good decision friday

This past Friday night started with getting off work early. Nice. We decided to attend the matinee of The Fighter in order to avoid the Friday night movie crowd. A random person handed us a popcorn bowl on their way out, you know the one you get unlimited refills with? Maybe it's gross to you, but free popcorn is free popcorn. The Fighter was definitely one of the top movies I've seen this year, and may end up being one of my favorite sports movies. The actors were incredible at really inhabiting their characters, and I appreciated the director's efforts to really portray the community without any glisten or glamour... at all. Overall the film came across as very real and I loved it!!

Afterwards we walked around Temple Square to see all the beautiful Christmas lights. We followed the advice of our native Salt Lake friends and went to Blue Lemon on the south side of Temple Square and really loved it! We spent a while there talking and reminiscing on good friends and good memories. Life never seems to work out the way we expect it to, but I am grateful for the lessons and the people I've met along the way.

the king

I was excited to see this man in town a couple weeks ago:

But I was a little more excited to see this beautiful man:

Jazz games are so exciting, and this one was no exception. We heard on the radio that the game wasn't sold out so they were selling pretty good seats at half price, so we ran over to the box office to see the Jazz take on the Miami Heat.

I really want to see the Lakers and Spurs in 2011 as well!

frosty

At one point in my life I thought snow was a magical powdery substance that brought nothing to one's life but pure bliss. I watched all the Christmas movies where the kids rolled around making snow angels and having spectacular snowball fights. I was able to sustain this fantasy up until high school during a family trip up north in the winter, specifically a day at Pike's Peak. Yes, we had fun sledding and playing in the snow, but then I started to notice massive amounts of snow creeping up my sleeves and down my pants, and it did not stay in its powder form. It melted. Rapidly. My thighs started to tingle, a little at first and then painfully for the rest of the excursion. Not only that, but I was wearing some hideous version of boots that were supposed to keep my feet warm and dry, but all I could think about was how atrocious they were, and hoping I didn't run into some gorgeous rugged park ranger when my feet looked like Jane Goodall.

My relationship with the snow has not improved, perhaps because I am clueless about what to do with it. Our very first snowfall, Matt and I were walking to my car and he said, "Isn't it beautiful?!" only to look over and see me crying somewhat uncontrollably. To be fair, the tears were mostly due to a little bit of homesickness triggered by the alien precipitation.

The first day I had a significant amount of snow on my windows, I got in the car and thought, "Well, in Texas when it's foggy I just roll down my windows to get the fog off." Once again in my defense, it was early in the morning and I probably wasn't thinking very clearly. It didn't occur to me that when I rolled down the windows, all the snow would come inside my car, some of it on me. Lesson learned, snow.

No one ever told me to not use my emergency brake when temperatures are below freezing. Well, I guess someone at some point did in fact tell me, because I'm sure the idea didn't come out of nowhere when I was trying to figure out why my emergency brake light wouldn't turn off. Using the emergency brake was a basic part of learning to drive, so this new lesson included a sticky note pasted onto my emergency brake saying, "No!"

I keep intending to take a picture after a fresh snowfall, but every time I walk outside in the morning and my car is covered by a few inches of deceivingly beautiful powder, all I do is curse silently and get out my ice scraper.

vocals

Can't. Stop. Listening.

after all, tomorrow is another day

It is no secret that Gone with the Wind is my favorite movie... and book. When I was a little girl I loved watching it to see all the beautiful antebellum dresses. When I was around twelve years old my parents gave me the book for Christmas, and I quite literally wore the copy out.

I've always believed a line from Gone with the Wind can be applied to every day, and most situations.

Boy problems?

"Why does a girl have to be so silly to catch a husband?"

Feeling a little off?

"... you need kissing, badly. That's what's wrong with you. You should be kissed, and often. And by someone who knows how."

I have used a few lines from the last scene of the book for a couple of break ups -- but not the line you're thinking of.

The book came through for me again yesterday when my Trojans ended an eight year winning streak to Notre Dame.

"The Irish are the damnedest race." -- Rhett Butler

And I'm back to feeling better. Thank you, GWTW.

currently missing...

this.

canola oil + salt get rid of bubbles caused by your roommate thinking dish soap will work just as well as dish detergent.

this.

yorba linda and new friendships.

this.

USC and best friends.

and this.

apartment parties and the best roommates ever.
and the headbead I lost the next day in Wamsley's car.

ain't nothin' else like L.A.

Extremely belated, but this deserves a post! My old roommate from junior year, Gilda, got married in L.A. the last weekend in August and I was so excited to drive out for the long-awaited event! Gilda lived with us in Tuscany my junior year when we lived in the three bedroom apartment. Six girls. Well, we usually had many more people spending the night after hanging out or studying. Our apartment was often hectic, but always fun. After one of our apartment parties, Gilda left with a boy named Jacob and one of his friends. She had met them in New York on a Chabad trip, and we were all a little nervous about her leaving with the two of them because we didn't know them. Little did we know what was in store! We loved having Jacob around the rest of the year. He treats Gilda like royalty and was always so nice to us as well. On more than one occasion, Gilda and Jacob came home and dropped off sushi in the study room for the rest of us. My first experience with Jacob was when Gilda said in passing that she felt like ice cream, so Jacob went out and bought us some. We are easily won over. Basically, we love Jacob, and it was neat for us to be there from the beginning.

Anyway, this was my first time to drive myself from Utah to L.A. Jamie came with me, but I drove the whole way! It wasn't too bad of a drive, I was tired but the trip is definitely doable. The trick is getting a couple days off work in order to make the trip completely worth it. :)
After dropping Jamie off at USC, I drove to Jen's house where I was so happy to be greeted by Jen and Jasmine. Natalie came over to see me for a little while as well. I missed them so much, I felt so happy and at home. I drove down on Friday, so I made in time for Shabbat dinner at Jen's house and then we went over to Jasmine's for dessert. The next day I hung out with all the roommates from Tuscany except for Gilda, of course, who was prepping for her big day on Sunday. We all went out for lunch at Urth Cafe and then I went with Sanam and Natalie to get our nails done. That night I met up with a couple friends from the softball team on campus. It was great to see the new student center, even though I am jealous of all the freshmen who get to enjoy it all four years. I parked on the Tuscany side of campus so I could have my normal walk to campus, past Doheny Library and Tommy Trojan. It was bittersweet. It reminded me of President Sample's speech at graduation when he said, "This will always be your home."

The next day was THE WEDDING! We got a room at the hotel where the wedding took place, so we were all able to get ready there together, which was fun. This was my first Persian Jewish wedding, and it was such a neat experience! I loved seeing a lot of old friends during the appetizers, but we were so excited for the ceremony to see Gilda!! She looked absolutely stunning, and when she reached the middle of the aisle and embraced her mom I think everyone teared up.
Of course, the rest of the night included amazing food, and lots and lots of dancing. My favorite part was when everyone gathered around the bride and groom and threw rose petals on them multiple times during a song. I'm sure the tradition has a name, but I'm only a sefid. ;)

honk + wave

I was warned about the bad driving in Utah, but I had no idea they weren't exaggerating. I can always feel my blood pressure rise as soon as I get onto I-15. Just thinking about it gets me worked up. Only in Utah is it okay to take up two lanes at any given time. Only in Utah can you decide to go straight from a turn only lane, stopping everyone behind you at the green "turn only" light while you wait for the other light (which has two lanes, and no one else in them) to turn green. Oh, and you're blocking the turn lane to get onto the highway. Utah driving can best be defined as finding yourself in a high school parking lot, where everyone does exactly what they want to do. I could rant about it forever, but I'll share a couple of my favorite stories since I've been here:

1. Driving down Center Street in Provo, someone backed out of a parking spot taking up both lanes, and just sat there talking to someone on the sidewalk. Did I mention the high school parking lot?
2. While cruising over a hill going about 50 mph, the light ahead of me turned green, and my lane was empty. Just because they wanted to, someone cut me off in the middle of the intersection going FIVE miles per hour. This made me want to do more than just honk and wave (currently listening to Limbeck's "Honk + Wave" in case you couldn't tell).
   
3. Of course, the greatest example of Utah traffic. By the way, I still can't accept enough people live here for there to even be any traffic. Getting onto the highway, before I even got to the very first exit, there were FOUR accidents, two on each side of the road, involving a total of fourteen cars. Honestly, people.
   

Also, I've had two rock chips in the last three days. So not only do I need to watch out for crazies, but I also need to avoid flying rocks.

well said, well played

Quote of the week:

Lost Angeles on Stanford becoming our new rival...

"Just to clarify, a school that rushes the field at home when they are favored will never be our rival. You are just nerds we hire to do things for us (most recently to set up my media server in my mountain chateau in Aspen)."

Also, long live the weekender. Well played, USC. Well played.

i couldn't help but fall in love again

Hilary returned to Utah to start her second year at BYU not long after I flew back to Utah as well. A couple days after she got here we were excited to see She & Him at Pioneer Park in Salt Lake City.I love M. Ward. I enjoyed the concert, but I preferred seeing her a couple years ago in L.A. at the Wiltern. After seeing Ben Folds, She & Him, Fun., and Mates of State at outdoor concerts this summer, I decided I prefer smaller indoor venues a lot more. I saw Shake Russell with my mom at the Student Union on UT's campus and loved him, as usual.
Anyway, the next day I drove to L.A., which I will post about mañana.

a texas summer

Bear with me while I try to do updates as quickly as possible.
I was planning all summer to make a brief trip out to Texas, mostly because my cousin Kyle was getting married in Dallas in July. When I tried to book my flight, I realized the week before his wedding was the same week as Girl's Camp in my home stake, and my mom and sister would be away. They would never forgive me if I came home and only saw them for a weekend. So I extended my trip to two weeks. I called my mom to ask if that would be too long of a trip, and she said if I stayed one more week, I would be in town for their annual reunion with their college friends from UT. Long story short, I ended up going to Texas for three weeks.
Due to girl's camp, my mom and Hannah weren't able to come up to Dallas for the wedding until the day of, so I made the trip with Hilary and Trenton the day before, leaving Dad to come up with Mom and Hannah. We were able to make it for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, and stayed the night with Kyle at his and Lindsay's new house. It was so fun to stay up talking and laughing with him. Kyle has always been great at being a big brother figure for me, and I am always grateful for his advice and support in whatever life brings.We chauffeured Kyle around the morning of the wedding, here he is so excited for the day to begin!

The wedding was absolutely gorgeous, and we all had so much fun at the reception! My dad comes from a very large family (he is one of 12 kids!), so it was fun to see everyone that was there. Lindsay's family is from the Czech Republic, and they had a really fun and interesting traditional dance at the beginning of the reception -- much more exciting than a receiving line! I only took a couple pictures, but I guess that tells you how much fun we all had dancing -- literally until about 1:30 in the morning. We all love Lindsay and are so happy to have her in our family, and happy that Kyle found someone so perfect for him.One of my favorite pictures of the night: my dad in the middle of all the girls, dancing to Ke$ha.
I was honored to do a reading from Ephesians at their wedding. :)GORGEOUS couple. They're my favorites.

Anyway, so that was a highlight of the Texas trip. I spent the rest of the time hanging out by the pool, being with my family, trying new recipes with Mom, seeing my favorite people, and going to Chuy's (obviously). My family and I went to the Zilker Hillside Musical, an Austin summer tradition. We cooled down beforehand in Barton Springs and watched "Annie" at the Zilker Park outdoor theatre. Have I mentioned that I love Austin?
My very last night was one of my favorite nights, because my friend Julie Fisher came over for dinner and we played Rock Band with my sisters. Julie is the best, I could not stop laughing during some of the songs. We met in middle school and became best friends through softball. In middle school she pitched and I caught for her. It still makes me smile to think of the cheers and signs we made up together during our many sleepovers. Once we spent the day at the lake on her family's boat and kind of lost track of time so we had to rush back for a game at Balcones. We were both so sunburned and in pain because Julie had to pitch and I had to catch with the shin guards rubbing against my burnt legs -- not comfortable at all. However, my mom was our coach so we didn't dare complain. Sorry, I don't know when this turned into a post about Julie, but she is the best and I love her and really look up to her. Here we are earlier during my trip at our favorite place, CHUY'S.

One of the WB girls and one of my best friends, Laura, drove all the way up from Houston my last week in town so we could have a traditional WB sleepover at Julie's with Lauren that included an obligatory trip to Sonic and talking all night. However, we didn't take any pictures. I say this all the time, but they are the perfect example of true friendship in my life. I love them.
All in all, I had a wonderful time deep in the heart of Texas. Going home always helps me to get re-centered and refocused. I am so lucky to have all of these wonderful people in my life.

anar: the only food item i remember how to say in farsi

I miss college Thursdays. I miss my weekend starting on Thursday, whether you wanted it to or not. Half of your friends didn't have class the next day, and if (like me) you were the unfortunate math or science major who always had Friday classes, you either went to the later class time or stumbled over the guests from the night before sprawled out on couches and air mattresses in your apartment early the next morning. Some may have had to work on Fridays, but that didn't matter if you were like me and worked at a lab with a couple frat boys who loved to give you advice on the boys in your life, analyze each other's text messages (be stingy with your winky texts, those are special), and video chat with one of their Egyptian moms. I went out more on Thursdays than I did on Fridays and Saturdays, but the fact that all of my roommates were Jewish probably plays a part in that as well. We didn't always have to go out, though. I miss just ordering sushi, or cuddling up on the couch with my favorites, eating anar and watching When Harry Met Sally or 500 Days of Summer. That one extra night made the weekend infinitely longer.
So, college was fun.
In a few hours, I will be on a plane watching Gone with the Wind until I touch down in my second favorite city, San Francisco. It's the Weekender, and I'm bringing College Thursdays back into my life, at least for this week.

true story.

The other day, my manager said this with the exact same inflection and tone as Michael Scott himself:

"That's what she said."

Except he was serious. "That" was actually what a client said. I tried to suppress my laughter while I realized no one there was an Office fan.

some g.d. respect

This is belated, but I wanted to quickly post a little something about my dad. When I asked him what he wanted for Father's Day, he responded with a quote from one of our favorite Clint Eastwood movies about wanting some g.d. respect.
Well, I do respect him and I bought him the movie for Father's Day. :)
I am so grateful to have him as a father, I think he is a true example of unconditional love and selflessness. There have been a few occasions in the last few years I've lived away from home where I've called him very late at night, which in Texas usually ended up being extremely early in the morning. He always answered the phone and listened to me as I cried about my latest problem and woke my mom up in the process so they could both offer their advice and support.
My dad has a tendency to surprise me with his reactions to some of the trouble I get myself into. Instead of being angry when I dropped my very first cell phone into a toilet, he simply laughed at my hysterics. In fact, he still brings it up seven years later and still laughs about it. When the boy I was dating left on a mission for two years, I expected him to not really care. But he bought me a gallon of ice cream, a big bag of peanut M&M's, and an encouraging card. When I broke my jaw last summer in Utah and flew back home to Texas with my jaw wired shut, I expected him to make fun of my ridiculous braces and inability to speak. Instead, it was obvious how badly he felt for me and he did everything he could to make my pain more bearable.
I could go on forever with fond memories of my dad, like waking up to speakers placed outside our room on a Saturday morning blasting Bruce Springsteen, hours of playing catch in the backyard, kickball, talks in the car, Mom separating us in Sunday School because we couldn't stop making fun of each other, going to Quizno's on our lunch breaks during my senior year in high school, deliriously cursing at him when he woke me up for seminary, and convincing him that I am only useful for getting food when it comes to house projects like the pool and working on the siding.
I love my dad and I have always admired the relationship he and my mom have. I hope someday I can find someone who loves me as much as my dad loves my mom.
Happy Father's Day, Dad!

highlights

I really shouldn't blog once a month because my blogs end up being the size of a novel. Sorry.
The past month lived up to its expectations in that it was extremely busy, a little stressful, but overall exciting and happy. I still remember my last month in high school and how I never wanted it to end. Though I think with age I've become a little better at accepting and adapting to change, the last month at USC was surreal. I was sad to leave L.A. and the friends I made there, but I know the relationships I formed are lasting, and I know I will see them soon!

Highlights of the last month...

1. The softball banquet. I spent about 8 hours working on the slideshow for the softball banquet this year. I always get so stressed out about stuff like that but I was pleased with the end result. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone, especially our coaches. After high school I told myself I would never play softball again, but our coaches at USC really helped me to believe in myself and to rediscover my love for the game. They were very sweet and made awards for each of us. I was honored to be named Outfielder of the Year! I love these girls. This past year softball was my one escape where I was able to shut everything else out and just focus on playing. It was such a life saver.Our last team break, haha.The three graduating outfielders and our coaches, Bondor and Sayre.
   
   Here is the slideshow I made for the banquet...
   
   
2. The very last Tuscany 302 party. My roommate, Jasmine, was determined to make it a themed party. She came up with a letter theme, and everyone had to dress up as something that started with either a U, S, or C. In case you weren't aware, all of my roommates are Persian Jewish girls, and with the exception of Jasmine, they do not dress up in costumes except on Halloween. Jasmine was an ultrasound, our old roommate Sanam was a sunflower, and about half of the softball team came dressed up as... can you guess? Right. Softball players. It was a really fun night and I loved dancing the night away with my favorite people.
3. Graduation. My entire family including my grandma came out to L.A. the day before graduation and were able to be there for the ceremony. They were good sports to attend Jasmine's movie screening for the movie she produced this semester and Sanam's graduation brunch. We had beautiful weather for graduation. Our commencement speaker was our university's president, Steven B. Sample, who is retiring this year. He gave an tremendous speech that I absolutely loved. He said, "I want to talk to you about your personal development as human beings. Because, in the final analysis, what determines a person’s ultimate success is not so much his professional abilities or political brilliance as it is his character." He urged us to think about life's big issues, not just our careers. He encouraged us to really consider how we felt about money and its accumulation, the education and welfare of children, and our feelings about God or the absence of one. By finding personal answers to those issues, he said, "you will almost certainly gain a better understanding of the meaning of life, of your place in the universe, and of how you might live in productive peace and harmony with your fellow human beings. And that, after all, is what living is all about." I have been looking everywhere for a transcript, but unfortunately I haven't been able to find it yet. At my science satellite graduation ceremony, I was so excited because my favorite neuro professor, Michael Quick, spoke AND handed me my diploma! He gave a really amazing speech as well. One of my favorite quotes from his speech was, "You are a mammal and you have evolved not for happiness but for struggle." Haha, I guess you kind of have to know his personality to find that humorous, but oh well. It was a wonderful day. I am so proud to be a Trojan!
4. L.A. activities with my family. The rest of the weekend was spent with my family exploring Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach, the Getty Villa in Malibu, and a quick stop in Beverly Hills. I had fun showing them some of my favorite places and introducing them to my favorite people. The weekend was entirely too short, but I hope they had a good time! Hannah took more pictures, but here is a sample of what I took.
5. Packing and leaving L.A. I was actually able to pack everything up in one night, with only one breakdown that lasted all of five seconds. I miss my apartment and my roommates a lot. Anyway, we sent half of the family back to Austin, and my dad and Hilary went on the 11-hour drive with me to Utah. Fun. I was pretty tired of taking pictures, so I actually haven't taken any since I was in L.A. My dad and Hilary left a couple days after we got there, but they helped me set up my new life here.
   
6. No highlights. I have not highlighted my hair like a majority of the Utah girls. Ha.
   
7. Coming soon. I plan on taking pictures of my new place to show everyone, especially my mother.
8. P-town. I've had fun seeing old friends from home, hanging out with my two best friends from USC, and the like. If you have any ideas for things to do in Provo, though, I would be very open to them. I can't wait for Hilary to get out here for the fall.
9. Book challenge. Throughout college, I always told myself that once I graduated I would start reading books again. My current roommate, Jamie, also graduated from USC. As an English major, she decided she would read 100 books in the next year. Since I am the slowest reader of all time, I am setting my goal at 50. Any recommendations?
   

L.A. dreaming

Well, there are eleven days until graduation! I can't believe it is coming up so soon! I feel like I'm stuck on a slide and I'm struggling to climb back up, but the more I let go and let it happen, the ride is still enjoyable. I've had a really fun past couple weeks. Last week classes ended, and on Thursday night we had the senior tradition of the "Fountain Run" where all the seniors run through all the fountains on campus (obviously) on the Thursday of the last week of classes. It is a really fun rite of passage for each class, and I was so excited to finally participate as a senior!! The night was mayhem, and I still can't believe my group stuck together for the most part and didn't get lost. I went with my roommates and a couple other close friends. It had been pretty cold and windy in L.A. and that day was especially windy. We were afraid of freezing! The fountains were definitely cold, but running kept us warm, and afterwards we jumped into the jacuzzi at our apartment complex -- clothes included.
This past Saturday was Jen's brother's engagement party at the Beverly Wilshire hotel (yes, the hotel in Pretty Woman). It was fun for all of us to get dressed up and dance the night away with good food. I love Jen's family; they have been so sweet and generous to me.
Lately everything feels like a last... a last time to go to a certain restaurant, a last time to make something at the apartment, a last time to walk past my favorite building... you understand. I am so happy right now and I can't believe how blessed I've been the past few years. The first couple years at USC were difficult for me, but I can't imagine being anywhere else and not having these people in my life. I am very blessed. :)

three weeks...

I just made about 8 different lists of things that need to be done in three weeks. I want to say I can only hope for sanity, but maybe I should accept that the next three weeks will be pure insanity. And I just thought of two other things to add to my lists...

we are the champions...

... of Merced!

If you're looking for a vacation spot, I wouldn't necessarily recommend Merced, California, but we always have a good time when we go.
This year we won the tournament, shutting out our opponents 16-0 and no errors on defense! We are so excited to go to Georgia on Wednesday to compete in Nationals!

Fight on.

failure

My occupational therapy professor was rambling the other day but as usual she came through with a little gem of advice. She started talking about failure, which is something I'm very afraid of, as I'm sure many others are. But she told us failure was important, and that we should evaluate how we're doing by how many things we've failed at recently. If we haven't failed at anything, then we're not taking risks and we're not really putting ourselves out there.

Stumble also took me to this quote, which I found fitting for the topic:

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly."
- Robert F. Kennedy

I'm not trying to fail my classes or anything, but I think there's a good deal of truth in those words. Now go out there and fail! ;)

oops...

I am obviously not very good at blogging. To be fair, this last month was a bit of a roller coaster. At one point I turned to my roommate and said, "I feel like I'm on an episode of the O.C. Surely there must be a hidden camera following me." To which she replied, "I would watch that show." Aside from the soap opera, I had a good month and have a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks. I wish I could say I'm looking forward to graduation on May 14th, but maybe I'll get there.
Anyway, I spent spring break in Utah with my sister at BYU. I drove out with a few friends from USC. I had a really great week hanging out with Hilary, relaxing, seeing a few friends from home, and making new friends. Unfortunately, I literally took three pictures. I went to lunch at a very good bar-b-q place with one of my best friends from home, Austin Hatch. It was St. Patrick's Day and they gave us some really good green cornbread!
I went out with the softball team a couple weeks ago to celebrate being named Southern Pacific Champions. We went to Saddle Ranch Chop House on Sunset and had a great time. They have a mechanical bull there and we all got to ride it! That was a first for me, haha. They have really good bar-b-q here too. When I walked in the smell made me feel like I was back home in Austin!
This past weekend I went back to Utah with my friend Dani because we had tickets to both of the morning sessions of conference. She stayed in Provo, but Hilary and I got a hotel in Salt Lake across the street from the temple for Saturday night. We had a great time, especially because Trenton was also in town on a ski trip with the rest of the boys from our home ward in Austin. We had fun hanging out with them Saturday night. Of course, conference was amazing. It was my first time to attend a conference session, and I really enjoyed it. I hope I'll get to go again in October.
The next two weeks will also be a little crazy... this weekend we have a softball tournament in Merced that we're very excited about and the following Wednesday we leave for Georgia to participate in Nationals! Unfortunately on Monday I pulled a muscle in my back pretty badly so I hope it will be good enough to play this weekend and back to 100% for Georgia.
When I get back from Georgia, graduation will be about three weeks away! I can't believe it is all going by so fast, but I am so grateful for the many blessings I have in my life.

righteous friendship

Tonight we had a CES Fireside where Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Presidency of the 70 spoke on righteous friendship. The choir preceded his talk by singing one of my favorite hymns, "Each Life That Touches Ours For Good." I loved Elder Rasband's thoughts on friendship, and was reminded of a talk by Kathleen H. Hughes, where she said, "The Lord has touched my spirit time and again, and more often than not, His touch has reached me through the hand of a friend."
I feel that the past few months have been especially difficult for me as I approach the end of my undergraduate career at USC and prepare for new adventures and opportunities. Through my trials this past year I have been reminded how blessed I am to have such amazing friends, both here in L.A. and back in Austin.

Speaking of his own friends, Elder Rasband said, "... no matter how long I was away, no matter how great the distance, whenever my friends and I met again, it was as if nothing had changed. We picked up our lives where we left off and it was as if time had stood still." I definitely feel this way about these girls. I still remember turning twelve and entering the young women organization in my church, and completely idolizing these three girls who were three or four years older than me. They became my best friends and some of my greatest mentors. I will always be grateful for their examples in my own life.

I am also extremely grateful for the friends I have made here at USC. So many have been there for me through the ups and downs of college life, but tonight I am especially grateful for my roommate, Jennifer. We met the first semester of our freshman year in a Jewish Studies class on the Holocaust. This past year, especially, she has been there to pillow talk at night, stress out with me, cry with me, and laugh with me. She pushes me to be a better person and I love her.

musings from doheny...

No matter what mood I'm in, two places can make me instantaneously happy. One is where I'm currently sitting, Doheny Library, and the other is the view of downtown L.A.

I know we had a 3 day weekend, but when I woke up this morning I was still very tired. I've had a cough the last few days and I just haven't been feeling 100%. Anyway, I knew one of my classes had been canceled today, so I would have a 3 hour break in the afternoon. I planned on coming home to fix lunch and take a nap, but as I was leaving for my morning class the maids showed up. They usually stay for about 5 hours and I don't like being in their way while they work. Long story short, I am not taking a nap. Instead I am in one of my favorite places on campus, Doheny Library, and decided to attempt a blog post.
I know what you're thinking, "Poor Taylor and her maids..." but we actually got them for free! This semester our apartment complex needed units to tour for people interested in living here next year, and we volunteered our apartment. We figured we had a bit of an advantage over other apartments because we don't have a hookah or bong anywhere. Management approved it and now they provide weekly maid service and at the end of the semester they will provide a deep clean for our carpet! It is amazing, to say the least. Supposedly we are going to have tours through our apartment throughout the week, but we've only had one tour and it lasted all of 5 minutes while we continued watching When Harry Met Sally.
Our apartment is on a bit of a lucky streak. When we returned from winter break, our gas on our stove had been turned off. We used it all of last semester, but when we started talking about it, we realized no one was responsible for the gas bill. When I called the gas company, they informed me that the account had been closed back in JUNE! I told her we had continued to have gas through December and she replied, "Well, I guess you had free gas for a semester." Awesome.
Well, this past week was my birthday. The big 22. So far I hate it. Jasmine, one of my roommates, has her birthday the day before mine, and another roommate, Jennifer, has hers a couple weeks before. We celebrated together in one big party on Thursday night. It was our first party at the apartment this year, and aside from being closed down by campus police at 1 A.M. (maybe that was the end of our lucky streak), I think it was quite a success. I've made really amazing friends at USC over the past few years, and it was fun to celebrate with them. Props to my white friends who made it out... parties at our apartment can often feel like an episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians. ;)
In other news, one of my best friends just got engaged this weekend! I've accepted the next few Valentine's Days of my life will continue this way with my friends getting engaged. I'm so excited for her, and I love her fiancé! They are really great together. Their wedding also means I will be in Hawaii in December. Sweet. I look forward to the next coming months as she picks out her dress and plans all the fun details. I'm a little sad I'll only be able to live with her in Utah until December, but at least we will still be in the same place after they get married! We have tentative plans to go out to Utah in March for a few days to look for places to live. I'm happy I'll be able to see my sister at BYU too.
Anyway, I guess I should get studying.

postsecret

My favorite PostSecret of the week...

highlight of my week...

This past week I went with the softball team to see the basketball team play against Cal. It was a really great game that came down to the last second! The best part was seeing our quarterback Matt Barkley at the end of the game, though. I love USC football and I'm sad I won't be in the student section next year, but I'm excited for the potential the team has in the next couple years!

personal creativity

The other day my occupational therapy professor gave us a list of how to enhance personal creativity. They may seem silly or simple to you, but I just thought I'd share.

How to enhance personal creativity:

1. Try to be surprised by something every day.
2. Try to surprise at least one person every day.
3. Write down what surprised you and how you surprised others.
4. When something strikes an interest, follow it.
5. Wake up in the morning with a specific goal to look forward to.
6. Do things well. Anything done well is enjoyable.
7. To enjoy something, increase complexity.
8. Take charge of your daily schedule.
9. Make time for reflection and relaxation.
10. Shape your space. Take control of your environment.
11. Find out what you love and hate about life. Especially pay attention to the people you're around and how you feel when you're with them.
12. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate.
13. Develop what you lack.
14. Shift from openness to closure. Be open and receptive on one hand, but focused on another.
15. Aim for complexity.
16. Express what moves you.
17. Look at problems from as many ways as possible.

do not fear what you don't really know

... and I really don't know anything about blogging.

I will be the first to admit I read and openly mock many of the blogs out there these days. It has taken me a long time to get to this point where I feel comfortable starting one. Talking it over with my sister, we agreed as long as I didn't go on endlessly about headbands with huge flowers and how much I love Anthropologie and how much money I saved this week at my favorite thrift store, it was okay. Now that I've successfully offended a few people, I'll get started.

One big reason I wanted to start a blog was because of various people back home who I don't talk to as often as I used to or would like to. I love reading about what they're doing and funny things that happen to them. Let's be real, I'm a student. My life doesn't consist of much more than studying, eating, and sleeping, but hopefully this blog will keep those close to me updated on the highlights that happen along the way.
The second reason I'm doing this is because I'm taking a Occupational Therapy class this semester (recommended by my occupational therapy friend who reads and mocks blogs one hundred times more than I do) that is a creativity workshop. I didn't really know what I was getting into when I registered for the class, but so far I really love it! I feel like majoring in neuroscience for the past three and a half years has kind of cut off the blood flow to the right side of my brain and stunted my creativity. So far this class has really helped me to value creative expression in myself and in the world around me. I guess I'd like to also keep this blog to talk about the things that inspire me. There you have it.