I haven't seen my family in 189 days (who's counting), so what's one more, eh?
My flight, which was supposed to leave yesterday, was canceled. Wasn't I just speculating about airport catastrophes? Haha. In any case, It wasn't Utah that screwed up this time - from what the airline told me, the runway at PDX is basically a skating rink right now. Ice makes it hard to land planes.
So the new plan is that I come home tomorrow. All of my climactic countdown-ing was for nay. If all goes well I'll arrive in Portland at 4:04 pm.
Although I am really sad to not be home already, here are the consolation prizes:
1) My amazing boyfriend, Scott, postponed his trip home to stay with me while I'm stranded. When I first found out my flight was canceled, I was borderline distraught (I'm not going to lie, I had a little cry, too), but he was over in minutes to give me a hug and cheer me up. He spent most of yesterday and today hanging out with me, even though I was being totally boring doing homework and cleaning, rather than going home himself.
2) My roommate, Hailey, also leaves tomorrow, so I'm not alone in the apartment. Also, this is really the last chance I have to spend time with her. Once she leaves, I probably won't see her for a few years, so it's nice to have a couple more days with her. We've been watching movies and bonding and being ridiculous.
3) It's probably better I didn't fly Saturday. The weather sounded pretty treacherous. In fact, I had just said a prayer, praying for a safe trip home, and literally minutes later I found out my flight was canceled. I'm not going to complain if God's lookin' out for me.
4) I'll still get home in time for Tia's Christmas party, so, as long as we're not all snowed into our houses, I'll get to see all of my high school friends!
5) My sister is picking me up from the airport (something she might not have been able to do if I'd come in Saturday), and we'll have a chance to hang out one-on-one.
So basically, my morale = good.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Let it snow
NINE DAYS UNTIL I GO HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!
Unfortunately, that means I have only a couple of days until finals week. *shudder*
On a more serious note, when I flew home for Christmas last year, I was stuck on the tarmac for a good two hours or more due to weather conditions. My plane was de-iced twice. Then we had to wait until the runway was sufficiently salted. Last winter was pretty brutal as far as snow went - we were bombarded with it as early as September, and there was a good six inches of snow *still* on the ground when I left for summer break at the end of April.
I know, Canada and Siberia, I know, I shouldn't complain. Screw you.
My point is that for the last three days, the temperature has been averaging between 25-35 degrees Fahrenheit. Snow may very well be imminent. I hope I don't get snowed in at the airport. That would be super-mondo-sad face. Listening to the same 12 Mannheim Steamroller Christmas songs on a loop, rueing the fact that SLC doesn't have free wifi, eating all of my meals at Sbarro, Manchu Wok, or Starbucks (oh, and 'On-the-fly Urban Market', of course), and playing all of those dumb sociology mind-games you're supposed to play with strangers (sitting right next to them even if there's lots of open seats around, doing odd things in elevators, etc.).
In any case, I'm really excited to go home - impending airport disasters or no. The only sad thing is that my roommate is going back to Australia after this semester, so basically won't ever see her again! I don't tend to make it to Australia very often.
Merry Christmas!
Unfortunately, that means I have only a couple of days until finals week. *shudder*
On a more serious note, when I flew home for Christmas last year, I was stuck on the tarmac for a good two hours or more due to weather conditions. My plane was de-iced twice. Then we had to wait until the runway was sufficiently salted. Last winter was pretty brutal as far as snow went - we were bombarded with it as early as September, and there was a good six inches of snow *still* on the ground when I left for summer break at the end of April.
I know, Canada and Siberia, I know, I shouldn't complain. Screw you.
My point is that for the last three days, the temperature has been averaging between 25-35 degrees Fahrenheit. Snow may very well be imminent. I hope I don't get snowed in at the airport. That would be super-mondo-sad face. Listening to the same 12 Mannheim Steamroller Christmas songs on a loop, rueing the fact that SLC doesn't have free wifi, eating all of my meals at Sbarro, Manchu Wok, or Starbucks (oh, and 'On-the-fly Urban Market', of course), and playing all of those dumb sociology mind-games you're supposed to play with strangers (sitting right next to them even if there's lots of open seats around, doing odd things in elevators, etc.).
In any case, I'm really excited to go home - impending airport disasters or no. The only sad thing is that my roommate is going back to Australia after this semester, so basically won't ever see her again! I don't tend to make it to Australia very often.
Merry Christmas!
Friday, November 21, 2008
Twilight at Midnight
TWILIGHT.
I have to say, the Twilight movie was amazing. Quite well-done, and very well-adapted. I think we can all agree that certain movies, aka Harry Potter, were crap at following the books, but Twilight accomplished it most excellently.
I honestly was preparing myself for pure cheese covered in corn, and - I kid you not - I thought Edward was literally going to be covered in glitter due to low budget issues, but... it was fantastic! The casting was perfect. I wouldn't have changed hardly anything, with the exception of Jacob Black's wig (HEINOUS! I was more scared of that wig than I was of James).
For your amusement, here is the breakdown of the audience - roughly:
Total seats in theater: 1,960
Number of empty seats: 0
Percent who were female: 92% (I was surprised at how many guys there were, actually.)
Percent wearing twilight t-shirts: at least 40%
Number of capes seen: 2 (one was red and sparkly, though, so that counts as extra)
Average age: 12-16 yrs.
Number of morbidly obese people seen: 14 or so
Number of people who went strait to IHOP after the movie: 44
Number of times we had to listen to David Archuleta's Crush while waiting for the movie to start: 19.
Granted, we were in our seats for about 3 1/2 hours before the movie started, but still, that means Crush was played about 5 times an hour.
Oh, just some other quick facts.
Numbers aren't concrete yet, but last night, in midnight showings alone, Twilight is reported to have made "north of $7 million." It's predicted that it'll hit $60 million over the weekend. (Dateline Hollywood)
Wednesday Morning, the day before the movie came out, 2,000 midnight showings were sold out across the country.
As of Friday morning, Fandango was selling 5 Twilight tickets per second.
Twilight took #3 for most advanced tickets sold on Fandango. It beat out Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Lord of the Rings. #1 and #2 are Star Wars III and Dark Knight, respectively.
34% of polled moviegoers said they took time out of school or work to see Twilight.
If Twilight made $7 million just on midnight showings last night, it's well on track to make bank. At the West Jordan, UT theater alone (where I saw the movie), there were 7 showings last night. Only three of these were midnight screens (12:01, 12:02, and 12:03). The others were in increments of 15 minutes after that but they still looked like full showings.
Basically, I LOVED the movie. I was very much pleasantly surprised, and I have very few complaints. Catherine Hardwicke did a fantastic job, the actors were phenomenal, and I am still jumping up and down like a little girl.
YAY TWILIGHT.
I have to say, the Twilight movie was amazing. Quite well-done, and very well-adapted. I think we can all agree that certain movies, aka Harry Potter, were crap at following the books, but Twilight accomplished it most excellently.
I honestly was preparing myself for pure cheese covered in corn, and - I kid you not - I thought Edward was literally going to be covered in glitter due to low budget issues, but... it was fantastic! The casting was perfect. I wouldn't have changed hardly anything, with the exception of Jacob Black's wig (HEINOUS! I was more scared of that wig than I was of James).
For your amusement, here is the breakdown of the audience - roughly:
Total seats in theater: 1,960
Number of empty seats: 0
Percent who were female: 92% (I was surprised at how many guys there were, actually.)
Percent wearing twilight t-shirts: at least 40%
Number of capes seen: 2 (one was red and sparkly, though, so that counts as extra)
Average age: 12-16 yrs.
Number of morbidly obese people seen: 14 or so
Number of people who went strait to IHOP after the movie: 44
Number of times we had to listen to David Archuleta's Crush while waiting for the movie to start: 19.
Granted, we were in our seats for about 3 1/2 hours before the movie started, but still, that means Crush was played about 5 times an hour.
Oh, just some other quick facts.
Numbers aren't concrete yet, but last night, in midnight showings alone, Twilight is reported to have made "north of $7 million." It's predicted that it'll hit $60 million over the weekend. (Dateline Hollywood)
Wednesday Morning, the day before the movie came out, 2,000 midnight showings were sold out across the country.
As of Friday morning, Fandango was selling 5 Twilight tickets per second.
Twilight took #3 for most advanced tickets sold on Fandango. It beat out Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Lord of the Rings. #1 and #2 are Star Wars III and Dark Knight, respectively.
34% of polled moviegoers said they took time out of school or work to see Twilight.
If Twilight made $7 million just on midnight showings last night, it's well on track to make bank. At the West Jordan, UT theater alone (where I saw the movie), there were 7 showings last night. Only three of these were midnight screens (12:01, 12:02, and 12:03). The others were in increments of 15 minutes after that but they still looked like full showings.
Basically, I LOVED the movie. I was very much pleasantly surprised, and I have very few complaints. Catherine Hardwicke did a fantastic job, the actors were phenomenal, and I am still jumping up and down like a little girl.
YAY TWILIGHT.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
I'm not even ashamed.
So the movie 'Twilight' comes out tonight at midnight. I'm not going to lie - I'm going. Three hours early. In costume. Not only that, but all 6 showings in town were sold out, as were the theaters in American Fork, Orem, Springville, and Payson. So... just to make my day that much more fangirly, I'm driving an hour up to West Jordan, just to see Twilight.
That's right, I'm a Twilight fan (or Twilighter, Twi-hard, fanpire, whatever classification your prefer. My personal favourite is 'Cullenist'). Honestly, it's not something I generally broadcast. One of those guilty pleasure things. Like my love of Gwen Stefani.
That's right, I'm a Twilight fan (or Twilighter, Twi-hard, fanpire, whatever classification your prefer. My personal favourite is 'Cullenist'). Honestly, it's not something I generally broadcast. One of those guilty pleasure things. Like my love of Gwen Stefani.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Barstool Economics
This is a really cool analogy (originally posted by my brother) that I thought cleared up a lot of confusion about how proportional taxes work. It comes from a book by David R. Kamerschen.
"For anyone who doesn't get how unfair our tax system is, here's an awesome analogy. For those of you who do get it, it's just an awesome read!
Bar Stool Economics by David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers, he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.
'I only got a dollar out of the $20,'declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10!'
'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!'
'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'
'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible."
It's no wonder that America's wealthy want to take their money overseas. If we keep beating them up, pretty soon they're going to jump ship and we'll finally realized, "Crap, they were paying most of the tab, weren't they?"
I'm for a flat tax, personally.
"For anyone who doesn't get how unfair our tax system is, here's an awesome analogy. For those of you who do get it, it's just an awesome read!
Bar Stool Economics by David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers, he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.
'I only got a dollar out of the $20,'declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10!'
'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!'
'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'
'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible."
It's no wonder that America's wealthy want to take their money overseas. If we keep beating them up, pretty soon they're going to jump ship and we'll finally realized, "Crap, they were paying most of the tab, weren't they?"
I'm for a flat tax, personally.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
I FORGOT ABOUT THIS!
I used to watch this 14 times a day and LAUGH EVERY TIME. How on earth did I forget about this? It's pure gold!
EL OH EL.
EL OH EL.
NaNoWriMo
November is National Novel Writing Month. It is a beautiful thing, and anyone who has a creative cell in their brain should try it just for fun!
NaNoWriMo home page
The gist is this: in the month of November, you write a novel. Yup, you have 30 days to write 50,000 words. It's exhaustingly exhilarating. I think I've only ever finished once, but it's good fun, even if you don't make it to the end. And when you do make it to the end, it's like you've just invented a time machine and all of your dreams are about to come true. That's how good it feels.
Every year around this time, I start to get that same feeling - the jittery, slightly nauseous feeling of anticipation, and the back of my mind is occupied with the knowledge that NaNoWriMo starts in less than a month. I get an adrenaline rush just thinking about it.
NaNoWriMo home page
The gist is this: in the month of November, you write a novel. Yup, you have 30 days to write 50,000 words. It's exhaustingly exhilarating. I think I've only ever finished once, but it's good fun, even if you don't make it to the end. And when you do make it to the end, it's like you've just invented a time machine and all of your dreams are about to come true. That's how good it feels.
Every year around this time, I start to get that same feeling - the jittery, slightly nauseous feeling of anticipation, and the back of my mind is occupied with the knowledge that NaNoWriMo starts in less than a month. I get an adrenaline rush just thinking about it.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Halloween!
In short, I love it. I am going as Sherlock Holmes this year, my awesome roommate is going as Watson, and I'm currently planning the most epic Halloween party. I need to decide which scary movies to watch, but apart from that I'm also doing bobbing for apples (yes!), eating doughnuts off a string, maybe frosting cookies, dunno. The party is definitely going to spill onto the quad, though, because I don't have a lot of room in my apartment. I figure the messy/wet stuff should go outside anyway.
And, of course, like any good Provo bash, I'm going to have a Mocktail bar! I'm going out today to get a bunch of mixes so I can practice my bar tending skills. Margaritas and daiquiris are always easy to do virgin, and sparkling cider is always good for 'champagne', but what the heck do you do to a martini to make it virgin? It IS the alcohol. I figure maybe some fruit juice/extract and sprite, and hang a piece of fruit on the side. And then I'll have some sort of pumpkin cocktail, just to be seasonal. I already got a ridiculous amount of cocktail glasses (courtesy of DI. What would I do without thriftstores?)
Aaaannnddd.... that's my life.
And, of course, like any good Provo bash, I'm going to have a Mocktail bar! I'm going out today to get a bunch of mixes so I can practice my bar tending skills. Margaritas and daiquiris are always easy to do virgin, and sparkling cider is always good for 'champagne', but what the heck do you do to a martini to make it virgin? It IS the alcohol. I figure maybe some fruit juice/extract and sprite, and hang a piece of fruit on the side. And then I'll have some sort of pumpkin cocktail, just to be seasonal. I already got a ridiculous amount of cocktail glasses (courtesy of DI. What would I do without thriftstores?)Aaaannnddd.... that's my life.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Kristin weighs in on the big issues
This *ahem* press release comes courtesy of my roommate, Hailey. After the House of Reps turned down the bailout bill, we basically vented our spleens at each other. Apparently she managed to glean some quote-worthy material from my rant, because she wrote the following summary of our conversation, and emailed it to her mum:
'Kristin weighs in on the big issues'
By Hailey Oates
since we got wind of the news that the government turned down plans to bail out america in its massive economic crisis, kristin my room mate has uttered many pearlers in her rage at the house or representatives.
here are my favourites, for your amusement:
When I told Kristin that many of the Republican leaders who voted 'no' to the bailout plan because they were worried it would be an act of political suicide in light of the fact that their constituents effectively bullied them because they opposed the bill, Kristin said, "oh, let me cuddle your feelings... FIX MY ECONOMY!!"
Apparently Barack Obama was so sure (as was everyone else!!!!) that the bailout plan would be passed by the house of reps that he only wrote a speech talking about how "today, democrats and republicans in washington have agreed on an emergency rescue plan that is our best and only way to prevent an economic catastrophe"... he didnt even have a backup speech he was that sure the bill would be passed. so, kristin helped by amending the speech herself. it went as follows... "today in congress, we crapped ALL over ourselves. THREW it at the wall. and voted no." (this one's my personal favourite, hope you're laughing really hard... at least she didnt say 'fart', you hate that word)
further declarations of distress fom Kristin:
"cry me a very expensive river, congress!"
"can we just move to Canada?"
hope you enjoyed.
lovely garden photos.
Love Hailey
And there you have it: my thoughts on the recent economic crisis.
High five, Dow Jones!
Punch to the face, House of Reps!
'Kristin weighs in on the big issues'
By Hailey Oates
since we got wind of the news that the government turned down plans to bail out america in its massive economic crisis, kristin my room mate has uttered many pearlers in her rage at the house or representatives.
here are my favourites, for your amusement:
When I told Kristin that many of the Republican leaders who voted 'no' to the bailout plan because they were worried it would be an act of political suicide in light of the fact that their constituents effectively bullied them because they opposed the bill, Kristin said, "oh, let me cuddle your feelings... FIX MY ECONOMY!!"
Apparently Barack Obama was so sure (as was everyone else!!!!) that the bailout plan would be passed by the house of reps that he only wrote a speech talking about how "today, democrats and republicans in washington have agreed on an emergency rescue plan that is our best and only way to prevent an economic catastrophe"... he didnt even have a backup speech he was that sure the bill would be passed. so, kristin helped by amending the speech herself. it went as follows... "today in congress, we crapped ALL over ourselves. THREW it at the wall. and voted no." (this one's my personal favourite, hope you're laughing really hard... at least she didnt say 'fart', you hate that word)
further declarations of distress fom Kristin:
"cry me a very expensive river, congress!"
"can we just move to Canada?"
hope you enjoyed.
lovely garden photos.
Love Hailey
And there you have it: my thoughts on the recent economic crisis.
High five, Dow Jones!
Punch to the face, House of Reps!
Hammock-Land
Say there was this massively long hammock, that went from Ireland to Puerto Rico, and people could just hop on from one end to the other, and hang out in the trans-Atlantic hammock? Peoples of the world would be united by good times, plus it would be a cool way to travel. Hop in at the Irish coast, sort of slide to the middle, and then climb the rest of the way, get out, and take a little vacation in the Caribbean!
What if there were people who stayed in the hammock forever? Just chillin' in the middle, selling souvenirs to people who were coming and going. And then what if those people met other people, and fell in love and got married and started a family, right there in the hammock? What if the population grew, and they formed a system of government, and the UN recognized them as their own country: Hammock-Land?
I'll tell you what would happen: Happily ever after, that's what.
What if there were people who stayed in the hammock forever? Just chillin' in the middle, selling souvenirs to people who were coming and going. And then what if those people met other people, and fell in love and got married and started a family, right there in the hammock? What if the population grew, and they formed a system of government, and the UN recognized them as their own country: Hammock-Land?
I'll tell you what would happen: Happily ever after, that's what.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
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