank.
• Or anyone who says they are majoring in jet pack construction.
• Or anyone who refuses to speed, j walk, or play with face cards.
• Facebook stalking someone is probably not a good idea.
• But I'll keep doing it anyways.
• Mormon crickets can be hilarious.
• So can the word banana.
• It takes more than blond hair to be a Jensen.
• Devonte Christopher is a black guy.
• And John Stockton is white.
• Bent spoons can sometimes be named bent spoon.
• Writing papers at 4 AM the day they're due can get you recommended for a writing internship.
• LUST actually means "Large Underground Storage Unit"
• You can make the sentence "I won't throw it at your face" mean about 7 different things by putting the emphasis on different words.
• Having great friends can make an average year truely magical. (And I mean that literally. We have wands.)

Have a nice day!