Oh, you're having a dinner party? That sounds lovely. What will you be serving? Pleasantries, intellectual conversation, light humor, and a bit of flirting on the side? 
Great. I'll bring a giant bowl of awkward sauce. Oh, it's no trouble at all. I have plenty to share. 

Story: 
As some of you lovely readers (are there 2 of you?!! 3 maybe?) may know I finally landed myself a job in downtown San Diego. For those of you who didn't, sorry. And now you do. It's a pretty cool job at a pretty cool place. My one complaint is that I am charged with the ever annoying task of finding parking downtown. (yes, I know buses and trains exist but they also take two hours, each way!) Parking downtown by itself would not be such a big deal, there is a close lot where I can park my pretty little car for a mere $4 charge. The problem is the Padres. When they decide to play games early in the afternoon my $4 parking space turns into a $40 spot and that just will not stand! 
So yesterday, when the Padres decided to play an early game I decided that I was going to find free street parking somewhere downtown and walk. I left the house early and arrived downtown with 30 minutes to find a spot, walk, and get myself to work. Now, the night before I had done a little online research and I found some places with an abundance of free street parking, so when I got off the 5 I headed in that direction. I drove around until I found a spot and was thrilled knowing I had 15 minutes to get to work. I arrived at work 45 minutes later. That's right boys and girls I inadvertently parked almost 3 miles away. Since I was in middle school I have acknowledged that my worst subject is geography and I get lost all the time, but 3 miles?!?! The worst of it wasn't the distance, it was my wardrobe. Business casual: slacks, a dress shirt, long sweater, super heavy purse, and (worst of all!) dress shoes. Oh man. 
But now I need to tell you why yesterday was such a great day. I got to walk through miles and miles of the city. It reminded me of last summer in SF, it reminded me why I wanted to work downtown, and it reminded me why I started this blog. I love the city because it is beautifully disgusting. Everyone is so different and so interesting and never mundane. Thanks to my little worst decision of the day I have found a gaggle of new ideas floating around in my head and I am getting very excited to share them. So while I begin constructing away, enjoy this pick I took on my too long walk. Buildings like this make me think of old horror movies and make me dizzy just looking up at them. Such a lugvely site and check out that blue california sky! :)

It's official. My diploma arrived in the mail. Isn't it lovely? It sure is a funny little thing. I'm not sure what to do with it. That's what everyone asks, "What are you going to do with your degree?" A silly question...or I just think it is silly because I can't figure it out. Maybe I should use it to get a job. They say that too, "Put your degree to work." Makes no sense. It is in fact nothing more than a fancy piece of paper with my name and the signatures of some important men. Right? I learned a whole lot in school and I guess this fancy paper is supposed to reflect that in some way. I worked pretty hard to earn this sucker and now that I have been out of school and unemployed for two months well it's becoming a lugvely sight. I had such dreams for us. All the things my degree and I were going to do. Save the planet. Genetically engineer palm-size dragons. Start market shaking, nay, SHATTERING businesses.  Maybe its good for nothing, more likely that's my patience. But I guess until something better comes along each other is all we've got. So come on little degree, get out there, earn me some benjamin's. 

50 things I have learned in Rexburg (in no particular order):

50. the first day so spring doesn't mean anything, it can still blizzard
49. sleeping in public is socially acceptable, especially in the library
48.  you can purchase 44 ounces of mountain dew for 60 cents
47. the prettiest stars are above beaver dick park
46. building snowmen is hard work
45. the laws of the road seldom apply, in rexburg that is
44. I sometimes do need to go to broliums three times in one day
43. on-campus food is always terrible but I still buy it
42. speed dating is NOT a five minute date, it is hardcore dating over 14 weeks
41. you don't need a beach for a great bonfire
40. the frozen yogurt fad can make it to rexburg it just takes a lot longer
39. stomping up and down the stairs can make everything momentarily better 
38. I have the coolest snow suit in rexburg
37. I cannot snowboard
36. a day trip to utah is totally possible and completely worth it
35. sleep is overrated
34. living with 5 girls is hard
33. impromptu dance parties: always
32. snoozing is good for you
31. kicking snow is fun but should not be done in the midst of large crowds
30. when it is icy out the best way to get around is sliding
29. boycotting winter just pisses winter off
28. I like that I can see the temple from my window
27. a car is not a necessity
26. it is possible for the sun to be shinning one moment and for the weather to reflect armageddon the next
25. your very first roommate can become your very best friend
24. summertime should always be optimized
23. an internship is a great idea
22. the taylor quad is prime for sunsets and thunderstorms
21. it is perfectly explainable to walk less than ten feet outside your apartment and fall down
20. the smith 440 always smells disgusting
19. living in the dorms for two semesters is a bad decision
18. singles wards aren't all bad
17. swinging is always fun (well, I already knew that but it holds true in Rexburg)
16. hebrew is hard
15. longboarding is NOT allowed on campus
14. going to the testing center is never fun, even if you ace the test
13. you can have a lot of fun when the power is out
12. pizza is only almost always good
11. I spend too much time in the library
10. computer labs make me depressed
9.  reliable internet is amazing, unreliable internet is devastating
8.  roommates are....an experience
7.  I do not want to live out my days in Idaho
6.  headphones are essential
5.  the most simple things can make my day
4. group projects and I have a love hate relationship
3. I love to learn
2. it's all about perspective
1. everything required for my bachelor's degree in business!


image credit: spori quad webcam

These shoes are tore up! TORE UP! But I love them. :) I will concede that nice new shoes do have their place in the world but nothing makes me happier than looking down at my feet in a pair of ratty vans. I especially love these ones. So many memories. I bought them just after a trip to Bear Lake and wore them for the rest of the summer, I wore them in Rexburg until the piles of snow became too deep, they accumulated the majority of their rips from learning to longboard, they came with me to SF, were there as I discovered the city, and they were my call to the bliss of summertime as I returned to the frozen tundra of eastern Idaho. But sadly, I must retire them. It's some sort of corporate b.s., changes in the company, restructuring, call it what you like, it is a forced retirement. If I had my choice I would wear them until they were literally in pieces and needed tape to keep them on my feet (remember those ones mom?). While this particularly pair is still more or less structurally intact if you had a view of the inside soles you would see that they are worn thin. So sadly they cause excruciating pain after just a few hours of adventures, and I must finally admit their demise. I will miss you, thanks for traveling with me on many a lugvely day.   

...too bad the 44 ounces of Mountain Dew I consumed are causing my blood to pump through my veins so rapidly that the idea of sleep is a fleeting argument. 
Rules are funny things. NO BIKES. Do tandem bikes count? in this case I am guessing that the resounding answer is no. They do not count. Please put your tandem bike wherever you please. I would also like to know where this bike came from. I mean this is in my apartment complex, a complex only populated with girls. I can't even really picture it, "Hey roommate, would you like to go on a bike ride with me? What's that? You don't have a bike? That's no problem at all, mine's a tandem." Seriously? I guess perhaps I am forgetting, what the picture so obviously shows, that spring is finally upon us. And that of course means that love is in the air! Right folks? Are you feeling the love? So if this bike is indeed meant for some hopelessly romantic couple I am lead to further questions. Is the bike his? or hers? And how often do they ride it? Do they sing as they ride down the lane in the sun with ridiculously cheesy smiles on their faces? I realize that I am rambling and that I probably sound like some kind of cynic. But I really just don't understand. I think maybe instead of being an exception to the NO BIKES rule this bike is doubly breaking the rules. After all it is double a bicycle. In all reality the rule it is blatantly breaking in red spray paint should probably be the least of my worries. 

I recently noticed something about myself. I am happiest when I am creating. And when I go too long without creating I am quite unhappy. Life is hectic, messy, confusing, and down right difficult, but when I make time to create life is good. There are so many creative things I can do. I can design my website. I can write in my journal, letters to far (and not so far) away friends, or here on my blog. I can build snowmen inspired by Calvin and Hobbes. I can build robot pinhole cameras. I can build robots. I can glue hearts onto my phone. I can take pictures. I can learn new dance moves. I can make videos (and become a YouTube star?!!). I can create origami flowers and birds. I can draw. I can drum.  I can dye t-shirts and write clever sayings on them. I'm sure there are plenty of other things I can do too. Life is much too short not to create. I want to spend my life creating. Our pink shirts turned out epically awesome making our kitchen a lugvely mess in the process. 
Let's make something together. 


Edit:
Final product. EVERYTHING IS AMAZING AND NOBODY IS HAPPY. (much more legible IRL).