7.01.2011

Read This

I realize that dozens of other blogs and websites have posted this already, and I could probably just link to it, but I want to make sure you read it. (I found this from Meg Fee's re-post of it. Sometimes I want to steal Meg's Google Reader because she finds the best bits of writing!)

Because it's absolutely exquisite.

"Date a Girl Who Reads by Rosemarie Urquico

Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag. She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.

She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.

Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas, and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by God, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.

She has to give it a shot somehow.

Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilight series.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes."

Yes oh yes. Rosemarie, you nailed it.

6.15.2011

and she's back

She took some time and took off for a new life and when she returned after a month and a half, it was almost like it hadn't happened.

Except that it did.

And she couldn't (wouldn't) deny that because she was different.

The conversations, the culture and the people she met were unforgettable. The experience was like a giant growth spurt and like any growing pains, it hurt to leave.

She didn't feel quite ready to give it up.

She knew the home she was coming back to would be pretty much the same, but she would never be the same girl as before she left.

And because she was different, everything would change.

5.24.2011

Check out my Salvadoran life


Hey, kids. Sorry I haven't been writing much lately. I've been busy doing a myriad of projects in El Salvador, and if you want to hear about it, check this out.

5.03.2011

one for the readers

I haven't been a very good blog friend lately.
I've written a few posts, but none that are worth sharing with the world. Some too personal, some just not inspired.

Either way, here's an update:
I leave for El Salvador in less than 24 hours. Read about my adventures here. I probably won't be posting much on this blog until I get back.

Anyway, what it really comes down to is this: I'm going to El Salvador!!!!!!!!

4.27.2011

Spring Haikus

No more blow dryers
Packing away all my coats
Time for sunny days

One week till I leave
New places, scary but fun
I can barely wait

Of course before I
leave I might meet someone great
but they can sit tight

4.26.2011

a question


Love-to-be:

You're old fashioned and I'm a little old fashioned,

so why don't we take black and white photographs and name our children Lucy and Harold

and build a home out of pennies and patience

and you'll read the paper as I'm finishing up dinner and after the food is gone we'll sit at the table for hours,

still hungry for each other's company,

even after all these years?


image via

4.20.2011

that time


so it's that time of year again.
when people graduate.
when people leave.
and this time, I'm leaving, too. (but i'm coming back.)

It's kind of weird to think that two weeks from today, I'll be on my way to (or maybe already in) El Salvador.
I finally get to put a stamp in my passport.
I've gotten my vaccinations (heavens, 3 in one day was a baaad idea)
I have a plane ticket.
I still need to pack.
I still need to buy a few things, like Chacos and cheap, quick-drying skirts and T shirts.

And, don't tell anyone, but: I'm a little.bit.scared.

It's unknown, but it's going to be exciting. And the unknownness is what is exciting.

This is a big step for me.
I committed to this a few months ago, and I'm following through with it, and that is an accomplishment all on its own.

And whatever this trip ends up being, it will be good for me. Because learning is never a bad thing.

image via vi.sualize.us

one of my favorites so far:

So sometimes I read this blog "letters to crushes"*

Today, I read a post titled "The best places to fall in love are book stores and libraries."

Oh boy, oh boy do I agree with that.

Full post here. Read it.


*Thank you, miss Katya, for introducing me to it!

4.15.2011

Copywriter

Give me five seconds to be totally self-absorbed and braggy to say:

I GOT INTO THE CREATIVE TRACK!

For those of you non-advertising majors, this means that I get to call myself a real writer of copy and get to work on cool projects, spend hours and hours brainstorming and juicing my brain of creative brilliance.

I can't wait.

4.12.2011

this is me:


Yesterday I went grocery shopping at my favorite little grocery store.

As I was walking around the store, my basket overflowing with fruit, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains, I remembered a part of myself that had been set aside.

A part of me that had been overshadowed by big generic supermarkets, small paychecks and relying on others for transportation, but was just waiting to come to the surface.

To remind me of some things I really care about.

So this is me, at least when it comes to food:

I like to buy organic*
I like to buy local
I like to buy free range animal products*
I care about the planet
I prefer wheat
I have a slight addiction to greek yogurt



So maybe it's time I start living up to who I really am, and how I really want to eat.

{I can't wait until the farmers market starts up again!}

*when people ask me why, it catches me off guard and my mind blanks on the research, but basically it comes down to this: I like my food without a side of pesticides.
* This is another one that, for some, requires explanation. My thoughts are: healthy animals make healthy animal products.

image via

4.02.2011

the substitute people



From Elizabethtown. I sort of love that movie.

Claire: "Do you want to hear my theory?"
Drew: "Of course."
Claire: "You and I have a special talent, and I saw it immediately."
Drew: "Tell me."
Claire: "We're the substitute people."
Drew: "Substitute people?"
Claire: "I've been a substitute person my whole life. I'm not an Ellen; I never wanted to be an Ellen. And I'm not a Cindy either, although Chucks loves me."
Drew: "I'm sure they do."
...
Claire: "I'm impossible to forget, but I'm hard to remember."

image via this and this

3.29.2011

why I love advertising:

Because even at 1 am, when we've already been here for 9 hours today, and we're tired and sugar-overloaded...we all still want to be here.
Because looking at blogs, surfing facebook and looking up information on wikipedia all counts as research.
Because our professors care enough to hang out with us until the work is finished, even if the stuff doesn't get done until 1am.
Because everyone brings food to share.

Because it's just fun.

3.22.2011

A conversationalist

Love-to-be:

Please be the kind of guy who can just as easily chat with the cashier at the grocery store or the CEO of a major corporation.

And please make sure you tip well at restaurants. Trust me, I've been a server.

Because I know if you show consideration and genuine interest in the lives of people you barely know, you'll treat me with the same respect.

xoxo,
Just Me

3.21.2011

Grateful

Life is just so good.

Wordle: Grateful

3.20.2011

Let me tell you a story

A boy walked in the room.
A boy she'd seen before, one she'd met once, several years ago, but it was a brief encounter and not one he'd probably remember.
But she remembered, like she always did.

Boy: "I've met you before..."
Girl: "Yeah, we met freshman year once. It's _______, right?"
Boy: "Wow. Yeah."
Girl (to his other friend): "Yeah, and I think I met you, too. It's _______, right?"
Other Boy: "That is an impressive memory!"

(semi awkward pause)

Boy: "Wait, so how did we meet?"
Girl: "We met at _____'s cabin one time; I wore your sweatpants." (What?! Did I really just tell him that?? stupid. stupid. stupid.)
Boy: "Whoa, really?! Wow. And that was the only time we met?"
Girl: "Yeah, remember? we all jumped in the creek in the morning, and got soaked."

Boy: "Oh yeah, I do remember jumping in the creek" (But clearly, he doesn't remember me...dang)

Lesson Learned: If you happen to have a near stalker-like memory when it comes to people (not your fault, you were programmed that way), don't let on so quickly. Play the "Oh yeah, you look kind of familiar to me too..." card for at least 10 minutes and then slowly work in the "wait..do you know so-and-so??"

This is a much better solution than the "Oh yeah, Firstname Lastname, don't you remember the 30 second introduction we had 3 years ago with Mutual Friend in Random Location where you told me you are from Hometown and you have Number of kids in your family. Wait...and you don't even remember my name?"

Whoops.


3.15.2011

Crunch Time

Okay, guys.
I know you're there, somewhere. (and if you're reading this, yes, I mean YOU).

I'm working on my creative portfolio and I need to include a few things:

a little bit about myself
some brilliant advertising

and (here's where you come in)

a few writing samples, extra creative stuff that doesn't fit anywhere else.

If you've read one of my blog posts or one hundred, now is your chance to tell me what your favorites are.

So pretty please leave me a comment with the title/link to a post of mine that you thought was good enough to reread.

image via

3.09.2011

a taste


Today I wore no jacket to school.
And I walked to class
And I wasn't cold.

California runs through my blood and I crave the beach almost as much as I crave chocolate.

Today felt a little bit like the beginning of spring, and the end of a winter that wasn't the most stressful, but it had its moments.

Today was a day when the world was conquered.
When somehow everything came together and worked, even when I was sure it wouldn't.
And for that, I am grateful.

images via this

3.08.2011

remember to breathe

It's one o clock in the morning and I'm still up.

I feel an interesting mix of energized and overwhelmed.
I know that when my alarm goes off tomorrow morning (at the bright hour of 6), I'll wish I'd have gone to bed a little earlier.

But I was up talking to my best friend, what can you say?

There is still an Art History test to be studied for.
And some work to be done.
And a meal to be planned
And some clever lines of copy to be written.

Sometimes I wish I had a span of 48 hours to not sleep and just get things done. Check off the tasks on my to do list for the next week, so I could actually enjoy the fun things.

But, alas, 5 hour energies and cups of coffee are not really my style.

3.07.2011

Un-Do List

Things I did NOT accomplish today:
-writing the thank you notes I need to
-addressing fundraising letters for this little trip
-laundry
-applying for a few more scholarships for next year.

However, I was able to:
-make a dozen homemade bagels (they were delicious)
-make a pizza to use up some leftover pizza sauce
-spend some quality time with the roommates
-listen to the words of some inspired leaders at stake conference and at the CES fireside. (L. Tom Perry is my hero).
-meet some new people and laugh...a lot.

Oh well. There is always tomorrow.


ps: two of my favorite women in the whole wide world are coming to visit me this week. and I couldn't be more excited!

everything is more romantic in french



This may just be one of the most romantic songs I've ever heard.
I fell in love with it when I heard it play at the end of French Kiss.

Louis Armstrong's trumpet can take my breath away any day.
And Edith Piaf's voice is incredible.

I don't even need to hear the words to want to melt into some dashing man's arms and forget the world.