Fa la la la la

Merry Christmas! Seeing as how it's past 12 am, I am allowed to say this. I've been a horrible blogger lately, but life has been stressful and confusing. I don't like thinking about it because it raises my blood pressure, so here's some jolly Christmas images instead!

Hey, Christmas tree!


Those who know her are aware that my mom is a great cook. She was very excited about the tiramisu she made for Christmas lunch. My mom and I do NOT look alike, but I see myself in this picture. I think it might be the look on her face and her general stance.

My bff Maegan. We've known each other since the 5th grade. She's one of those people who I can look at old photo albums and laugh at with about how awkward we were or the strange things we did as kids. Every year at Christmas we announce that we are getting married. This has happened for about the past five years now.

The table is all set for Christmas lunch. My mom has repeated the menu to me about a million times now: prime rib roast, twice baked potatoes, green beans, asparagus, brussle sprouts, rolls (Sister Schubert, duh), a lemon curd cake, and tiramisu. Did I mention there would only be five of us?

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

P.S. Dear Santa, all I want for Christmas is a job in Houston and an apartment to call home within at least one month of the new year. Thanks big guy.

Teenage Wasteland

Sometimes I find myself wondering if I am 22 or 15. Did I miss out on something significant in those formative years that has caused this regression? Here are some glaring signals that lead me to believe that I am an angsty teenager caught in an adult's body:

1. My tendency to obsess over celebrities and form severe crushes on them. For example: when I lived in L.A. in the summer of 2007, I spent many a day at my lowly intern desk concocting scenarios in my head that involved meeting and/or falling in love with the objects my infatuation. These scenarios included, but were not limited to, Patrick Dempsey, Orlando Bloom, and Michael Vartan. For latest celebrity love affair, see gorgeous picture below.


But hey, at least I'm not plastering pictures of him all over my walls and various other flat surfaces. Although, I have allowed for the occasional wallpaper on my computer...

2. While we're on the topic of Rob Pattinson: My complete and utter obsession with all things Twilight related. I was a latecomer to the book series, but once I sunk my teeth (no pun intended) into Twilight, I was finished with the first three books in three days. I impatiently awaited the arrival of Breaking Dawn, and a dear friend can attest that I took it in the car with me so that I was able to read it at stoplights and once even made her drive us somewhere in my car so that I could read. I got so wrapped up in the books that I began to relate things in my daily life to the trials and tribulations of the characters. Were these novels a source of literary excellence? Hell no. But where they entertaining as all get out? Hell yes! And of course, I wanted nothing more than to find a man as perfect as Edward Cullen. What's a little bite on the neck here and there? Things got worse with the debut of the first movie, which I saw five times in theatres. Was it the movie I actually liked, or the ethereal beauty of Rob Pattinson as Edward Cullen. Maybe both? At any rate, I can't stay away from magazines that have even the slightest mention of the Twilight series and I have started a personal vendetta against Kristen Stewart for both her portrayal of Bella and her supposed relationship with Rob. Sick.

3. I recently read every Gossip Girl novel. For those of you who don't keep up with the teen book scene, there are 13 books in the series. I read every.single.one.of.them. I don't know why I feel the need to justify my reading choices but I will do just that in the name of my pride. Before embarking on my 13-GG book rampage, I read two Pulitzer Prize winning novels. Therefore, I felt I was allowed some trashy reading. But who are we kidding? I would have read them anyway; my curiosity always gets the best of me. Like Twilight, these books will win no awards, but they are so full of chaos and scandal that I couldn't put them down. The lives of teenagers as portrayed by movies, TV, and books such as these is amazingly ridiculous and I refuse to believe that today's teens actually behave in such ways (though I'm probably just very naive). In GG's case, combine that ridiculousness with overwhelming amounts of money and you get a veritable freak show. Smoking and drinking from the time they were 15, putting $30,000 on daddy's credit card because you CAN, jetting off without telling parents...whoa. For approximately a week I lived vicariously through all these scenarios, even though I am well outside the target audience of readers. Oh wait...so maybe it's because of books like these that teens get the idea that this kind of behavior is kosher? Ok, cool.



4. I have stuffed animals on my bed. Oh and on some shelves. And there are tons more in the closet that I sometimes feel sorry for and feel as if I should display them somewhere. But wait a second, I'm too old for that. In my defense, three out of five of the animals on my bed are very old and have emotional significance. So...there.

(This is Mr. Bear. Holding to my theory, you can see that I am not very mature.)

Thankfully, I couldn't think of a number 5. I am thankful for this because if I had come up with one, I would have almost considered shipping myself off to a therapist for some psychoanalysis. So for now I will live with my four teen-like symptoms and hope that one day they will calm themselves down.

Bite Me

I am a loyal person. Loyal friend, loyal pet owner, loyal fan. So when New Moon came out on Friday and several people told me that I might find myself leaning toward Team Jacob, I laughed in their faces. Never. Though I do love dogs and CGI werewolves are rather adorable, I am solidly Team Edward. I will say that the movie version of New Moon did make me sympathize more with Jacob because as opposed to in the book, Bella was not so forthright in her purely friendly feelings for him. But let's leave Bella out of this. She's pathetic, whiny, and makes women look like creatures who bend to the every whim of men. Anyway. Some people made the transition to Team Jacob because of his brand spakin' new physique. Yes, it is impressive, but too obviously so. His body screams I-worked-out-24-hours-a-day-every-day-and-ate-too-many-protein-bars-so-I-wouldn't-lose-my-part-to-a-beefier-stud. Edward's body, on the other hand is more understated and says something more along the lines of I-work-out-pretty-regularly-and-maybe-even-did-a-light-round-of-P90X-but-also-eat-the-occasional-hamburger-and-I-can't-help-that-I'm this-pale-because-I'm-a-vampire. I like hamburgers, vampires, and normal looking muscles.

Give me this any day.

No Shame

Have you ever had that feeling while watching a movie or a TV show when you become really embarrassed for one of the characters because of the awkward situation they are in? Even though it's all fake, you can't help but feel really uncomfortable for them. This happens to me a lot, and today it happened again...except this time it was not a fictional character I was embarrassed for. It was myself. I was distractedly watching TV/day dreaming and just started mentally going over moments and situations in my life. Make outs, guys I've dated, embarrassing moments, etc. When I came to some situations, I found myself literally cringing and covering myself with my blanket, as if doing so would erase that moment of ill judgement from my past. I will not specifically mention which memories I was thinking of, but some of you can probably pull from some of my outrageous moments and perhaps guess a few of the ones I might be talking about. There are several. What was I thinking? Why did I do that? How in the world did I feel that that was a good decision? Does that other person feel as awkward as I do? These were some of the questions flashing through my mind as I recounted moments from my past. I finally had to give myself a slight little slap to snap me out of my trip down memory lane. But, embarrassed as I may be about some of the things I've done, I know they make me who I am. And of course, made for good stories at the time that they occurred (and perhaps will continue making for an entertaining tale). No regrets?

More dreams

For lack of better things to write about, I will share another one of my strange dreams.

I am in love with The Beatles. They will never go out of style. I guess it helps that my mom is an older mom and was in high school during their American invasion; therefore, I grew up knowing the words to many of their songs. Also, Aaron and I have been watching The Beatles Anthology and have nearly finished it. So it comes as no surprise that they appeared in a dream of mine a couple of nights ago. Taylor, you will appreciate this.

My parents and I are walking through this park. I don't know where it is, but it's just a typical park. Suddenly we hear "All my Loving" playing. We search for the source of the music and soon come upon a small stage where The Beatles are playing. Mind you this is present day, yet George and John are indeed present and looking just dandy. My mom runs over like a fat kid rushing a large cake. She then proceeds to sit on Ringo's lap. He has always been her favorite. My dad just kind of ambles over; he's a very laid back kind of guy. I am just dumbfounded, and slowly make my way over. Upon arrival to the stage, I tell them what a big fan I am and how delighted I am to meet them. I also let them know that I have recently finished watching all of their Anthology. Of course, I then ask to take a picture with them. And before waking up, I turn to Paul and tell him that he is my favorite.

As usual, I woke up very excited that I met The Beatles. Reality bites.

On another note, last night I dreamed that Aaron and I were somehow mixed up with Tony Soprano and his crowd, and Aaron got arrested for trafficking stolen vehicles. I did not wake up from that dream feeling sad that it was not real.

Embarrassing

Let it be known that I love Texas A&M University and am a proud former student. However, a little bit of that pride dies when I hear about the ignorant, close-minded students that A&M is unfortunately famous for.

President Obama will be giving a talk on community service on campus tomorrow with former President Bush (daddy Bush), and apparently this is just too much for some students (and even former students) to handle. Do they see this as an honor that Texas A&M University was chosen as an institution that encompasses the spirit of community service? No. Instead, they see this as a chance to hold protests and embarrass this fine university in front of the rest of the world. It's crucial to point out, however, that when the latest President Bush spoke at the December 2008 graduation, no one made a sound. How strange. The Young Conservatives of Texas, also known as a filthy stain on the fabric that is A&M organizations, are of course captaining these protests. Do they have the right to disagree with Obama's policies? Of course, it's a free country. But what they cannot see is that they are causing more harm than good. In the end, they are only going to make themselves look like idiots and portray A&M as a classless, close-minded university.

I will admit that when I first entered A&M, I hated how conservative it was and I moped around and felt sorry for my liberal self. Through my four years, however, I saw a marked change in the political atmosphere at A&M. Sure, the majority of students were still conservatives, but the fanatacism wasn't as obvious and everyone had RESPECT for each others' views. I was even pleasantly surprised to see so much support for Obama amidst all the hateful t-shirts worn by McCain supporters during the election. But now I am afraid that this progress is being overshadowed by pure ignorance and disrespect.

Texas A&M is an amazing university, and I owe my happiest memories to it. Conservative, liberal, black, white, everyone respects one another because we are all Aggies. So why not show that respect to our president, regardless of whether or not you voted for him? To have a sitting president visit your university is an HONOR. So come on Aggies, show some class and disprove that conservative/ignorant/close-minded stigma that surrounds us. By giving a bad name to this university, you are only hurting yourselves. And plus, do you really want to be seen on CNN as the crazy college student from Texas who couldn't even muster up enough respect for the leader of our country? Grow up.

Fatty

With ample time on my hands, I felt it was high time I took up some sort of hobby. Sure, I like to read, I enjoy the OCCASIONAL work out, but I have never had any sort of hobby, per say. In fact, I think the only solid hobby I ever really had was my 10 year stint as a dancer. So in an attempt to diversify daily activities, I recently took up baking. I figured, hey, I have an abnormal appreciation for all things sweet, so maybe if I start producing said sweets it would make me want to stop gorging on them. Wishfull thinking. I'm real good at that. As you can imagine, baking has only amplified my love of desserts. Now, I'm just so damn proud of myself for my culinary efforts that I cannot help partaking in my creations (and any other foodstuff with a high sugar content). Before I get too carried away with my new-found baking abilities, I must stress that I don't actually imagine up any of these recipes myself. I use my new strictly dessert cookbooks as well as the most fabulous website I have ever been shown. I have been known to browse this website for hours. That is no exaggeration. I find going through each and every recipe to be rather cathartic. At this moment in my life, I have found that it is the simple things that make me the most happy. If you couldn't tell, I'm trying out this positivity stuff. So while my new hobby has failed to kick my sugar addiction, at least I have something new to add to the daily routine.

Dear Britney

Last night I saw Britney Spears in concert. This is not something I ever really expected to do because I have always had a love/hate relationship with the pop megastar. I idolized her as a little girl when "Baby One More Time" came out. Then I hated her for supposedly getting a boob job at age 18. I was a very righteous kid. Along with NSYNC, I made a habbit of hating her and ridiculing her every chance I got by calling her "Booby Spears." Mature, I know. But amidst all this fervent hatred, I never stopped loving her catchy music. Loathe her as I did, I still bought her CDs with my allowance money. My harsh feelings lessened as I got older, and I started to feel sorry for her more than anything. When she finally went cray cray and shaved her head, the constant barrage of stories about her on Perezhilton became a great source of entertainment. Even though she was way off her rocker, I always hoped she'd make a comeback. So after K Fed, two kids, head shaving, driving listlessly around LA, speaking in British accents at gas stations, Osama, and Adnan, Britney is finally back. She even got her killer body back! Or at least 98% of it. There was a SLIGHT muffin top and a TINY pooch on her lower belly, but it made her look like a real girl who just happens to be in pretty damn good shape. It is my new goal to somehow look like her. In conclusion, congratulations, Ms. Spears, for going from being a hot crazy mess to a more or less normal pop star.

Bucket List

I made a bucket list once when I was about 14. It had things on there such as "be a National Merrit Scholar," "go to an Ivy League university," and "graduate as valedictorian in high school." Oh and we can't forget "be on the Real World." I set very lofty, unrealistic goals for myself as a kid. And I am allowed to say that getting into an ivy is unrealistic because I tried and neither of them wanted me. With this old bucket list in mind, I decided that it is time to make a new one. This one will be a bit more fun loving and most importantly, realistic (90% realistic, we'll say).

Mind you, this will be a constant work in progress.

1. Run through a field of corn.
2. Dance on a table.
3. Sing karaokee by myself. Preferably "Baby One More Time."
4. Get a Masters in some sort of European History.
5. Sky dive.
6. Ski the Swiss Alps.
7. Snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef.
8. Bicycle through the French countryside.
9. Bake a six layer cake.
10. Drive down the PCH in a convertible.
11.Visit the places in my my book, 100 Great Wonders of the World.
12. Take ransom pictures of a lawn gnome.
13. Get married outside, near the ocean.
14. Run with the bulls.
15. Be in Times Square for New Year's Eve.
16. Live in New York City.
17. Live abroad for a period of time. I'm thinking London would be perfect.
18. See the Titanic. As in taking the tiny submarine all the way down to the bottom of the Atlantic.
19. Go to a movie premier.
20. Wear a loaned piece of jewelry from Harry Winston.
21. Buy Christian Louboutin pumps.
22. Own a Birkin bag.
23. Learn French.
24. Live in a house with Spanish roof tiles...or one with huge white columns.
25. Meet someone fabulously famous.
26. Paint a picture.
27. Learn to sing at least one song really well.
28. Be a Fish Camp Namesake.
29. See a castle.
30. Furnish my own apartment.

I think 30 is a solid number for now. I'll probably make random posts as I think of new things. There are just so many things I want to see, do, hear, and feel. Life's too short.

"We don't need no education"-Pink Floyd

Alright, time to get a little political. I am not going to spout my views or bleed liberally all over the blog, but I'd like to give my input on an upcoming event.
On September 8, President Obama is going to give a special address to the students of our nation to emphasize the importance of education, staying in school, and why it's all important to our country. Liberal or conservative, this doesn't sound like a bad idea to me. Which country has one of the worst education systems in the world? That would be us. So yeah, I think our leader talking straight to the kids is a pretty effective idea.
Now, I know people like to get riled up about pretty much anything a sitting president does, but this is the one event I was sure everyone could agree on. I was wrong. Parents across the nation are OUTRAGED that the president is going to speak directly to their children. They claim it is his way of "brainwashing" the youth of America. I'm sorry, but since when is the leader of the free world telling its FUTURE leaders to keep their butts in school a bad thing?? The chairman of the Republican Party of Florida rants that this "obligates the youngest children in our public school system to agree with our President's initiatives." Well, I damn well hope that one of our president's initiatives is to emphasize the importance of education. It's not like he's addressing the kids to talk to them about gun control, a woman's right to choose, or new healthcare initiatives. It's EDUCATION. It's something they're familiar with because they go to school every day. This is not rocket science. This is not controversial. This is our main authority figure taking the time to speak to kids as citizens of this country to let them know that getting their education and doing well in school is just the beginning of endless opportunities.
Despite all this, some schools are refusing to let their students watch the address, partly due to the fact that there are certain discussion questions that go along with it that some feel do too much to "glorify" the president. You know, they're right. Questions such as "What resonated with you from President Obama's speech" are clearly trying to brainwash all children to become bleeding liberals who worship Obama. My mistake.
In short, I really think the American people should stop wasting their time getting upset about trivial things like this that are meant to FURTHER our country. If you want to get angry, ponder our economic crisis, the lack of fair healthcare, and when all that social security money is going to run out.

RPatz

I was told today that I should do blogs about my dreams. Before you groan, hear me out. My dreams are vivid, and I usually remember them really well the next morning. They are also, almost always, really strange or random. And I find myself at a loss for other things to write about on here. So I present you with last night's dream.

As many may know, I am obsessed with Robert Pattinson AKA Edward Cullen in Twilight. He is British and handsome, even if he doesn't wash his hair. I have loved him since he portrayed Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He was the star of my dream last night. Somehow, we met and we end up making out. He has fallen madly in love with me and wants nothing more than to be with me. I, however, point out that I have a boyfriend and turn him down (even though it was a dream, I do feel rather bad for making out with him). He becomes rather angsty and says that if I can't be with him, will I at least be his friend and seldom leave his side. He points out that it will be too painful for him to have no contact with me after so soon being turned down and because of his strong feelings. I agree to his mopey British request. The dream ends with me apologizing for the posters of him hanging on my wall; I tell him that I hope it doesn't make him feel too awkward. He assures me it doesn't, and we sit and talk as friends.

All in all, a good dream. I feel the fact that I turned down my number one celebrity crush, even though it was a dream and I could have married him and had 50 babies, is significant. I pointed this out to the boyfriend, and assured him that I would take the same course should this situation arise in real life.

See what I mean about my dreams?

Fantasy

I have an ability to day dream to the point where I get so wrapped up in all of it that I actually forget what is real and what is not. This is both awesome yet terrible/heartbreaking. With lack of better things to do, I have been rewatching Sex and the City for the millionth time. Since I'm on the last episode of the series, this has led to my newest day dream about living a fabulous life in Paris in which I eat magnificent foods while never gaining weight, shop for couture while never running out of money, and see beautiful things every day. All of this is minus an arrogant, older Russian boyfriend (we all know I prefer the younger set). But seriously, I could get used to being able to see this every night...

Revelations

Whilst partaking in the life of an unemployed person, I got THISCLOSE to actually thinking I could get used to this particular lifestyle. Laying around all day if I felt like it, sleeping at random hours of the day, etc. However, today I reached my breaking point. I spent the entire day, and I do mean entire, in my bedroom trying to get rid of things and conjoin my College Station belongings with the neverending source of crap that is my childhood room. Claustrophobia set in, and out flew the thought that maybe one day I actually wouldn't mind staying at home with a kid. Eew. So while not really having much to do can be quite nice at times, I find that it is necessary to get out of the house and do something structured. However, I know that once I do find a job (whenever that may be) I will be longing for my days of nothingness. So the question is, what job combines the two? If I can find that perfect balance, I would be the happiest girl alive.

An open letter

Dear Jonas Brothers,

Why is it, that in this world of so many talented musical artists, you three brothers are an international sensation? I cannot read my beloved Perezhilton.com without seeing at least 3 posts about your daily activities. At this moment, I am sick of seeing videos of how brother Joe started bawling during a recent concert due to Camilla Belle breaking up with him, while pubescent girls squealed in the background. Ah, therein lies the answer to your popularity: young girls with questionable taste in both guys and music. Why do they adore you? Because you're Disney wholesome? Because you claim to be saving it for marriage (Britney Spears did the same thing, and we all know she lied about it)? Because you love your mom? Because your songs are full of dribble? Because you're good looking? I'm sorry, but that simply cannot be it, as all of you look like women. So I guess this question of where your international superstardom stems from will continue to be one that perplexes me for all time. In the mean time, I hope your hearing stays in tact from all the high pitched screams that follow you wherever you go. Don't worry, it will only last as long as your 15 minutes of fame.

Sincerely,
Alex


Addendum: I admittedly was a teenybopper back in the day, worshiping everything Backstreet Boys related. But at least only one of them looked like a woman.