First Day of my Life

There was a time on my mission when I made up songs in the shower. XD A lot of them had a sort of Ingrid Michaelson-ish beat. My companions thought I was singing "worldly" songs, but really I was making up songs about missionary work. This is the only one I wrote down, though it was probably later, because it made more sense in the shower, I know. Haha. Anyhow, It's called, First Day of my Life. By the way, it was probably just after the earthquake and just before my last transfer. :) Thus the foreboding plane and future life. Haha. And slight trunkiness.

6 o' clock. Wake up,
to put on your makeup.
Sit up, scan the scene
to remember where you've been.

Today you'll start a new life
The kind of made-a-promise life
Gonna be a great life!
Talk to His children life!

Day one, Week three.
Changes. Cry time.
Lift your eyes to heaven
to remember time!

Today you're in a new life,
Serving others for their good life.
Fall in. Leap out.
Following the best life.

Making changes, all sorts of re-arranges.
I just hope you make it a good one
Won't always be there to help you,
because I've got other promises to keep.

One and a half or two years,
hope not to get on the plane years.
...because then you're gonna wake up
just to get your makeup,
start another new life.

No one else has changed life.
Graduate from school life,
Make another great life.
Write another card life.

Lift-them-up-with cheer life,
kiss your mom and cherish life.
Family type.

Hope you don't ruin it.
This'll be my 3rd life,
not that type of feline
that wastes the other 6 lives.

It's gonna be a good one!
Gonna make a promise one!
This time I'll kiss you,
made it past the "miss you!"

Gonna be a good life,
guess I'll make a good wife.
Make it to the best day
In the first day of my life.

A little me.

Hey, people... so, Cheryl's been screaming for a blog post for awhile now, so I decided to post some random poetry. Hmmn...

Poetry for me is strange. Sometimes I just have lots of feelings pent up inside, and I don't even know how to express myself... so I put random words together and make it feel right.... and then I have a poem.

I'm not very good at it.... and if you asked me what all that meant, I couldn't tell you. But it felt free to get it out. My original inspiration? The noise... well, silent hum, of the library. It's been engrossing to me lately. I revel in it. I feel magical in it. I shelve books in it as if I were some magical fairy, flitting from shelf to shelf.

...And then someone interrupts my revelry, and I'm forced to conform to the normality of an academic library.

Yet, once they're gone, I am free to revel once more. And imagine. And be someone I may not be.

But I love it.

And I never want it to stop.

Daydreaming.in.the.library.
~Amy

Mis Suenos Chilenos

Bueno. Quiero escribir en espanol, porque realmente ayer fue para mi un dia agriodulce. No puedo creer que no tuve ninguna empanada! Pero, si, termine mis tareas. Y fui al templo. El hecho de ir al templo siempre me hace recordar el templo que van a edificar en Concepcion.

Aqui esta un "link" para entretenerte:

http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/concepcion/

I keep hoping the page will change to announce the groundbreaking. :/ I'm going to go when they dedicate it! I don't know how, but I'll make it there.

:)

Post-Mission Mayhem

Hey, everyone! I just thought I'd post quickly to tell you all I am home and safe! The giant earthquake and a few souls conquered in the name of Christ, and now I'm back to conquering and securing my own salvation. :) Really the Mission was an experience I'll never forget. And I learned so many things that I hope I apply to every aspect of my life.

If you're thinking about going on a mission, pray, study, and just do it. The Lord will do what you can't, if you just trust him and know he's way smarter than you. :)

Have a great day! Now I've got to get back to organizing my room, my job, and my life. :)

100 things I'd like to do with my life.

I was just thinking, as we drove from So. Cal to No. Utah. A dangerous pastime, I know... but I was thinking how there are a lot of random things I'd like to do with my life that I don't think about very often--- and that thus people Don't know. So here they are:

100 things that I'd really like to do with my life-- in no particular order:

1. Graduate from College.
2. Go to Europe.
3. Climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower. (kissing someone I love at the top wouldn't be too shabby, either.)
4. Publish a novel.
5. Publish a chilren's book. (I've sort of already done this-- but I didn't sell it to anyone. :D)
6. First kiss. (check)
7. Kiss in the rain.
8. Fall madly in love with an excellently funny, attractive, and talented returned missionary.
9. Marry either that guy, or an even better guy.
10. Own 2 cats-- an orange one named Rupert, and a black one named Baghera.
11. Create and teach my own classroom (but not the children).
12. Own a horse.
13. Stargaze regularly with people I love. (this one has to be an ongoing thing. I can never check it off. :D)
14. Go on a mission.
15. Own an English or Cockerspaniel. Or... a mutt that resembles one.
16. GO TO EGYPT. With Sister Pielago and Maria Jose.
17. The Colesium in Rome.
18. The Parthenon in Athens.
19. The Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.
20. The Louvre in Paris.
21. Big Ben in London.
22. Transylvania!
23. Speak (in French) to a native French-Speaker.
24. Speak (in Spanish) to a native Spanish-speaker. (besides telling my friend Alicia's mom, "No hables espanol." Everytime I knocked on the door.)
25. Go to New York City.
26. Go to Palmayra, New York.
27. Go to Kirtland, Ohio.
28. Go to Amish Country. (Living near them for an extended period of time would be AWESOME)
29. Boston.
30. Washington DC.
31. See wolves in the wild.
32. See coyotes in the wild.
33. Ride into the sunset. (With the prince, not the friar)
34. Visit as many national parks as possible.
35. Own my own car/vehicle. (A green VW bbug would be the best)
36. Tame a mustang!
37. Play drawing tag spontaneously. (See Daniel Powter's musical for "Bad Day," and you'll see what I mean)
38. Learn. Always.
39. Live debt free.
40. Skydiving.
41. Sell some art.
42. Go to Disneyland with the Girls.
43. Disneyland with my family. (again)
44. Be sealed in the temple for time and all eternity.
45. Speak in an accent. ALL DAY.
46. Find hidden rooms at camp. (Secret window, random archery door--)
47. Waltz.
48. See wild horses.
49. Share the gospel with a stranger.
50. Share the gospel with a friend.
51. Pay it forward. (live it)
52. Help someone's dreams come true.
53. Meet a famous author (JK Rowling, Stephenie Meyer, Diana Wynne Jones, Shannon Hale, etc.)
54. Orchard "Reunion."
55. Learn to play the piano.
56. Learn to sight read music.
57. Write my own song. (words, notes, and all)
58. Get some sort of vocal lessons.
59. Own a multicolored car.
60. Do something noble.
61. Dream the same dream as someone I love. (meaning... as we're both sleeping, we have the same dream. :D)
62. Be fit. :D
63. Finish a novel.
64. Have children.
65. Dance with my feet on his feet. <3>
66. Design a dress or costume and see it successfully sewn into life.
67. Be a voice actor in an animated film or clip.
68. Animate or be a part of the animation team for an animated film or clip.
69. Burst out into musical song and/or dance without embarrassment in a public place. Maybe even get someone to join in!(again)
70. Get flowers from a boy I like. (again)
71. Have a boyfriend. That'd be nice.
72. Read the Great Books.
73. Read all the Jane Austen Novels.
74. Read Charles Dickens!
75. Turn Thomas Pearlton into a character in a story.
76. Swim with dolphins.
77. Rockclimbing would be fun. (again)
78. Go to Chuck-E-Cheese's on a date.
79. Go to an Archery Range on a date.
80. Watch Pride and Prejudice with a boy I like. (Cuddling is encouraged)
81. Visit Bethersden in Kent, England and find out if Lovelace Place still exists.
82. Complete as much of a Pedigree chart as possible--- I mean... Family Tree Extraordinaire!
83. Return to Concepcion for the dedication of the temple!
84.
85.
86.
87.
88.
89.
90.
91.
92.
93.
94.
95.
96.
97.
98.
99.
100.

I still have 20 left. I may add more if I think of a bunch. XD

Novels, Turkeys, and a bit of light reading.

I failed NaNoing. I got a little distracted by this thing called Thanksgiving.
It's really great, actually. You stuff your face until your stomach explodes. I actually gained two literal pounds. I don't usually weigh myself so often...

..I think I'll go back to that habbit. And I've even been working out! ...Occasionally.

See, the thing about me and working out is this: I really don't like to work out in front of people. If everyone else is working out individually (like, say, a gym) then that's fine. But working out at home, watching lame Tae Bo or 80's workout videos (My mom has a stock of both) is essentially lame if your marathon-running brother is nearby. I think I have an inferiority complex when it comes to being fit. ...In fact, I'm not even kidding about that one.

I did write about three pages this weekend, regardless of Thanksgiving.

I also read two books. Jane Eyre and Austenland. Both were fantastic romantic books.

Too bad I'm going on my mission, because--- I'm totally in the mood for a good smooch or two. Though... I'd probably fail at that, too. HAHA. Ahem.

Mmn... but Misters Rochester and Nobley are absolutely perfect for their respective women. Notice, I have amended my former ways. In all actuality, neither of these men are quite perfect for me. Though--- Mr Rochester is funny enough that I could totally be Jane Eyre for a day. That would be excellent. He even kisses her in the rain. though... Let's admit, they were just engaged... for the first time. And that whole crazy wife living in the attic thing-- I mean, cummon. Can't we just admit the lady's crazy, get her all divorced from you, and then make out with Jane? Psht. Looser. Haha. And Mr Nobley has that... I was trying to think of a problem he had. He... er... DIDn't kiss that Jane. (haha-- they're both Janes! That's enormously entertaining!) Well. He DID kiss her a whole lot in the plane. But that was after we found out he was really Henry, not Mr Nobley.

All in all, I encourage everyone to read the following:

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte
Austenland, by Shannon Hale (A BYU graduate! Living here in Utah! ((I want to meet her)))

Oh yes. And I went to California for thanksgiving. Saw the fam. :D Pictures soon.

Twilight-Induced

So, sometimes songs kinda half-form themselves in my mind. And... this morning, I woke up with this question on my mind:

Is it Twilight-induced?

Now, you all might laugh at me... you should, 'cause I laughed too when this question became a song. I've been trying to write the rest of it, but I'm sort of failing. Here's what I've got:

I promise I'm awake by nine AM,
but I don't want to get out of bed.
I'm too busy thinking of how
you used to mean nothing to me.

Is it Twilight-induced,
the way you're always on my mind?
Is it Twilight-induced,
the way I think you'd be a vampire?
(Yeah, I think that one is.)
It was Twilight-induced.
It was Twilight-induced.

Is it Twilight-induced,
That your skin is pale?
It's not ice cold.
(I kind of like that it's not ice cold.)
Is it Twilight-induced?
Is it Twilight-induced?

---That's all. Lol. I think the last stanza is by far my favorite. The rest is kinda... lame. Yup.

Seriously, though. That book/film is making it really hard for me to want to study lately. I just want to curl up in my blankets all day and daydream. It's pretty much my favorite. Pride and Prejudice did this too me too. :D

Oh, and yes, I read the book a long time ago, but I just saw the movie for the second time last night. I've decided that it gets better the second time. You learn to appreciate the cheeseyness. <3

It's also affecting my need to make Q'antesn less romantic. In other words, I'm having a really easy time writing the happy, romantic parts--- but not so much the main bulk of the story, which is really quite depressing and... un-romantic. Heheh.

First off, my art blog, Bored.Librarian.Sketches, is now up. The sketches are all old--- but maybe you'll like them. :D

So-- I'm completely way behind, but I'm still way excited for NaNoWriMo!! What's this, you ask? Well, National Novel Writing Month is just what it claims to be! It's participants are encouraged to write a novel in a single month. My only issue is that I'm still working on Q'antesn. The NaNo official website declares that whilst you may think of ideas before the month of November starts, you can't really have written anything-- so since I wrote 58 pages before this November (and that's not including my other drafts), I decided to just judge myself by word count and not actually turn myself in to win.

So far, I've written about 5,000 words. The goal is 40,000, so--- I'm way behind, but I'm determined to win! This is my biggest goal before I leave... minus read the Book of Mormon... for like the fourth time.

Anyhow... that's my update for now. meaning--- you might not get an update soon. I'm going to try to devote all my efforts to my novel... well, minus some intense drawing, a couple of roleplays, and some substitute teaching. haha.

Here's some random pictures to keep you happy:

Here's me in Cedar!! The only real surviving picture! It's me and my favorite Kate Brown!

Michelle's new kitten. We named her Sirah, after a friend of ours, whose online persona was characterized by a very fluffy gryphon. (Is my nerdness showing?!)

I WENT TO THE TEMPLE!!! And this is my favorite picture. lol. It really has nothing to do with the temple. Maybe we were afraid to reenter the real world, after being caught up in the Spirit. Hehe.

Love ya all!! Keep checking!

The Death of a Camera

Two Sundays ago, I turned 21.

My parents and family all asked what I wanted. Going on a mission makes this a little odd for me. Normally, I'd say something like, Spore--- you know, that rediculously fun new computer game? Yeah. Rediculously. But I was thinking of all these worldly things and I said,

"You know, I guess I need a new set of scriptures!"

But a few days later, I glanced at my old camera:
The label on the bottom reads: "This craptastic camera belongs to Amy Loveless, blahblah phone number, blah address."
This camera has served me well. I got it about midway through junior high, I believe? It served me through Several Girl's Camps, Youth Conferences, My first 3 years of college and girl scout camp. It has served me through battery corosion and being dropped, through Disneyland and Yellowstone. ---We're talking, one well-traveled camera. But film prices were rising, and all my friends had gone digital. I began to rely on them for pictures.

And Cheryl, my older sister and amateur photographer, was smart enough to realize. I needed a digital camera. I am about to embark upon the best year and a half of my life, and I want to document it.So I've already started. Here's my call. And yes. It's upside down. This is also documenting my new glasses. :D

So I took pictures of lots of random things. Zippy and Twitchy, the world's best goldfish. I took pictures of that rat cage I told you all about. I toook pictures of some random things in my house. The twister mat, the rocking horse, the landscape, the piano, and more.

So I was way excited when I headed down to Cedar City on Sunday night. I'd always wished I had more pictures to document my good times with my friends, and what better time to do than right before I left them for a year and a half?

Unfortunately, that first digital camera had a lot of issues. Namely, it didn't really like to turn on, and when it did in Cedar City, it acted like a legally blind person. I'm dead serious. Here's a picture of my favorite Dani:
So as soon as I came home, I turned in the old camera and got another. This one's working marvelously. :) Welcome to my life... in FULL COLOR! *gasp*

Red Hot Chile Peppers!

So--- for all of you that didn't know yet--- I'm going on a mission!! For an exciting, interactive post about my call, go to my sister, Cheryl's Blog:

http://gobishopgo.blogspot.com/

So, here's the schpeil. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. So are about 80% of the rest of Utahns. It's kinda crazy, being such a majority in a place. But ANYHOW... When I was little, in South Gate, California, I was /not/ in the majority in any way. I was a white mormon girl in a predominantly Hispanic Catholic area. I grew up wishing I could do the hat dance and that I could have a Quincenera when I was Fifteen. I'm not sure if I spelled it right, but that's where I was when I first found out about sister missionaries.

I don't think I really thought that girls were DISallowed to go on missions, I'd just never seen a Sister Missionary. The first sister I remember was an Australian sister in our ward there in Southern California. Pretty much from the time I knew girls could go, I decided I wanted to go on a mission.

The next time I really remember thinking about it was when my family and I drove to Nauvoo, IL. At the Visitor's Center at Carthage Jail, we met some absolutely amazing Sister Missionaries. One was from my hometown, and she asked if I had ever thought of going on a mission. Of course I had! I told her so, and I just remember how excited she was and how much I wanted to be like her one day.

Fastfoward to my Freshman year in college at Southern Utah University. In the dorms there, I met great friends, both guys and gals. The predominant feeling towards sister missionaries that year, as well as most of my college experience, was that sister missionaries were AMAZING, but were in general rare occurances. Most girls had a significant romantic interest by 21, and therefore, I would definately be married before I turned the magical number 21. I tried not to let them get to me, but before I knew it, I was expecting Prince/Elder Charming to come waltizing (Oooh, I love waltzing) into my life and to sweep me magically away from my mission before the last petal fell. Or else I would remain a beast for all time. Er.. Um... Wrong story. Oh well.

The point being, about a year ago three or four very important things happened:

#1. My high school crush came home from his mission. See, I'd had this magic plan in high school, too, that I might marry him when he got back, or go on a mission. Though my heels were no longer over my head... well, at least not on Mr. Garner's account... I recognized that this meant HE was 21, and that in a year, I would be too. (His birthday is the same day, one year before mine)

#2. Several of my girlfriends started filling out their papers. These were beautiful, spiritual women I looked up to and admired. They were not socially backward or ugly. They did not need romance in their lives. They were strong.

#3. I was interviewed for a reccomend to do baptisms at the temple. My interviewer asked if I was planning on going... and I told him a year was a long time. I realized how weak it was of me to still be waiting for that magic... and that going on a mission couldn't possibly make Prince/Elder Charming want/need me any less anyways...

So, I took Mission Prep. I put school on hold. I came home and started filling out my papers.

It was hard at first, being away from my closest friends in Cedar. I still feel sad every time I think about how I never see or talk to some of the people who mean the most to me, but I TURNED MY MISSION PAPERS IN.

Last Thursday was horrible. I checked the mailbox SIX TIMES before my papers finally came... and then I had to wait.
And wait.
Mom came home.
Michelle came home.
Cheryl, Ryan, and Ashby came over.
FINALLY, Dad came home.

I opened the large white envelope. For HOURS I'd been avoiding even glancing at the thing, and now as I opened it, my eyes slid automatically to the word, "Chile." I took French in High School, and thought for sure I'd be able to put it to some use on a mission for the church... but alas, no!

I was called, by word of God, to the Chile Concepcion South Mission. Spanish Speaking, I'm sure. Only... I seemed to have skipped over that part. lol.

I am so excited to finally serve the Lord with TRULY all my might, mind, heart, and Strength. I can't wait to serve the people of Chile, and I am truly terrified to do it, but as was said in this weekend's conference,

"[I] may not know everything, but [I] know enough."

Thanks everyone for all your support...

...and to all those who thought I'd be married, feel free to give Mr/Elder Right my mailing address when I get it to you. ;) HE can just wait. I had to, after all.

Just Kidding.

So, erm... Michelle and I have 2 fancy rats. Hers is a hooded blue, and mine is a hooded... well... peach-ish? Lol. I'm not a rat expert. I love our rats, though... and lately I've decided that the cage they have is far too small. (And it really is. It's probably BARELY big enough, in all reality, for a single rat... which would be a sad rattie, indeed.)

Anyhow, so I've been looking online and at our local Petco(because it put our local petshop, Noah's Pets, out of business) for quite some time now in order to find them a bigger, wired cage. I just find that they like the wires to climb on and that they smell less with some more air moving around in there. Lol.

I've been waiting for this one at Petco to go on sale, and the other day I decided to look on their website... and it was on sale for 73-ish dollars. Normally, it's about 99. So I got all excited, but my computer froze up, and then I saw that the sale was closing ON THAT DAY.... and my computer's clock said 12:03. So I didn't buy it. I did, however, discover that Petsmart(which is past the other nearest Petco) had a far greater variety of rat cages, but that they were all in that same $99 bracket.

Today I thought I was supposed to substitute in a 1st grade class just off the same major road as Petsmart. It was kinda killing me to be so close and not to go... and then I got lost on my way to the school... and I balled to my mother over the phone... and finally got to the school 5 minutes after the children to discover I'm not subbing until TOMORROW. My chance was clear! I headed to petsmart--- and that was nostalgic. I used to volunteer with the adoption agency that used to be there....

Anyhow... I found a cage there for 54 dollars! And it seems to be the very same cage(but in purple and white instead of black) that they were trying to sell me for $99 at Petco! Moral of the story: Petsmart is better. I always knew it, but I wasn't sure why.

So... in short... the ratties are LOVING their new home. It's so much more spacious! And I bought them a little cloth tube to sleep in... It's really for ferrets, but they love it.

I am happy.

I can't WAIT until Michelle gets home.

...and I LOVE Kitkats with carmel in them. Random, but true.

Rudeness

You only have to be rude to someone once.

I'm not usually a very rude person, but there's one thing I do that is pretty rude that not even I really understand. I get into these moods where I'm more terrified of boys than usual... I don't even realize they're happening until I see a boy I know, or one that I don't know. It has to be a brief encounter... say I'm walking past him on my way to class, or he sits a few chairs down from me in a computer lab. He doesn't say anything to me. This is cool, and most days (and always with girls for some reason...) I would just speak up and say hello... but on these days, I pretend not to see them, even if they walk past me and look over. I keep focused on what I'm doing, and I pretend they don't exist... It's not cause I don't like them (because its usually quite the opposite) and It's not cause I don't want to even... It's like my body refuses.

I sit there thinking, "Hey, I should say 'hi' to "Steve," cause he's way cute and he's so nice to me." But this other part of me is just terrified out of it's mind for some reason, and nothing comes out. I even walk away, pretending that he's just another stranger. It breaks my heart everytime... but it's me doing it! I just... I freeze up or something. Especially if he's a boy I used to really like and don't anymore. I don't know why that makes it worse. It's like I'm afraid he'll know... Like that even matters anymore?!

Then one day, I see him again, and I smile and start to speak, but he looks away. The rudeness has already taken it's effect. He doesn't think I WANT to talk to him. Some boys are more resilient than others... thank goodness. But, yeah... it happens all the time. I can think of three boys that this has occured with... no... four. If they ever see me again... I sure hope I'm braver.

I'm really gaining huge strides in my ability to speak to boys... It's so disgusting how I'm absolutely useless in this area of my life.

I plan to do something about it... and maybe even reconcile myself in a few people's eyes. I did it once today. :D I could tell that my friendliness surprised him... it was funny...

Also... I'm going to Disneyland next week.

Heck yes, I'm excited. :D