Farewell to Presidio

Presidio means prison in portuguese, but my apartment with Carrie never felt like a prison to me. There were times when I thought the neighbors were annoying, and there were instances when I wished I weren't surrounded by single students, but my days at the Presidio were full of joy and happiness. This post is a tribute to my semester and a half in that blessed penitentiary.

Our First FHE activity, eating ice-cream with strange kitchen utensils.


Carrie going in for some dessert


Yummy!


My room-mate Amy LOVES Valentines Day, so she made breakfast for some friends and decorated the apartment.


Making pink heart shaped pancakes.




My bedroom after Carrie had already moved out... so depressing.





The bathroom where the magic happened


The toilet and shower where the business happened





#6


The courtyard where I would often come home to lovers serenading each other, and awkward door step scenes... sigh...




The living room where the movie watching happened



The kitchen where nothing happened



The honor code approved half bathroom




Cleaning up before the big move


And some silly faces just for good measure







Carrie, I will miss you as a room mate, but I know that you and Grant will have just as much fun. I only hope he will have opposite day conversations at one in the morning with you and listen to Lord of the Rings as you fall asleep.

Harry Potter

I went to see Harry Potter with the Gibbs women sans Hilary, my parents, and Cuz Carrie. The three of us young children went to wait in line in order to secure ourselves some good seats. We passed the time by taking pictures and playing hearts. It was nice to get out of the house for a change. (That's a joke because I don't actually feel trapped, I just thought it sounded like a mature thing to say.)

The movie itself was good, nice production design and cinematography, but the transition from book to script was disappointing. The movies cannot compare to the books. I suppose this can be said of many adapted screenplays, but I was hoping for more from this one.

And I still Don't Know Why I'm Single!

Well, in keeping with the theme of my blog, I would like to share one of my favorite awkward stories from this summer with all of you readers.

One day, while I was at Rite Aid filling a prescription, I ran into my old Young Women President. She asked if I was dating anyone and so I told her the truth, no. She then told me that she would like to set me up with her nephew. He sounded cool and funny when she was talking about him, and I was pleased with the encounter. How often do you go to Rite Aid and walk out with a sort of date lined up? Well I never... so... when in Rite Aid...

Long story short, we met, we went out, we had a good time, he left his visa in my car "accidentally", he never called, I texted him to let him know I had his card, weeks go by, no word, I make a silly irrational decision.

I was sitting at work with Cuz Carrie when I got the diabolical idea to take this boys visa and buy Carrie and myself some lunch. Then I thought, no I couldn't, then I voiced the idea out loud and Carrie thought it a great idea. Funny, biting, but not too crazy. So I agreed and off I went, after practicing signing his name, to Panda Express, where I bought a scrumptious meal. They didn't even ask for me to sign the receipt and I felt a great sense of excitement mingled with hysteria that I had gotten away with it!


Yes, that is a bit of the devil gleaming in my eye...



It was maybe two hours after the deed that the guilt started creeping in. I had told some family members about my hilarious adventure and when they didn't laugh but looked more shocked than anything I realized that maybe it was a crazy thing to do. Then it hit me, I committed credit card fraud!

After a few days of feeling sick and trying to picture a scenario where I could truthfully tell this boy what happened, and after I had called and confessed to his aunt, I decided to refund the money with a copy of the receipt and an apology sticky note, along with his visa, all inside a cute envelope from Ryman's stationary store in London.

He finally picked it up, and I had to tell him, in my wittiest story telling mode, how I had thought it terribly funny to use his money and buy food with it as if we were dear friends and quite comfortable with one another. He was a good sport about the whole thing but lets face it, it was an awkward thing to do! But the food was tasty, best Panda Express I've ever had! (Must be the forbiddenness of the experience that made the food so good.)

My fortune for the day stated "Your courage will guide your future." to which Carrie responded, "It already has!"

Nostalgia

In the spirit of remembering my Fall 2008 term at BYU, I thought I would post some pictures of the "Modern Body Art" I participated in.









It was a very moving, very spiritual experience. I hope you can discern the meaning of the art through these pictures. I would be curious to hear some of your interpretations but some of you I don't want you to even bother because I know you won't get it. Most of all, I would like to hear what Jayson has to say because he is so in tune with art and his eye for beauty astounds me every time he makes a new discovery.



I also thought that I would put a picture of one of my books I made in bookbinding class up so that people would see how talented and artistic I am. If you want one, don't even ask me, I've retired as a bookbinder and you couldn't even afford me even if I wasn't a retired super-awesome bookbinder.


I call it, "book I made open on a table." I feel that it really explains how I feel about the earth and Disney movies.

Thank You

Iron Chef FHE

Some of you may recall the days when I lived in Alta apartments. On one special FHE we had a very serious competition. We were given bananas for our ingredient and we were to come up with some lovely dishes. My team made bananas and chicken, banana's on toothpicks, and banana cream square.


Our presentation was well thought out and quite beautiful!


The other team hardly put any effort into their dishes. Just a banana stuck in some oatmeal, banana slices and banana sandwiches, and cheerios with bananas.

Clearly we were the winners and a good time was had by all.

My Tribute to the Copy Center: Oh how I miss those parties!

One of the greatest parts of working at the copy center was associating with such delightful people. I made some great friends and we had some great lunch parties! There would come a time, about once a month, where we would pool all our collected change together and treat ourselves to something special. These parties were something to look forward to and a great source of joy to me in those dark times of silly missionaries and unrelenting school work.


If it was an especially busy or rough work day, we would count the money and that would cheer us up greatly!


Much better!


Cafe Rio!


That's my excited face... if you didn't know that then that's weird...


Look how happy Carrie is!


The uje... shredded beef salad with cilantro salad dressing.



That's Kelsey's excited/happy face... If you didn't know that then maybe you should eat Cafe Rio with her and then you would know.


Chinese food!


The party envelope!


Some happy customers!

These photos are not inclusive of all the parties. Foods not featured in this blog are: India Palace, CPK, PF Changs, Panda Express, Kneaders, Hogi Yogi, and more Cafe Rio.

Thank you to all the copy center employees that made my life there not only bearable but enjoyable!

I HEART Movies!!

I just LOVE the talking pictures! There's something so exciting and comforting about a movie theater and a well told story. There have been many people that have contributed to my movie going and I would like to officially thank them on my blog. Alison, thank you for being my movie buddy, films are just more funny and lovely with you at my side in the dark! I would also like to thank you for your support during my binge buying, you were a great comfort when the guilt started overwhelming me! Chelsea, how many great movies have we seen at International Cinema together? A LOT! I love it when I make loud obnoxious comments and you chide my outbursts, or when something is startling and you jump! Its always a great time when I'm with you! Debra Gibbs, thank you for all of the movies this summer, it was a blast! Nobody does the movies like Debby! And last but not least, I would like to thank my family members. Parentals, its always fun going to the movies with you and hearing dads comments about the production design afterwards and all the things that people don't normally notice in a movie but certainly don't go unnoticed by you. Mom, I love your laughter. I would also like to thank Meags who will go and see the silly cheesy chick flicks with me. Solidarity!



Here are just some of the movies I have seen this year. I have not included a lot of the Netflix movies, international cinema movies, or movies I have bought simply because that would have taken FOREVER! There have been some great ones this year, and I look forward to these last few months of 2009 in great anticipation of all the other excellent movies that are sure to entertain!

Happy Movie Going to all you yeahwhos! I'm always up for a movie!

Mac and Cheese for Breakfast?!

Chelsea, I have to ask, what are you even thinking eating Mac and Cheese for breakfast? I thought this would be appropriate for my awkward blog because of how awkward the situation is. Please, if you read this blog, post your judgments about this girl and her breakfast choices... I know I have...

The preparation

The eating

The Mac and Cheese

I suppose it would be important to note that these pictures were taken around 11:30. This might change your opinion and you might actually say to yourself, wait, that makes it more like an early lunch and not breakfast at all! Exactly...

Princess For A Day!

This post is LONG overdue... my birthday, was in fact, in April. Better late than never though... This is a tribute to the Gibbs children, who for my birthday, gave me the loveliest gift a girl could ever receive, my very own crown from Hot Topic! Not only did this make me feel royal and regal, but I felt like I really was a princess for the day.

Breakfast, I didn't think to actually take the picture with my breakfast cereal, but I did wear the crown the whole time I was eating.

Driving to work, I got some fun looks from the cars that tried passing me, I say try because no one succeeded.

Hanging out at work with cuz Carrie.

Looking all sassamafrass at work.

I had to go to class, art history to be exact and take extensive notes and ponder over the meaning of life and art.

I managed to find some time to look precious and cute. Good thing too!

My friend Paul wanted to know what it would feel like to be princess for a day, so I thought, What would Jesus do? He'd share the crown...

Then I got to eat at the most magical restaurant, Bombay House. This might seem like food for a queen... but I'm pretty sure they serve princesses too. Thanks to Mummy and Deaddy!

How do princesses end their days? With some light reading of course. I always feel that it is a good thing to get back to basics before retiring for the night.

Goodnight and thanks to everyone who helped me feel like a princess for a day!

Blood Diamond

I can't stop thinking about this movie! I watched it last night with Carrie and Grant and I thought it was amazing! It makes me sick that I am so ignorant of the world around me and what is going on in other countries. Leo did an amazing job with his South African accent and playing the role of a diamond smuggler. I will never look at diamonds the same way and I never want to own one! This movie poses the question "are people inherently good or bad? "And the answer is people are people, what they do determines if they are good or bad.


I keep wondering how I can make a difference in this world. How can we who have been blessed with so much make a difference in the lives of those who are suffering from civil wars and genocide? If anyone has any suggestions about how to serve please let me know! I would recommend this movie to anyone! (It is R for violence and language.)