This one ended up being really short. Oh well.
*Wrap*
Thursday, March 29, 2012
The Quest For A Second Car (That I Can Actually Drive) Part 2
Thursday, March 22, 2012
The Quest For A Second Car (That I Can Actually Drive) Part 1
Haha, I got you guys good didn't I? I seriously had been waiting so long to do that, since we started looking for a second car, and that was awhile ago. I realized that also would have been fun to do on April Fool's Day, but then you might have been suspicious and not believed it, by virtue of the fact that it was April Fool's Day.
So anyway, here is the epic tale of our quest for a second car that I can actually drive, since I'm a failure at driving stick. It all started with ksl.com...(now this is when the narrator gazes off into space and the scene cuts to a flashback sequence). Andrew and I are now pros at spotting scams on ksl.com (yes, we have learned our lesson). If you ever want to buy a car on ksl.com, here are some of the warning signs and definite indicators that an ad is a scam: a car from the 2000's with low miles is selling for the same price as a car from like 1990 with 250,000 miles (those are absolutely, 100% scams); no phone number is listed; and the Contact person listed is something like "P." or "R." rather than an actual name. Surprisingly enough, or maybe not so surprisingly, there are a lot of scams on ksl. You'd think they'd have people who monitor the ads being posted, but apparently they don't, which is too bad for poor suckers like us. They warn you about scams, but personally, I don't think that's good enough. So anyway, we knew which ads to avoid, and now you do too.
So we wanted an SUV cause Andrew worries about me driving in the snow (joke's on him, cause winter's almost over, but then again the joke will probably be on me because I'm quite sure there will be a few more freak snowstorms in the next like two months cause Utah is stupid like that). We trolled ksl.com for quite a while looking for the perfect car for us that was within our price range (which was like $1000-2000 initially), and we found several that we liked. The first one that we liked enough to go look at was a 1988 Jeep Cherokee. This thing was a monster. It was black, and it had a 3 inch lift, and it looked pretty cool from the picture. It was in south Provo, so we went to check it out one evening. It was much more of a monster in person, and Andrew decided it was too much of a monster, because he said no to that one. So it was back to trolling ksl.com, and the next car we liked was a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The ad said it needed its windshield replaced (which it definitely did), but that was okay. It was out in West Valley City, which is west of Salt Lake, so it was a bit of a drive to look at it, but we went out there and it was indeed a nice Jeep. It reeked of cigarette smoke though, and the guy who was selling it looked like a very shady character (I legitimately thought we might get jumped a few times). We took it to a mechanic cause we are smart buyers and we know what's up, and unfortunately the mechanic said it was a no go. He said the transfer case was leaking and that would cost $1000 to fix, so it wan't worth it. The guy claimed he didn't know about the leak but the mechanic made it sound like it had been leaking for awhile. We decided not to call him out on it. So it was back to searching, and we found a Honda Passport that looked promising, but apparently it looked promising to everyone else too, cause the guy sold it before we could even take a look at it. At this point we were getting a little discouraged, but we keep looking. We had previously found a 1994 Nisan Pathfinder but decided against it because it had 220,000 miles on it, but at his point we just wanted a car, so we went to go check it out. The kid who was selling it looked like he was like 16, and his mom said he buys stuff all the time just to sell it. So we took the Pathfinder to a mechanic, and the mechanic said it was the worst car he had ever seen and was only worth parts. Yeah. We seem to have the best luck.
So, after that one, we decided to just buy from a used car dealership. And on our drive back from looking at the Pathfinder (it was in Springville), we saw a tiny used car dealership and decided to check it out. We walked around and looked at the cars, and after a little while the owner came out to talk to us. He was exactly the opposite of everything you've ever been told about car salesmen. He was basically the nicest guy ever and not even pushy at all. He let us test drive a few of the cars, and he had couple of Subarus that Andrew was interested in, but he had just gotten them and they hadn't been priced yet, so we'd told him we'd come back. Now personally, I think Subarus are butt ugly (or at least Outbacks from like the 90's, which is what he had at the dealership), but I just really wanted a car, so I figured I could suck it up.
And now I've run out of time cause Andrew wants to go to Buffalo Wild Wings for Boneless Thursday, and this post is already freakin' long. Who wants to read something this long anyway? But I've kept you waiting long enough, so I figured I have to give you something. So here's part 1, and part 2 will be up sometime in the near future. And I'll also include pictures. Who doesn't enjoy a good cliffhanger every once in a while? Not that this is a good cliffhanger, cause it really isn't, but oh well.
*Wrap*
So anyway, here is the epic tale of our quest for a second car that I can actually drive, since I'm a failure at driving stick. It all started with ksl.com...(now this is when the narrator gazes off into space and the scene cuts to a flashback sequence). Andrew and I are now pros at spotting scams on ksl.com (yes, we have learned our lesson). If you ever want to buy a car on ksl.com, here are some of the warning signs and definite indicators that an ad is a scam: a car from the 2000's with low miles is selling for the same price as a car from like 1990 with 250,000 miles (those are absolutely, 100% scams); no phone number is listed; and the Contact person listed is something like "P." or "R." rather than an actual name. Surprisingly enough, or maybe not so surprisingly, there are a lot of scams on ksl. You'd think they'd have people who monitor the ads being posted, but apparently they don't, which is too bad for poor suckers like us. They warn you about scams, but personally, I don't think that's good enough. So anyway, we knew which ads to avoid, and now you do too.
So we wanted an SUV cause Andrew worries about me driving in the snow (joke's on him, cause winter's almost over, but then again the joke will probably be on me because I'm quite sure there will be a few more freak snowstorms in the next like two months cause Utah is stupid like that). We trolled ksl.com for quite a while looking for the perfect car for us that was within our price range (which was like $1000-2000 initially), and we found several that we liked. The first one that we liked enough to go look at was a 1988 Jeep Cherokee. This thing was a monster. It was black, and it had a 3 inch lift, and it looked pretty cool from the picture. It was in south Provo, so we went to check it out one evening. It was much more of a monster in person, and Andrew decided it was too much of a monster, because he said no to that one. So it was back to trolling ksl.com, and the next car we liked was a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The ad said it needed its windshield replaced (which it definitely did), but that was okay. It was out in West Valley City, which is west of Salt Lake, so it was a bit of a drive to look at it, but we went out there and it was indeed a nice Jeep. It reeked of cigarette smoke though, and the guy who was selling it looked like a very shady character (I legitimately thought we might get jumped a few times). We took it to a mechanic cause we are smart buyers and we know what's up, and unfortunately the mechanic said it was a no go. He said the transfer case was leaking and that would cost $1000 to fix, so it wan't worth it. The guy claimed he didn't know about the leak but the mechanic made it sound like it had been leaking for awhile. We decided not to call him out on it. So it was back to searching, and we found a Honda Passport that looked promising, but apparently it looked promising to everyone else too, cause the guy sold it before we could even take a look at it. At this point we were getting a little discouraged, but we keep looking. We had previously found a 1994 Nisan Pathfinder but decided against it because it had 220,000 miles on it, but at his point we just wanted a car, so we went to go check it out. The kid who was selling it looked like he was like 16, and his mom said he buys stuff all the time just to sell it. So we took the Pathfinder to a mechanic, and the mechanic said it was the worst car he had ever seen and was only worth parts. Yeah. We seem to have the best luck.
So, after that one, we decided to just buy from a used car dealership. And on our drive back from looking at the Pathfinder (it was in Springville), we saw a tiny used car dealership and decided to check it out. We walked around and looked at the cars, and after a little while the owner came out to talk to us. He was exactly the opposite of everything you've ever been told about car salesmen. He was basically the nicest guy ever and not even pushy at all. He let us test drive a few of the cars, and he had couple of Subarus that Andrew was interested in, but he had just gotten them and they hadn't been priced yet, so we'd told him we'd come back. Now personally, I think Subarus are butt ugly (or at least Outbacks from like the 90's, which is what he had at the dealership), but I just really wanted a car, so I figured I could suck it up.
And now I've run out of time cause Andrew wants to go to Buffalo Wild Wings for Boneless Thursday, and this post is already freakin' long. Who wants to read something this long anyway? But I've kept you waiting long enough, so I figured I have to give you something. So here's part 1, and part 2 will be up sometime in the near future. And I'll also include pictures. Who doesn't enjoy a good cliffhanger every once in a while? Not that this is a good cliffhanger, cause it really isn't, but oh well.
*Wrap*
Saturday, March 17, 2012
A New Addition To Our Family!
Bet you thought I was pregnant huh? Well ha! I tricked you, suckers.
The REAL new addition to our family is a 1998 Subaru Forester. Yeah, we got a new car. Well a new used car. I don't have time to tell the whole story right now, so I'll make a separate post for that probably tomorrow or something. I was just so excited I had to tell you all now, and I was excited to trick you into thinking I was pregnant. I've been waiting to do that for a while now. So anyway, keep an eye out for my post about the car.
The REAL new addition to our family is a 1998 Subaru Forester. Yeah, we got a new car. Well a new used car. I don't have time to tell the whole story right now, so I'll make a separate post for that probably tomorrow or something. I was just so excited I had to tell you all now, and I was excited to trick you into thinking I was pregnant. I've been waiting to do that for a while now. So anyway, keep an eye out for my post about the car.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
My Take on Kony 2012
Before I get to what I was going to say, let me just express my annoyance with my Kindle Fire and Blogger. I started this post before I had to leave for class at 10, and I didn't have time to finish it before I had to leave. When I got to class I opened Blogger on my Kindle Fire to try and finish it, but I accidentally ended up erasing everything I wrote, and now I have no way of getting it back. So I have to retype this entire post, and of course I can't remember exactly what I wrote before. So I'm kind of annoyed. Maybe it will be better the second time around. But anyway.
Why is it that when someone tries to do something good there are always those who try to tear them down? Yes, I am talking about Kony 2012. I watched the video yesterday and I immediately wanted to do everything I could to help. Yet anyone who is actually following anything that has to do with Kony 2012 knows that there are those who oppose the campaign. I read two articles today that are anti-Kony 2012 and anti-Invisible Children Inc. Here they are if you'd like to read them too:
http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/03/07/guest_post_joseph_kony_is_not_in_uganda_and_other_complicated_things
http://wilwheaton.tumblr.com/post/18920717928/thedailywhat-on-kony-2012-i-honestly-wanted-to
Now, I think what these articles are trying to do is inform those people who won't inform themselves, and that is a good thing. Making informed decisions is important. How can you support something if you don't actually know what it is that you're supporting? I'm all for informing people about what it is that they're actually supporting. And as misguided as Kony 2012 and Invisible Children Inc. may be, at least they're actually trying to do something good. What are the writers of these articles trying to do? Tear down a good cause? If the guy who wrote the second article is actually donating to those charities he linked in his post, then I can stand behind what he posted, and I'll donate to those charities too. It's one thing to simply tear down a good cause, and another thing to tear down a good cause but provide other solutions and actually utilize them. Somehow I can't believe that Invisible Children Inc. is simply using this campaign to line their pockets and only donating a small portion of their profits to actually helping the Invisible Children. That video seemed so genuine. What kind of despicable person takes advantage of a situation like this to make money? A person like that deserves to burn in hell, and they certainly will burn if they really are people like that. So I can't believe that all they're really doing is lining their pockets, but I can believe that they may be misguided. It's not just about their misguided-ness though. It's about the fact that they're trying to make a difference. The world is a big, bad place, but there are people out there who are trying to do something about that. It seems like an impossible task, but rather than lying down and doing nothing because it's such a big task, you have to start somewhere, no matter how small. Even if you only make a difference in one person's life, you've still made a difference. If everyone tried to make a difference, no matter how small, those differences would add up. I believe in making a difference. Do you? Do the people who wrote those articles? Does the world?
If you're powerful, I think you have an obligation to help those less powerful than yourself. I admit though, that there's something in protecting your own interests. If it doesn't impact your own personal security or whatever, stay out of it, and I can see how that's a good stance, though I don't personally feel that way. If you see someone being mugged on the street, are you gonna ignore it, or are you gonna help? I certainly would try and help, and even if I ended up getting killed, at least I would have died doing something that was right. You may not agree with me, and as long as your own decision is informed, then I am perfectly fine with letting you think that way. That's my whole point here. Make your own informed decisions. Acknowledge all other options, but don't let anyone else make your decision for you. Decide for yourself, and once you feel you have enough information, stick with your decision. If you're well enough informed, you won't be swayed by opposing opinions. And perhaps there's no right or wrong decision. A lot of times there isn't. There can be good and bad in both sides of the argument, and it is more important than ever to be informed in those cases. This applies to more than just Kony 2012.
So even if we stop Kony, maybe another guy will just take his place. I mean, would it really be as bad as these articles make it sound to stop Kony? If it would be, then I guess I stand by these anti-Kony people. If it's gonna be worse for the world if Kony is captured, then perhaps we should just leave well enough alone, or at least let Africa deal with their problems themselves. But if it wouldn't be, then what the heck are these people trying to do? I can't imagine that it would be better for the world if Kony were to remain at large. It certainly wouldn't be better for those children whose lives he has ruined, or all those people that he has killed. And even if someone else does take Kony's place, at least we've shown those children affected by Kony that their lives matter. At least we've shown those who have died through his hands that they deserve justice. At least we've shown the world that we know what is right, and we're not afraid to do it.
Personally, I support Kony 2012, because I support the cause it represents. I support right causes, but I also support being informed. So make an informed decision people. And while you can let what I've said influence your decision, don't let it make your decision for you. I'm not going to tell you to support Kony 2012, or not to support it. But I am going to tell you to make your own informed decision. Don't let anyone make your decision for you, on any matter. Get educated, and make a difference in the world, in any way you possibly can.
So there's my two cents on that.
*Wrap*
Why is it that when someone tries to do something good there are always those who try to tear them down? Yes, I am talking about Kony 2012. I watched the video yesterday and I immediately wanted to do everything I could to help. Yet anyone who is actually following anything that has to do with Kony 2012 knows that there are those who oppose the campaign. I read two articles today that are anti-Kony 2012 and anti-Invisible Children Inc. Here they are if you'd like to read them too:
http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/03/07/guest_post_joseph_kony_is_not_in_uganda_and_other_complicated_things
http://wilwheaton.tumblr.com/post/18920717928/thedailywhat-on-kony-2012-i-honestly-wanted-to
Now, I think what these articles are trying to do is inform those people who won't inform themselves, and that is a good thing. Making informed decisions is important. How can you support something if you don't actually know what it is that you're supporting? I'm all for informing people about what it is that they're actually supporting. And as misguided as Kony 2012 and Invisible Children Inc. may be, at least they're actually trying to do something good. What are the writers of these articles trying to do? Tear down a good cause? If the guy who wrote the second article is actually donating to those charities he linked in his post, then I can stand behind what he posted, and I'll donate to those charities too. It's one thing to simply tear down a good cause, and another thing to tear down a good cause but provide other solutions and actually utilize them. Somehow I can't believe that Invisible Children Inc. is simply using this campaign to line their pockets and only donating a small portion of their profits to actually helping the Invisible Children. That video seemed so genuine. What kind of despicable person takes advantage of a situation like this to make money? A person like that deserves to burn in hell, and they certainly will burn if they really are people like that. So I can't believe that all they're really doing is lining their pockets, but I can believe that they may be misguided. It's not just about their misguided-ness though. It's about the fact that they're trying to make a difference. The world is a big, bad place, but there are people out there who are trying to do something about that. It seems like an impossible task, but rather than lying down and doing nothing because it's such a big task, you have to start somewhere, no matter how small. Even if you only make a difference in one person's life, you've still made a difference. If everyone tried to make a difference, no matter how small, those differences would add up. I believe in making a difference. Do you? Do the people who wrote those articles? Does the world?
If you're powerful, I think you have an obligation to help those less powerful than yourself. I admit though, that there's something in protecting your own interests. If it doesn't impact your own personal security or whatever, stay out of it, and I can see how that's a good stance, though I don't personally feel that way. If you see someone being mugged on the street, are you gonna ignore it, or are you gonna help? I certainly would try and help, and even if I ended up getting killed, at least I would have died doing something that was right. You may not agree with me, and as long as your own decision is informed, then I am perfectly fine with letting you think that way. That's my whole point here. Make your own informed decisions. Acknowledge all other options, but don't let anyone else make your decision for you. Decide for yourself, and once you feel you have enough information, stick with your decision. If you're well enough informed, you won't be swayed by opposing opinions. And perhaps there's no right or wrong decision. A lot of times there isn't. There can be good and bad in both sides of the argument, and it is more important than ever to be informed in those cases. This applies to more than just Kony 2012.
So even if we stop Kony, maybe another guy will just take his place. I mean, would it really be as bad as these articles make it sound to stop Kony? If it would be, then I guess I stand by these anti-Kony people. If it's gonna be worse for the world if Kony is captured, then perhaps we should just leave well enough alone, or at least let Africa deal with their problems themselves. But if it wouldn't be, then what the heck are these people trying to do? I can't imagine that it would be better for the world if Kony were to remain at large. It certainly wouldn't be better for those children whose lives he has ruined, or all those people that he has killed. And even if someone else does take Kony's place, at least we've shown those children affected by Kony that their lives matter. At least we've shown those who have died through his hands that they deserve justice. At least we've shown the world that we know what is right, and we're not afraid to do it.
Personally, I support Kony 2012, because I support the cause it represents. I support right causes, but I also support being informed. So make an informed decision people. And while you can let what I've said influence your decision, don't let it make your decision for you. I'm not going to tell you to support Kony 2012, or not to support it. But I am going to tell you to make your own informed decision. Don't let anyone make your decision for you, on any matter. Get educated, and make a difference in the world, in any way you possibly can.
So there's my two cents on that.
*Wrap*
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Palm of Your Hand
So one of my new(ish) favorite bands is the band Cake. If you've heard anything by them, you've probably heard their song "The Distance," a song which Andrew ruined for me, but I won't ruin it for you. Oh and also, if you used to watch the show Chuck the theme song is an instrumental version of their song "Short Skirt/Long Jacket." So this song that I posted is their song called "Palm of Your Hand," and it's one of my favorite songs of theirs. It has a very pointed message I think, and that message is that you can't say that the future is in the palm of your hands because nothing is permanent. The lead singer sings about how if you knew this particular house, you'd never believe that that house is now gone. Houses are fairly permanent, at least until something unexpected comes along and takes them out. And if houses can be so easily destroyed, who's to say that something can't take out something else we think is permanent? The song is basically saying we can't say that the future is in the palm of our hands because nothing is really in the palm of our hands. It's the nature of this world to ruin our plans. So now that you think my intent with this post was to thoroughly depress you, I'll get to the real intent. We can't say that the future is in the palm of our own hands, because it isn't. "The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men/ Gang aft agley" (I decided to use the actual quote because Alex and I argued one time about whether the quote was "the best laid schemes," "or the best laid plans"). If you've never heard that quote before, you've probably heard it like this: "The best laid schemes/plans of mice and men often go awry." We shouldn't be living in the future, we should be living in the present. We have some control over our present situation, but we have even less control over our future situation. We should appreciate the things and the people we have now, because they're not always permanent. And now I'm going to get a little bit gospel-ey, I hope you don't mind. Our future may not be in the palm of our hands, but it's in the palm of God's hands. And we do have one aspect of our futures in the palm of our hands. We get to decide where we go in the next life. We get to decide, by the choices we make, whether or not we want to return and live with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I think that's the one thing in our lives of which we have complete control. When things don't go as we planned, we shouldn't let it get us down. Things aren't always supposed to go as we planned, that's the whole point. The important part is how we react to things not going as we planned. It's a lot easier to deal with it when we keep an eternal perspective. So yeah, I hope that made sense and it wasn't super depressing, cause I wasn't trying to be super depressing. I was just trying to get you to think about living in the present, but also living with the real end goal in mind.
Oh and I know a lot of times the things people say (ESPECIALLY women) have double meanings and often it's because of something that's going on in our lives that we say things, but I would just like to assure you that there's no veiled meaning or reason behind this post. My life is going perfectly well. I just have a lot of thoughts, and I just wanted to analyze a song that I like. So don't worry, Andrew and I are doing fine.
*Wrap*
Friday, February 24, 2012
My Hunger Games Obsession
Sorry I suck so much at blogging. I do have a bit of an excuse though, cause I just had four tests in the past two weeks which was a little bit crazy, but I'm still alive, and now it's over with so that's good.
Anyway, so I first read The Hunger Games trilogy last school year. Stevie had all three books so I borrowed them and read them, and I loved them. I thought they were amazing, but I also wondered how in the world someone comes up with an idea like that. Who writes a story about a country which requires its citizens to give up 24 of their teenagers for a competition in which they kill each other? And that third book was crazy gruesome. I can't imagine how they're gonna make the third movie and keep a PG-13 rating without cutting out quite a few scenes. In spite of this, I did love the books. I will admit that there were a few things I didn't like as much about the series, such as how the third book ends, and Katniss kinda started to bug me in the third book too. Not nearly as much as Bella though, when I read the Twilight books a second time around. I couldn't stand Bella, whereas Katniss is only slightly annoying, and who isn't slightly annoyed about something with every person they know? So anyway, I enjoyed the books the first time I read them but I wouldn't say I was obsessed. And that was that.
Well, with the movie coming out pretty soon, about a month or so ago I decided I wanted to reread the books, so I bought them on my Kindle Fire (which my amazing husband got me for Christmas...he's the best, and I seriously love that little thing (not my husband, the Kindle)) and I reread them. Well, it took me all of about four days to reread the series and I pretty much couldn't put my Kindle down. I all but ignored school for those three days to reread those books, and I fell in love all over again. I think they were even better the second time. The ending still kinda bothered me, and I think it was actually this read through that made me realize Katniss was a bit annoying, but they were still better the second time around. So now after rereading them I'm obsessed. It's a bit of a sick obsession really. The Hunger Games consumes quite a few of my waking thoughts. I bought tickets for Alex and Andrew and I to go see the movie opening night in IMAX (which I'm so excited about that I can hardly contain myself). Andrew's even getting annoyed with me; when I told him I thought I was obsessed he said something like, "Yeah, you are, and I'm getting really sick of hearing you talk about it." I don't think that's exactly what he said but that was the gist of it. I'd really like to go to a midnight showing in IMAX, but I'm dancing in BYU Lu'au in March (BTW you should all come) in the Tahitian and Samoan sections and Tahitian section practices at 6 in the morning on Fridays. Plus Andrew has PT every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 6 in the morning so I don't think he would have gone for that. I guess I'll just have to settle for opening night. That's the next best thing right? And if you'd like a little more detail into my crazy obsession, I look up stuff online about the movie all the time, and I even entered a drawing to win all the nail polishes inspired by the movie that China Glaze is coming out with. If you've ever heard the song Pyro by Kings of Leon, I personally think whoever actually wrote the song must have been thinking about The Hunger Games when they wrote it. I'll post it in case you want to listen to it. Oh and also I think the first book might be my favorite, but I liked the Quarter Quell from Catching Fire better than the games in The Hunger Games, so maybe I actually like the second one better...whatever. I'm so obsessed with The Hunger Games that I dedicated an entire blog post to it. So now you know how crazy I am.
Oh, and one thing that I hope they don't do with this movie is play up the love triangle too much. I mean I know it's a huge thing for the trilogy as a whole, but it's not a huge thing in the first book. They can play up the love triangle a little bit, but if it turns into Twilight I will be pissed. The Hunger Games is NOT Twilight, and the two aren't even comparable. I mean, sure they both have a love triangle, but so do a lot of other books and movies and TV shows and basically everything that involves any romance. And one thing that I saw when I was creeping around online is that the producers of The Hunger Games said that none of the actors from Twilight can be in any of The Hunger Games movies. Thank goodness for that. And I'm not making that up, just Google, "Twilight actors can't be in the hunger games." Oh and by the way, I like Peeta a million times more than Gale. I would definitely be Team Peeta, but from what I saw online, the fans of the movie who aren't 13 year old girls also obsessed with Twilight don't want this "team" thing to start, probably because they don't like Twilight.
So basically I'm so so SO excited for The Hunger Games movie. I have no idea how I'm gonna be able to wait another month till the movie comes out, but luckily the older you get, the faster time flies by, so it will be here before I know it. At least that's what I'm gonna tell myself.
*Wrap*
PS- It may sound like I'm a Twilight hater from this post, but I'm really not. I mean, I hate Bella (here's why: she is constantly whining about not wanting Edward and Jacob to get hurt, but one's a frickin' vampire and the other is a frickin' werewolf, what the heck does she think is going to happen to them? ), and I probably wouldn't read the books again, but I don't hate them like all those anti-Twilight people do. And I saw the movies (well the first 3) and I admittedly enjoyed them. I didn't think they were anything to get obsessed over, but I also didn't think they deserved all the hatred they're getting. And I wouldn't mind seeing the fourth or fifth ones.
I can't get this put on this movie's soundtrack since it's already made, but maybe I could get it put on the Mockingjay soundtrack. It fits that book better than the other two I think. Well it fits the series as a whole, but out of the three books it fits Mockingjay best.
Anyway, so I first read The Hunger Games trilogy last school year. Stevie had all three books so I borrowed them and read them, and I loved them. I thought they were amazing, but I also wondered how in the world someone comes up with an idea like that. Who writes a story about a country which requires its citizens to give up 24 of their teenagers for a competition in which they kill each other? And that third book was crazy gruesome. I can't imagine how they're gonna make the third movie and keep a PG-13 rating without cutting out quite a few scenes. In spite of this, I did love the books. I will admit that there were a few things I didn't like as much about the series, such as how the third book ends, and Katniss kinda started to bug me in the third book too. Not nearly as much as Bella though, when I read the Twilight books a second time around. I couldn't stand Bella, whereas Katniss is only slightly annoying, and who isn't slightly annoyed about something with every person they know? So anyway, I enjoyed the books the first time I read them but I wouldn't say I was obsessed. And that was that.
Well, with the movie coming out pretty soon, about a month or so ago I decided I wanted to reread the books, so I bought them on my Kindle Fire (which my amazing husband got me for Christmas...he's the best, and I seriously love that little thing (not my husband, the Kindle)) and I reread them. Well, it took me all of about four days to reread the series and I pretty much couldn't put my Kindle down. I all but ignored school for those three days to reread those books, and I fell in love all over again. I think they were even better the second time. The ending still kinda bothered me, and I think it was actually this read through that made me realize Katniss was a bit annoying, but they were still better the second time around. So now after rereading them I'm obsessed. It's a bit of a sick obsession really. The Hunger Games consumes quite a few of my waking thoughts. I bought tickets for Alex and Andrew and I to go see the movie opening night in IMAX (which I'm so excited about that I can hardly contain myself). Andrew's even getting annoyed with me; when I told him I thought I was obsessed he said something like, "Yeah, you are, and I'm getting really sick of hearing you talk about it." I don't think that's exactly what he said but that was the gist of it. I'd really like to go to a midnight showing in IMAX, but I'm dancing in BYU Lu'au in March (BTW you should all come) in the Tahitian and Samoan sections and Tahitian section practices at 6 in the morning on Fridays. Plus Andrew has PT every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 6 in the morning so I don't think he would have gone for that. I guess I'll just have to settle for opening night. That's the next best thing right? And if you'd like a little more detail into my crazy obsession, I look up stuff online about the movie all the time, and I even entered a drawing to win all the nail polishes inspired by the movie that China Glaze is coming out with. If you've ever heard the song Pyro by Kings of Leon, I personally think whoever actually wrote the song must have been thinking about The Hunger Games when they wrote it. I'll post it in case you want to listen to it. Oh and also I think the first book might be my favorite, but I liked the Quarter Quell from Catching Fire better than the games in The Hunger Games, so maybe I actually like the second one better...whatever. I'm so obsessed with The Hunger Games that I dedicated an entire blog post to it. So now you know how crazy I am.
Oh, and one thing that I hope they don't do with this movie is play up the love triangle too much. I mean I know it's a huge thing for the trilogy as a whole, but it's not a huge thing in the first book. They can play up the love triangle a little bit, but if it turns into Twilight I will be pissed. The Hunger Games is NOT Twilight, and the two aren't even comparable. I mean, sure they both have a love triangle, but so do a lot of other books and movies and TV shows and basically everything that involves any romance. And one thing that I saw when I was creeping around online is that the producers of The Hunger Games said that none of the actors from Twilight can be in any of The Hunger Games movies. Thank goodness for that. And I'm not making that up, just Google, "Twilight actors can't be in the hunger games." Oh and by the way, I like Peeta a million times more than Gale. I would definitely be Team Peeta, but from what I saw online, the fans of the movie who aren't 13 year old girls also obsessed with Twilight don't want this "team" thing to start, probably because they don't like Twilight.
So basically I'm so so SO excited for The Hunger Games movie. I have no idea how I'm gonna be able to wait another month till the movie comes out, but luckily the older you get, the faster time flies by, so it will be here before I know it. At least that's what I'm gonna tell myself.
*Wrap*
PS- It may sound like I'm a Twilight hater from this post, but I'm really not. I mean, I hate Bella (here's why: she is constantly whining about not wanting Edward and Jacob to get hurt, but one's a frickin' vampire and the other is a frickin' werewolf, what the heck does she think is going to happen to them? ), and I probably wouldn't read the books again, but I don't hate them like all those anti-Twilight people do. And I saw the movies (well the first 3) and I admittedly enjoyed them. I didn't think they were anything to get obsessed over, but I also didn't think they deserved all the hatred they're getting. And I wouldn't mind seeing the fourth or fifth ones.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Humility*
If there's one thing I've learned in my time here at BYU, it's humility. I wouldn't consider myself a particularly prideful person, but when you're constantly brought low, you start to wonder if maybe you are. I often find myself in humbling situations, as I'm sure many others do, and my tendency when these humbling situations come around is to feel inadequate. I feel inadequate when I look up at that screen in the testing center and see my test score, particularly if it was a test in a class I study 12 hours a week for. I feel inadequate when I find out I'm not as good at Tahitian dancing as I thought I was. I feel inadequate when I just can't seem to figure out how to drive stick, no matter how much Andrew encourages me. I feel inadequate when I just can't seem to do well in a class. I'm a klutz, I can't cook very well, I never really learned the value of hard work, I can't seem to keep anything clean, and I don't think there's anything that I'm particularly talented at. I could probably go on forever, but that would just make me sound like I'm wallowing in self pity, which isn't the purpose of this post. I probably already sound like I'm wallowing in self pity, or like I want you to pity me, but that really isn't my intention. I don't even have a particularly hard life, or anything big to wallow in self-pity about, but life seems to know exactly how to get at me to bring me down.
So anyway, the point of that was that I find myself in humbling situations a lot. These humbling situations don't help my self esteem much, which has always been pretty low in the first place, but I think I'm finally starting to learn how to pick myself up again. The more humbling situations I find myself in, the easier it becomes to face the next one. I'm also finally starting to learn how much I need Jesus Christ. I realize now I'm inadequate because I'm human, and I'm not supposed to be adequate on my own, or at least not perfect on my own. We like to think we can do it on our own, but eventually (even if it's not in this life) we learn that we really can't. We are absolutely nothing. We live on a relatively small planet, in a rather large solar system, in a rather large galaxy, in a rather large universe, and who knows what's beyond that, if anything. There is so much that is bigger and more important than we are, and yet we are big and important to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We are their children. They know us personally. They know what's going on in our lives, and they care what's going on in our lives. "I believe that He doesn't care one bit if we live in a castle or a cottage, if we are handsome or homely, if we are famous or forgotten. Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God’s love encompasses us completely. He loves us because He is filled with an infinite measure of holy, pure, and indescribable love. We are important to God not because of our résumé but because we are His children. He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken. God’s love is so great that He loves even the proud, the selfish, the arrogant, and the wicked." That's from Dieter F. Uchtdorf.
In view of this, I don't let those humbling situations get to me. Well actually I kind of do, because they certainly get me down, but I don't let them get to me by shaking my testimony or diminishing my faith in God. There could be any number of reasons for my humbling situations. They might be consequences of past actions. They might just be a part of life. They might be Satan trying to make me miserable like he is. They might be God humbling me so that I come to Him. I don't know where this quote comes from (other than a handout taped into my scriptures), but someone said, "God will have a humble people. Either we can choose to be humble, or we can be compelled to be humble." Maybe I haven't yet learned how to choose to be humble, and so I'm being compelled to be humble, but from whatever source my humbling comes, it doesn't make the gospel any less true, it doesn't mean Jesus Christ isn't my Savior, and it certainly doesn't mean God isn't there and that He doesn't care about me. I know He's there, and I know He cares about me. Life can keep throwing these humbling situations at me, and I will keep loving my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and maybe one day I will come to see myself as they see me. Maybe one day I won't feel so inadequate, but until that day comes, I'll keep trusting that there's a reason for everything, and I'll keep trusting God.
*Wrap*
So anyway, the point of that was that I find myself in humbling situations a lot. These humbling situations don't help my self esteem much, which has always been pretty low in the first place, but I think I'm finally starting to learn how to pick myself up again. The more humbling situations I find myself in, the easier it becomes to face the next one. I'm also finally starting to learn how much I need Jesus Christ. I realize now I'm inadequate because I'm human, and I'm not supposed to be adequate on my own, or at least not perfect on my own. We like to think we can do it on our own, but eventually (even if it's not in this life) we learn that we really can't. We are absolutely nothing. We live on a relatively small planet, in a rather large solar system, in a rather large galaxy, in a rather large universe, and who knows what's beyond that, if anything. There is so much that is bigger and more important than we are, and yet we are big and important to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We are their children. They know us personally. They know what's going on in our lives, and they care what's going on in our lives. "I believe that He doesn't care one bit if we live in a castle or a cottage, if we are handsome or homely, if we are famous or forgotten. Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God’s love encompasses us completely. He loves us because He is filled with an infinite measure of holy, pure, and indescribable love. We are important to God not because of our résumé but because we are His children. He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken. God’s love is so great that He loves even the proud, the selfish, the arrogant, and the wicked." That's from Dieter F. Uchtdorf.
In view of this, I don't let those humbling situations get to me. Well actually I kind of do, because they certainly get me down, but I don't let them get to me by shaking my testimony or diminishing my faith in God. There could be any number of reasons for my humbling situations. They might be consequences of past actions. They might just be a part of life. They might be Satan trying to make me miserable like he is. They might be God humbling me so that I come to Him. I don't know where this quote comes from (other than a handout taped into my scriptures), but someone said, "God will have a humble people. Either we can choose to be humble, or we can be compelled to be humble." Maybe I haven't yet learned how to choose to be humble, and so I'm being compelled to be humble, but from whatever source my humbling comes, it doesn't make the gospel any less true, it doesn't mean Jesus Christ isn't my Savior, and it certainly doesn't mean God isn't there and that He doesn't care about me. I know He's there, and I know He cares about me. Life can keep throwing these humbling situations at me, and I will keep loving my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and maybe one day I will come to see myself as they see me. Maybe one day I won't feel so inadequate, but until that day comes, I'll keep trusting that there's a reason for everything, and I'll keep trusting God.
*Wrap*
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