Run Down

Sorry I haven't written in a while. I've been really busy recently (what else is new?), so I've decided that I'm just going to write in a stream o' consciousness sort of way. I am watching a movie and talking to friends. Spelling and grammatical errors galore and, I expect, some unfortunate repetition of words. Here goes.

"We are gonna celebrate being young and being alive."
-Miles, in "The Holiday"

In no particular order.

I went on a double date with CaptAmerica, Halestorm, TallBlondeVocalist, and I. We saw Nine. TallBlondeVocalist also bought me a box of Edward Cullen conversation hearts. The hearts all say appropriately creepy things like "Bite Me", "4 Ever", and "I Want U". It was the most hilarious present I've gotten in a while. The box has a great picture of Edward sulking sexily on the cover. It is staring at me right now.

I always have a great time with those guys.

Nine has very impressive animation. Nine also is a bit pompous. If you care to challenge me on this, try to talk about some plot the movie made without sounding pompous. Too little character development and a bit of a cliched plot- but the nerd that I am always appreciates a good metaphor for humanity. Also, a shocking number of dead human bodies.

I've started scuba diving a lot. Two dives just this weekend. Both into natural hot spring cavernous waters. Some pioneers dropped a wagon wheel into the deepest part a century or so ago. I should have some pretty awesome pictures of me, scuba diving, with pioneer artifacts.

The first day I went in I wore a wetsuit. Since it was a natural hot spring, I feared death by boiling, so I took it off. After the dive I noticed the the suit had managed to be pretty shifty in all three important places. Chances are I flashed my instructor in all three important ways. I hope he is skilled in keeping pictures family friendly, or I'll have a very interesting scuba memories to share.

Nevertheless, I dove a lot.

My family came down for Thanksgiving. It was awesome. I love my family.

Lots of food- I made a pie.

Captain Handsome broke down. Captain Handsome broke down on the first day I was needed to teach school, since my mentor teacher had her baby early. Right when Captain Handsome broke down a button popped off of my coat. I looked up to heaven and sighed.

The Captain's clutch had broken. Some mechanic owed my grandpa "a favor." I got the thing fixed for 20 bucks. I am starting to wonder if my grandpa is a mob boss (?).

Somehow the dude was able to drive my car, without a functioning clutch, all the way to American Fork. Mechanics know magic.

Another note, if you are reading one of your favorite blogs, and you see a link and you don't think it is that person you know because they have a very common name and you know someone else who writes on that blog with the same name as them...just don't click on the link. It is always that person.

So, I've decided to start Celebrating Saint Catherine of Alexandria's feast day (which is on the 25th of November) because she is my favorite. I changed my profile picture on facebook to her for the whole day.

Saint Catherine's feast is celebrated by food, but is also a big day for unmarried women (whether over or under 25, all the books and sites seem to disagree), called "Catherinettes", who are then traditionally "crowned", honored, and get to have big parties. Over time the tradition morphed into a thing where unmarried women get to party and buy cool new hats to wear the whole day. I took Halestorm out and we bought great Saint Catherine's Day hats. My hat is the coolest. Your hats cry at night, wishing they were my hat. So sorry.

On the social scene- invited to one play, two times, one movie three times and another movie once, and a concert (which I saw on Catherine's Day), which was very impressive and fun.

Ya, I didn't mention that I went to a concert too. Pictures should be coming to a facebook near you.

I bought some perscriptionless glasses too. He he he.

I am now working two jobs, taking 15.5 credits, and maintain new relationships while getting ready to become a kiwi.

Also, watched the BYU/Utah game on a giant screen, with a screaming uncle. Amazing game.

When I woke up on game day, to go to my early moring deep open dive, I noticed that someone had written "Go Utes" on every car in the parking lot in red window paint.

It was a long and scary drive. I wonder how many BYU people kicked my car as they passed by.

I...I am sure that I am forgetting something. Oh well. Just trying to give everyone a little sample of what has been going on in the past week.

And here, for everyone's rockin' out advantage, is the she-heard-on-the-radio Megan Harris song of the week!


VH1 TV Shows Music Videos Celebrity Photos News & Gossip

If only.

http://the-exponent.com/2009/11/20/fascinating-manhood-fireside/

Movie

Silly girl. A vampire will neither love nor protect you.

-random t-shirt

I am going with a group of Twilight fans to see New Moon.

I have never even read the book.

My heaven have mercy on us all.

Road Trip!

"Oh sweet two-feet-from-where-I-just-was!"

-strongbad

So, due to some new changes in plans, two of the original road-trip members are now unable to make it. This means i will be driving hundreds of miles with a person of the good-looking brown-eyed type who is significantly taller (and I will assume stronger and more adept at moving large objects) than I. There may also be be in attendence Halestorm, to act as general safety and chastity buddy...but knowing the Hal, perhaps I need a chastity buddy for me and my chastity buddy. lol. I'm hoping both other road-trip attendees will kind of just cancel each other out.

Now, while I am heading down mainly to finish my Praxis Exam, I do plan to get some shopping done, maybe see a show, and enjoy the warm, warm weather. It'll be great. even more great if there is some sort of disaster...since then we can have some sort of inside joke, and awesome tale to tell.

Let's just hope it doesn't end up like the Strongbad e-mail below.

http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail156.html

True Story

"I want to be a Royal Canadian Mountie!"

-Diana, in hysterics, from the Award Winning British Play "Absent Friends"

The last few weeks have been an uncharacteristic (or...characteristic...depending on when you knew me or in what periods of time you remember me most) whirlwind of social engagements. Literally. Every single night for the past two weeks has been a social engagement. Parties, dances, drinks, dinners, plays and movies.

I was asked on five dates within a two-day period. I have seen a movie, a concert, a play, a dance, and been taken out to dinner twice. I've hosted two parties, gotten back together with Gym Buddies, and added an extra class. Tonight I have to go to another meeting (Save the WRI!), and I'm going on another dinner date. Two days ago I went on a date to see "Absent Friends" and then was made homemade cheesecake.

On the topic of "Absent Friends" ,it had some very interesting points regarding the realities of friendship, what broken people look like in their thirties, the different ways people destroy themselves and each other, and how the person who has faced the most traditional loss is also the one who turned out the most mentally stable. Quick, someone see it! It's still at the H-FAC. You all know I count on plays for my social insurance!

So, as I passed by the H-FAC to buy some tickets for another social excursion (Celebration of Christmas...my boy TallBlondVocalist expects me to attend and cheer him on.) I thought, "I need a break." The thing about social excursions is that, while they are great distractions, great fun, and create new relationships with an efficiency Henry Ford would be proud of, there needs to be about a 1 to 10 ratio. I need at least one hour of self-time and introspection for every ten social.

So, after buying my Christmas Tickets, I bought a single ticket to the Interpretive Dance Concert. I mean, what could be more peaceful, insightful, and calming than a whole night ,alone, with Interpretive Rhythmic Movement and myself? I really do like dance. Besides, I was starting to get worried that I hadn't experienced any (like any) strong emotions regarding a recent event. Maybe, I deduced, if I had a second alone I could process some things and figure out if I was moving on too fast. This seemed a healthy plan.

I announced to the masses that I wished to schedule nothing on Friday night, and that I was going to take some time to myself. That afternoon a friend called and invited me to the very same dance concert. I told the friend that I had already purchased a ticket. My friend attempted to purchase a ticket at the door, but found that the entire weekend was sold out. Waving goodbye, I began to search for my seat.

Running into several people I knew, I made small talk on my way to my seat.

"Oh expletive.", my neurons shouted as I noticed the presence of a most disliked, and unexpected guest. "How annoying.", my other neurons sighed, shrugging their electrically charged synapses. I immediately turned around and headed back down to the hallway, and milled about for a little while, suddenly wishing that I had left with my friend instead.

How a kick-trash lady, such as myself, ever ends up in these nightmares, I've no idea.

As the lights dimmed, I decided that ,as it was a large seating area and dim theater, chances of running into/getting recognized by anyone unpleasant would be small. That was until I found my seat....directly behind the irksome entity. Like, literally, exactly one row behind. Exactly. Lined up perfectly. So much for meaningful art-induced introspection. Now I was just embarrassed and perturbed. A long stream of catty comments, harsh rhetoric, and plain old-fashioned obscenities circled in my head until the lights dimmed and I was enclosed in the warm cocoon of music.

During intermission I was asked on another date.

Empowerment and the Body

So, for the last few days I have been using the rather useful "My Monthly Cycles" program which is free online. It tells me everything, from hormonal symptoms which should be due on each day, to my fertility cycle, to my menstruation, all on a calendar. There is something profoundly empowering about suddenly understanding what is going on with this body of mine. Now I can just look at a calender and figure it out. Each day I get e-mails to remind me to enter my statistics and symptoms, including temperature. Oh awesome female body! I love really getting you!

There is something cool about knowing, and understanding, and speaking the language of one's own person. As I now understand the stars, and know the reasons for their changes, and can predict their movements, so it is becoming with my body. I feel kind of old-school in an ancient healer type of way. Just an ancient healer with a digital calendar. :)

Men's Chorus Date

*Shaking hips like an automaton"Dancing Santa."*


Men's Chorus Date, Men's Chorus Date, Men's Chorus Date, hey hey hey hey!

I'm excited. *sheepishly dragging foot in circular motion on floor while looking shyly upward*


Sorry. I had to remove the dates. They just didn't look very appetizing.

Pres. UCHTDORF!

Fireside for Young Adults
Marriot Center
Nov. 1, 2009

Dear Pres. Uchtdorf:


Way to stand up for questioners! Way to have such a positive outlook, and be genuinely eternally centered and uplifting! After a hard day of church I really needed that Pres. Uchtdorf!

Excellent Conference talk by the way. If you don't do anything too crazy during your administration, I'll name one of my house plants and/or adopted orphans ( sorry, I try not to do dogs, out of kindness to the dogs. I mean have you seen my houseplants? Me neither. I would take care of orphans though, cause they are fresh minds to mold.) after you.

Though I am glad I had a date to your talk, so that I didn't have a guilt trip. :)


-Ms. Megan Harris

Bright Star

There are very few movies I would see twice.

This one qualifies.

Not to say it was the single most brilliant piece of cinematic craft I've ever seen. It is simple and beautiful yet ridiculously compelling. Ridiculously. What the Japanese would call "wabi sabi".

While painfully beautiful it is not devoid of human lightness, irony and humor- including a rather hilarious sequence involving a Valentine...well, at least hilarious to me. It's still up for debate whether Valentines ( or emotions) were really that insanely serious back then. But then again, I've seen and heard funnier things in this *ahem* most rational and exalted day. Bright Star shows that life was just as strange and invigorating, slow and fast, as it is today.

On another note- Jane Campion's cinematography, will you marry me?


Quick, seriously. Grab a date and go! Seriously! Go by yourself if you must! There is enough hot English chastity in this film to compensate for any actual hot American chastity you might be experiencing with a date.



Seperately, regarding "Let the right one in."- Swedish Film

Bright Star is much more romantic than "Let the right one in.", though it is also painfully beautiful.

"Right One" seemed, to me, to delve gently into areas of sexual ambiguity ,not of orientation but of actual organs. What is a person when you can't define them but love them? How does the ambitiousness change your relationship?

The Ambiguity theme carried on into the violence of the vampire child. Can two children share a tender kiss while one is completely covered in the blood of its last victim? Can you hurt someone simply by putting them where they are not invited? To the point of bleeding out of the ears, mouth and eyes? "Right One" challenged me with paradoxical images...at least paradoxical on the mainstream screen. Beautiful violent children. Humans making vampires bleed. A daughter sucking her father's blood and throwing him out of a seventh story window, out of love. A romance without sexual organs.
Dang, I haven't been so confused since the bound-to-fail dating techniques of Nosferatu.


Dang, I've got to go. I'm having people over soon!

Something to Consider FW:

http://pintosbeans.wordpress.com/2009/10/29/something-to-consider/