Bittersweet

Coming home this time has been weird but not for the usual reasons. I'm not stressed out or grumpy or missing anyone from Utah. I miss people here. I miss my life before BYU and I wish I could somehow live a million different lives so that I could be close to everyone I want to be close to and still have time to work and go to school and all of that. I just wanted to take this blog post to say that I'm so grateful for everyone in my life and I'm sorry if we don't spend a whole lot of time together. I miss everyone so much I wish I could see everyone all the time, but I can't so just know that if I haven't seen you in a while or don't see you very often, I love you and I hope you have an absolutely WONDERFUL Christmas!! :)

Arrivederci

This is a big day for me. I took the last Italian final that I will ever take in my life and I did pretty well on it. At least the professor said that we did a good job and that he was impressed, so I'll take that as a good sign and hope that means a B in the class. Anyway, all that really matters is that I passed and I'm done with Italian and I can start focusing on becoming a better writer and reader in the English language which is what I signed up for in the first place. You have no idea what a relief this is for me! It's like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders that was put on them two and a half years ago! That's a good feeling, lemme tell ya. But the good thing is that I now can get by speaking Italian and can appreciate the beauties of Italy and dream about going there instead of just dreading my next Italian exam. And this means that I'm just that much closer to graduating. I knew once I got to be a second year senior, I would be less thrilled about being here. But the good news is that the end is in sight and I still have a little while before it just gets really sad because I have to say goodbye to everything and everyone.

Speaking of saying goodbye, me and Sue had a really sad goodbye to say today to our friend Mr. Dan Blackner. You may not know him, but that really is a shame, sort of like how it's a shame that he's moving back home and we may never see him again. He is such a great guy and Dan, if you're reading thing, we miss you already. :(

It really is way sad saying goodbye to people because they have to leave and there's nothing you can do about it. The world is too big and there are too many people in it. That's what I think. If there were less of us, we wouldn't all have to say goodbye so dang much. It's just a huge bummer. But, like everything else, goodbyes are a part of life and that's ok. Hopefully one of these days, I'll have to say goodbye to everyone so that I can go to Italy and use all that I've learned over the past two and half years. I better get something out of that painful experience.

I also just want to put a little plug in here at the end of my blog for the band Thriving Ivory. They are not amazing by any means, and the lead singer is a weirdie for sure, but the odd way in which he moves his mouth when he sings and his one of a kind crazy sounding voice have won me over. Watch the music video/listen to the song "Angels on the Moon". It's nuts. I love it.

Plug number two: Enya's new Christmas CD, "And Winter Came..." is a gem. I got it last night and I've already listened to it at least three times. Thank you, Sammy! :)

Busted Tube

I've been a little stressed for the past few days because it seems my car is out of commission. I'm so grateful for Brad though. He's so great. Every time I have car troubles, he come to my rescue, saving me from going to a shop and having them tell me a thousand things are wrong with my car and that I need to get them all fixed because I'm just a stupid girl that knows nothing about cars. Anyway, I guess the problem is that one of the power steering tubes fell down and got scrapped on the ground so I just need to replace it. So it's really not a big deal and should be fixed in no time really (and by no time I mean like a week) but that means that I'm back to having no car for a week, which really isn't a big deal, but walking to work won't be fun. That's ok though because I think it's been a bit of a blessing in disguise. I have been forcing myself to go to the gym every morning at 6 and while I love it, I've been a little stressed lately and in need of more sleep and my lack of a car lets me sleep in an extra hour, which it turns out I really needed. So, not having a car for a while has made life slightly more stressful in some ways and less stressful in other ways, which means it's kind of balanced out and it's not really that bad.

On another note, we took roommate pictures on Sunday. They're a little dark, but since it's taken four months to get these, I'm just going to take what I can get. Other than them being a little dark though, I think they're pretty cute. I've got fantastic roommates. We also had our annual Christmas dinner last night at TGIFriday's and it was delicious and the company was wonderful of course.

Also, for all those who are interested, I'm making a mental list of all the restaurants that have vanilla Coke/Pepsi because it's my absolute favorite, and they include Iggy's and TGIFriday's so far. Also, the gas station next to Teleperformance and the Home Depot in Lindon, which I can't remember the name of to save my life. But! If you are a fan of vanilla Coke like I am, those are the places to go.

Once Bitten and Twice Shy

I'm getting in the Christmas spirit, listening to my favorite Christmas song, and wondering what the line, "Once bitten and twice shy" means. Is he talking about a hickey? And being shy? Please share with me your thoughts because I can't figure it out. I have a few theories though...

I was thinking it might be that he was bitten by his lover's viciousness. That happens all the time. In fact, I know exactly how the sting of that poisonous bite feels. Or is he talking about something entirely different? Did his lover actually used to bite him? Is that like an inside thing? Twice shy I think is a little bit easier because it probably just means something about how he's shy and couldn't talk to her or he's trying to be shy now, or maybe she was too shy to give him any and it was really frustrating for him. Anyway, these things cause him to keep his distance, but she still catches his eye. I wonder if she recognizes him. I mean, it's been a year, so it wouldn't surprise me if she didn't, but still, I mean, he gave her his heart. If George Michael (no not the one from Arrested Development) gave me his heart, I'd take it and guard it with my life! I only wish I were the someone special he gave it to this year because I would definitely save him from tears, unless we're talkin tears of joy. Those I could not stop from flowing.

For Mal Bop

It's that time again.. I've not posted anything for quite a while and my vast audience is getting anxious for some new material. So, here it is...

It's Christmas time, which I both love and hate.. but more love, because whilst there's Christmas cheer everywhere and the decorations are pretty and you get to go home for the holidays and such, it's also finals time and a great opportunity to become so stinkin broke it's not even funny. Soooo.. I'm droppin Benjamins everywhere and wondering how long it's going to take me to get back to my comfy spot where I can buy clothes and go out to eat without feeling too terribly guilty, but that's ok, because there are lights and trees and starting today, a little bit of snow.

Bad deal though. I had some car trouble this lovely morning, so I missed my first class, which is fine I suppose but means that I'll have to steal notes from someone because the final is very important to my grade, but that's ok too. No biggie. Just a little bit of a pain. The day has only gotten better though. I went to Italian and found out I didn't do so hot on the midterm, but that the final is going to be an oral exam, which is good news for those of us who suck at grammar on paper, but can stutter for twenty minutes and get a decent grade. So that's a good thing. Also, my other final is not comprehensive, thank goodness! So finals are not fun, but they're looking doable this semester so life isn't so bad after all. And if all goes well, not next Christmas, but the Christmas after, I will be graduated and finals free and have enough money to buy Christmas presents for all without feeling it too bad. We shall see though. As we all know, plans change.

On another note, I think all the adorable couples that just love each other and go walking around in all the Christmassy places and being all Christmassy are just great. I love love, even when it's not me that's doing the loving or being loved. I think it's fantastic. And while some might see it as a bad thing that there's so much marriage here in Provo, I think it's good. Sometimes depressing, but overall good. Love is a good thing and families are a good thing too, so I've decided to just embrace it this holiday season and be happy for everyone that's happy and nice to everyone that's not.