Hola!

Yo peeps. What's new in my life, you ask? Well, I am heading to Belize for the next month and a half. That's what's up. I am currently in the Phoenix airport headed to SLC to spend the evening with three of my favorite ladies before I embark on this crazy, insanely rad journey. I leave at 6am tomorrow morning and am full of random emotions as I don't quite know what to expect. I am going as a trip leader for a non-profit group called Humanitarian Experience for Youth. I will be hosting three, two and a half week sessions. There are about 19 kids in each trip, who are all excited to serve, learn, grow. While there, we will be building a lunch room onto a small elementary school in the town of Corozal. I our free time we will be traveling the country and experiencing everything wonderful it can offer us. My chacos and bandanas are packed, my iPad is loaded with music fit to lift any spirit, and I have my pepper spray ready to use against anyone who messes with my kiddos. I hope to be able to feel my own strength and potential challenged as I am put in new circumstances. I want to learn to love deeper and serve harder. But mostly, I am excited to find greater understanding of the strength and beauty of the human spirit through each individual I meet. It's go time.

Team Pacey

Folks, lets talk Dawson's Creek for a minute.  I just felt like it was time for me to make an informed stance on this whole Dawson/Pacey situation.  I am here to announce to the world, loud and proud, that I am most definitely, without any reservations, team Pacey.  I mean, Pacey buys Joey a wall.  A wall, people.  If that ain't true love...  Now, with that being said, can we please quickly discuss a few points of all that is Dawson's Creek.

1.)  Joey Potter brings all the boys to the yard.  Seriously.  What is her allure?  She has some magnetic pull that I will never understand.  Maybe it's her sassiness.  If so, that, I do understand.  More importantly, I respect.  But other than that, I'm at loss for understanding.  And, while we're on the subject of Joey Potter, might I remind you of the episode where she sings "On My Own" from Les Mis.  Oh.  Sweet.  Mercy.  Why?  I think that's my only response.  Please, why?  If you need your memory jogged or have not had the pleasure of hearing this...please, please, please watch.  I would like to say you won't regret it, but that would be a lie.  You probably will regret it, but I can promise you will find some strange fulfillment as well. 

2.)  I can't handle Dawson Leary.  Is it the character I vehemently hate or is it just James Van Der Beek?  I don't really know.  I think the two are so closely intertwined that I can't clearly decipher.  Either way, he and Joey ARE NOT SOUL MATES. 

3.)  Joey's main mode of transportation is a row boat.  Seriously, does it get more rad?  I love when something dramatic and emotional happens--instead of running to her car and driving away....she runs to her boat, and paddles away.  I just started laughing outloud thinking about this.

4.)  The Weepies.  ALL UP IN IT.  My heart fluttered a little the first time I heard them play on the show.  I will always love them. 

5.)  Dawson's parents are a joke.

6.)  Grams is the only adult with any sense of parental responsibility. 

7.)  Aunt Gwen (Claire Dunphy circia 1999) knows what's up. Always remember, when you find yourself in the middle of two potential lovers and can't decide who you want--choose whoever makes you feel alive, don't settle for what's safe.  I'm sure this will come in handy, because we all know, this is a frequent predicament...atleast in my life.

8.)  I don't want to wait, for my life to be over. 

think differently

"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, 

the rebels, the troublemakers, 

the round pegs in the square holes...

the ones who see things differently

--they're not fond of rules...

You can quote them, disagree with them, 

glorify or vilify them, 

but the only thing you can't do is ignore them

because they change things...

they push the human race forward, 

and while some may see them as the crazy ones, 

we see genius, because the ones 

who are crazy enough 

to think that they can change the world, 

are the ones who do."

 -   Jack Kerouac

p.s.

mom, 

do you like how you requested more blog posts, and this is the one thing i decide to write about in months and probably for months?

yours truly, 

me

Trust.

     The other day I won a free massage at a Sizzler dinner held by a chiropractor--which is it's own story entirely.  It turns out Sizzler is still as disgusting as I my 8 year old memory holds.  I know, go figure, right?  But I digress.  This weekend I used my coupon for a free massage, and it was fantastic.  However, there were a few points of the whole process that became really strange for me as I stepped back and imagined the situation from some unfamiliar third party perspective.  When the woman first began the massage she started to small chat with me about school and stuff.  Sure it's just friendly and polite, or whatever, but seriously.  You are lying there, butt naked mind you, going through the basic get to know you questions.  I hate answering all those trite questions in classes or activities.  Shockingly, I found I despise those questions even more when you are laying there au naturel...with a sheet.
     As I should have been relaxing, meditating, or finding my inner chi or something, I instead wondered if the masseuse is ever tempted to grab the clients clothes, rip off the sheet and take off running.  Imagine the entertainment.  Don't judge me for the immaturity of my wandering thoughts.  It is what it is.  But it all made me realize, the masseuse holds so much power in that hour you are there.  Seriously.  You are lying there completely nude, just as the day you were born, trusting that the masseuse won't completely expose you.  Suddenly I realized the masseuse was quietly humming a song under her breath.  As I listened carefully I realized it was Elton John's 'Trust Me.'  Just kidding, she wasn't humming any song, but I realized if I was a masseuse I would burst into a full rendition of the song, dance moves included.  It's just to perfect not to.  I figure to keep things lively, you've got to dangle that power that you hold in front of the client sometimes, taunt them a little bit, just get really obnoxious about it all.  Now that my friends, is how to be professional in your jobs.

"Standing there in front of me, you're naked, 

You can't hide a thing, you've got no choice, 

Trust Me."

If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.

Results of Games

1: Lost - shut out in the first three games.  

2: Lost - shut out in the first three games.  Still yet to get someone from the opposite team out.  

3: Win - due to other team forfeiting.  Played for fun, won our last game.  First time getting others out.  

4: Win - all three.  UNDERDOGS.  

Then they posted the tournament rankings.  We are "Millerball."  

Enough said. 

If you can dodge traffic, you can dodge a ball.

I joined a dodgeball team this semester.  No big deal right?  Wrong.  Dead.  Wrong.  We walk in the gym for our first game, and our opponents are HUGE.  It felt like one of these scenes from Space Jam, as Jenn so eloquently pointed out.

Not only are they huge, but they are warming up.  WARMING UP, hurling the balls back and forth across the basketball court.  All you can hear is the loud smack of the ball hitting their hands as they catch it.  All I can imagine is a bloody face and red welts covering my body.   Sheer terror, let me tell you.  Over dramatic?  No.

Then the time comes to start the game.  First of all, did you know there were official rules to the game?  Besides the basic ones of staying in the court, they ran through atleast 10 others.  Legit.  Second, we find out all these girls on BYU sports teams....golf, softball, tennis, and one other.  This explained why they were huge.  Third, we were down a player because she who shall not be named forgot her ID.  Which was all ok in the end because she was able to sit out and record these gems.  Get comfortable guys, this is really good.  Our first game...all 30 seconds of it...in all its glory.

 Correct me if I'm wrong, but we are pretty amazing.  Clearly.  My favorite part is that the ref yells dodgeball to start the game, we run to get the balls, and then one by one just proceed to walk off the court.  Epic.  Anyways, our next game lasted all of 40 seconds.  But the final game was perhaps the greatest.  Mills was off the court retrieving a ball, and we all got out, so she runs back on with her new ball, looks around and freaks out because she is the only one left.   They very last throw that gets her out is perhaps the best thing ever to be caught on film.  The slow motion, rainbow arch of a throw that makes it so easy for the opponent to catch.  After watching that we upped our technique.