Comfort Blogging

Okay, the need for blogging has arisen because snow is falling ONCE AGAIN outside my office window. Why that means it is blogging time, I don't know. Maybe it's because blogging is akin to comfort food – and there is no greater need for comfort food than when it is snowing outside and you can't do a blasted thing to stop it. Drat. And I needed to get my windshield wipers replaced. Let's hope I make it home in one piece! So, chickadees, let's see what's happened this week? Answer— not much! I was totally stoked to watch Northanger Abbey on Sunday (thank you PBS – and BBC – and Viewers Like You that make it possible!). I've never read Northanger Abbey. I tried, but swiftly found another book to draw my attention away from it. Cause of the lack of interest is unknown. I didn't know who the hero was in the story, nor even basic plot points. Yes, dear friends, I am sad to say that my Austen knowledge had a hole in it. But, thanks to the cliffnotes adaptation shown last Sunday, I now know the frivolity and insensibility of Catherine Morland, the adorableness of Mr. Tilney (Henry, as he is called by all close acquaintances, of which I count myself these days), and the evil influences of the Thorpes and General Tilney. This adaptation was light-hearted, to-the-point, and engaging. Not to mention, once again, the adorable factor provided in abundance of Mr. Henry Tilney, which made the viewing experience quite delightful. The only distracting part of this entire story was how young Ms. Morland appeared in some scenes. To find her being wooed by a 26 year old was somewhat distressing, no matter how accurate that is with the book. Oh, and then there was the horrible ape-ishness of Mr. Thorpe. Thank heavens she did not end up with him. I would have been forced to despise this adaptation if it were otherwise. To all those who have not seen this, you must. I repeat, you must. And if you say you musn't, well. I don't think we should be speaking on the subject again in the future. I might lose my self-composure.

Haha. I love Austen because her novels make me feel literary, old-fashioned, and in need of a cup of good, strong chamomile tea. I hope I'm not the only one with this reaction. To make matters worse for me, I have immersed myself in Dickens. I'm currently reading Bleak House and am thoroughly engrossed in the world of Esther, Mr. Guppy, and Mr. Jarndyce. Every day at lunch I am encountering a new, quirky, truly-Dickens character that just makes me relish in the worlds he creates through his words. Thus far, I recommend the novel. But I'm only 130+ pages into the 800+ page novel. More reactions to follow when I can provide them. Not only am I reading Bleak House, but I have been watching "Our Mutual Friend," a close-to 6 hour adaptation of the Dickens novel. Once again, Dickens creates an intricate world of characters that are intertwined in ways that only leave you confused for the first hour and then slowly enlighten you as you progress into the story. Most of the characters in this story are crazy, but when there are cute moments, they are dang cute. Okay, so, there is the all-to-frequent dead body found in a river and scheming and craziness, but….I liked this story. I might have to read it after Bleak House. I would detail the storyline for you, but…trust me when I say that there are no summaries on the backs of Dickens' books because the summaries just would not do the stories justice. Erego, rent it!

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Shifting gears -- so, here's a question that I've pondered with a couple of friends this week: do you need to date in order to feel you have worth? Let me give some background. One of my friends and I discussed the need for real men in the world – ones that are gentlemen. Ones who call you just because they want to talk to you. Ones that want to be around you and let you know it. Ones that open the car door and bring you a rose just because. Ones that will communicate face-to-face, rather than just text, hanging out, and Facebook message. He wants to be one of those guys, and in talking with him, I realized how few of that breed I have met in my life. And then I decided that I want to wait for one of those to come along! So, do I need to date whoever, whenever, just in order to feel my worth? I feel like in our single's ward, that is what they are trying to tell us: dating determines your worth – at least for us girls, that is. For example, the survey died. FINALLY. But now it's this Cinderella activity that in essence sets us up with guys in the ward to go out to dinner and play at the Bishop's house on Wii systems - all determined by a shoe that we give to the presidency and the guys pick. Hmm. HMMMMM. Once again, it's nice they want us to mingle. But must it be forced? And contrived?

I have not dated very much in my life. Shocking, isn't it. So does that make me less of a person or somehow broken and undesirable? Does my worth directly tie in to how many dates I have had over the years? I sure hope not. I mean, it is nice to have attention paid to you in the form of a voluntarily-solicited date, don't get me wrong. But do I need to have dating activities and be arranged a date for a single's ward activity just to say that I have been on a date this week? Maybe I'm old-fashioned. Maybe I'm before my time. I don't know. But I've always been of the opinion that if I know I am not attracted to and/or interested in a guy, I will not go on a date with him. It's a waste of his time and my time and his money, and I for one will not stand for frivolous dating just because I "should" date. I think what this all boils down to is that I am destined to be an old maid. At least for a while. Thoughts? Reactions? Suggestions? Advice?

On other topics- so, I found this adorable European jacket. No, it's not from Europe, but I will definitely be wearing it to Europe! It's black with big, shiny black buttons down the front and white trim around the collar and sleeves. Oh heavens, call me Holly Golightly because I feel like I should be breakfasting at Tiffany's in that jacket. I'm still hunting for the perfect travel shoe. I'm a fan of slip-on's, but I think with the potential for rain, they need to be as weather-proof as possible. While still being adorable and European, of course. If you know of any, please let me know!

Wow – just found out Heath Ledger died. Possible drug over-dose. What is with this fatal trend? First Brad Renfro, then Heath Ledger. All my childhood movie star crushes are dropping like flies in unexpected, tragic ways. I think I need to go home and watch 10 Things I Hate About You. Oh wait – I can't. I'm going to see 27 Dresses. Maybe that will lift my spirits and make me forget the moisture that is STILL falling from the sky. Grrr.

Finally, before I jet because this is way too long even in a word document, I want to thank all y'all for reading my blog. I write it for me, but I love knowing that there are the three or four of you that keep encouraging me to write and express myself. And I think you know who you are. So enjoy this Tuesday, my blogging friends, and drive slowly if you are in the greater Utah valley area. I know I will! Bless the day 4-wheel drive was invented!

The Persuasion Review

So, I just got done watching the new BBC version of Jane Austen's "Persuasion." I must say....I am almost speechless. Or at least I'm trying to figure out what to say. Let's start with the things I know:

1) Wentworth was cute. Blondes generally are. But, he gave off this Darcy vibe of severity and reserve which I had previously not associated with Wentworth's character. I felt he was intense and a little dry. It just didn't seem true to Wentworth's persona from the book.

2) The countless headshots of Anne and Wentworth were hilarious. They would just stare straight at the camera. Who does that? And given the fact that the movie had trimmed the book down to a succinct 1.5 hours, I felt they could have used the headshot time and devoted it instead to the much neglected content of the story.

3) Mary Musgrove belonged in an insane asylum. Go pick her up, nice young men in clean white coats!

4) The Louisa fall was the high point of the film, hands down. If I didn't know it was coming, I would have been like..."Wait...what? What just happened? I think that was significant." She jumped down into Wentworth's arms, climbed swiftly back up, and PLOP. She was out cold with a bleeding laceration to her skull. It happened so fast, and was literally, a "Ahhh! Swoosh! Plop!" moment. Classic!

5) Giles as the silly father. That took me off guard. He wasn't bad, but at some points, I had to think, "Why is Giles dressed up all funny? Shouldn't he be out dusting a vamp or singing a ballad in the Bronze?" Elizabeth Elliot, the older sister, looked too old. It bothered me. But not as much as Mr. Elliot, the cousin. He made me go "EWWWW" a number of times, and his storyline was never resolved. Anne just found out from her friend whilst she was running wild around the streets of Bath that Mr. Elliot had sinister intentions and had already declared who was to be his mistress once he was married to Anne. That was it. No public humiliation. No irate refusal of his proposal. Nothing. He just disappeared. Once again, I was struck by the necessity for 20 more minutes, or 20 minutes less of wistful headshots.

6) Anne was fine. But she was a little bland. If I were Wentworth, I would have decided that upon further reflection, she really had nothing to recommend herself in terms of personality, except that she's not as crazy as her family. Which, if you ask me, is not saying much.

7) How dare they mess with the ending? And have Anne talk about constancy to Benwick! When Wentworth couldn't even hear what she was saying! His final letter needed that impetus of Anne's declaration that women are just as constant as men and cannot recover from a deep love. Hello! He needed that to push him over the edge of propriety and write the tortured-lover letter. But no. We got the letter without cause and Anne running around Bath with a total want of lady-like decorum. Interesting creative liberties were taken, and I shall leave it at that.

8) Anne's fall while walking on the log and the subsequent event of Wentworth putting her up on the Croft's carriage were also noteworthy. She biffed it on the log and we were treated to a view of what she saw - the world spinning 'round and coming in to focus on Wentworth's face. When I fall (a few select times in my personal history, might I add), I hope I'm not that swoonish and damsel in distress-like as she was. And when the walking party ran in to the Croft's, you barely saw Wentworth talk to them, telling them to take Anne. He just walked over, lead her to the back, and swiftly picked her up and she rode off into the brush. It was all very sudden. Just like Louisa's fall, it lost some of its potency as a subtle revealing point in the characters of Wentworth and Anne and the storyline.

Overall, it was an acceptable Sunday night flick. It was quiet and Austen-ish. But it lacked the subtlety and poignancy of the book and 1995 film version, which for me, make the story into something more than just another chick flick. There needed to be more interactions between Anne and Wentworth, and they both needed to acquire and/or demonstrate personalities. I think with a little more story content and resolution, a bit of character reworking, and more time to develop the key relationships, this could have been more than just acceptable. But, such as it is, I'm grateful that I was able to watch a new Jane Austen adaptation. The world is always a better place with another quality, wholesome Austen-inspired film. So, let me know what you all thought! And now I'm in the mood for the 1995 version. And I don't have it! Drat!

Penetrating and Purging the Piles

Today was an eventful, great day. I didn't meet Mr. Right, get a dream job writing quippy columns in a London-based newspaper, or win the nearest state's lottery jackpot. I think I did something almost better:

I. Cleaned. My. Room.

Now, for those of you who know me, you might be shocked at the normal state of my room. I usually clean it once a week, generally a Sunday night. Well, cleaning is not the right word. Tidy. That's the word. I tidy it once a week. Get rid of the shoes that have been worn and not put back in their boxes, the coats and scarves that are in need of hanging...a general tidying occurs, so that I can start the week fresh and put as much on my floor as I want during the course of the coming days, without feeling like a complete and total slob. I may give off the spic-and-span vibe, completely-organized-to-a-fault groove...and I laugh at that. It's akin to those who tell me that when they first meet me, they think I only listen to classical music. Haha. Classical, with a side of Breaking Benjamin, a dash of Sum 41, and a pinch of Anberlin...the list goes on. (P.S. If you honestly think I only listen to classical....we need to chat. And soon.) Oh shoot. I tangented from what I was discussing. So, anyway, my room has piles in corners and things keep adding up because...well...to me, it's organized chaos. And if I can get from my door to my bed and to my Love-sac without risking injury, I'm okay with my piles. Well, at least I was. I was trying to fall asleep last night when I felt not ready to go dream. Since August, I have been studying for the GMAT, doing applications, working, and trying to continue my "adjusting" to post-mission life. So, it's been kinda hectic and now, it's starting to slow down. I realized I needed to start afresh, with the new year, new goals, and a pile-less room environment. So it was time for the deep clean. *shudder* And yes, this required gas masks and the "Hairspray" soundtrack. And Dew. Lots of Dew.

By the time I was done deep cleaning, I had spent roughly 4-5 hours doing it, had two bags and a box for D.I. donations, 2 bags of garbage, and next to nothing under my bed. Okay, I don't know if you ever wondered if monsters could live under your bed (I have - overactive imagination strikes again), but I think my bed could have been called home for a few of them. I had piled a bucketload of stuff from my college days. I'm talking a cookie sheet, lime green telephone, my VHS tapes, old shoes, and all of my framed art that I had framed while I worked at Prints Plus. You know, looking over those framed posters, I still really like what I did. I have vintage photos of Venice, Paris, London, and San Francisco framed, along with some other fun ones that will just make my future home high class. Okay, so that was all piled underneath my bed. It has (almost) all found a new home, and I can get on my knees and see the other side of my bedroom under there! It's awesome! And then I attacked my whiteboard. It things I had written down before my mission on there. I can only shake my head in shame. It has been erased and I'm thinking what I'm going to put on there now to make it a useful part of my room. Then it was closet time. Oh boy. I need a walk-in, and that's final! Uh...well...finalish. Until the "ish" goes away, I made do with what I have. I pulled out all my old cassette tapes that I had taped from junior high and high school (before CD's were big and burning was possible - oh no. Does that date me????) and tossed them. That was a heart wrencher, let me tell you. It's like ripping out a piece of your childhood. But....you have to be practical. When are you ever going to listen to cassette tapes taped off of the radio? Not once, I can assure you. I then went through my CD's and put the wandering, wayward ones back in their cases and organized my collection as "burned mixes," "burned albums," "soundtracks," "rockin' tunes," and the "classical section." I even alphabetized them within their sections. Apparently, once you give in to your OCD tendencies, you go all the way. It's all or nothing. Then I organized my clothes so that I might be able to find what I'm looking for a little quicker and not have random clothing articles strewn across open drawers and falling out of the closet. I hit the book section next, and put all my Harry Potter's, Anne of Green Gables series, Alexandre Dumas, Bronte sisters, Spanish books, Austen collection, and current reading selections together. Then I organized my slipper collection and mission papers. My closet is a thing of beauty! I'm so happy with it!

So, friends. Bloggers. Phantom readers who might come and never let me know you are here. (I still love ya and we're friends. Fear not!) I am crazy. And I know it - I spent my Saturday deep cleaning my room! And I liked it! There was something about vaccuming up the dust of the past year and getting rid of the piles and old stuff and spraying lilac-scented Febreze all over that just made me smile. I literally sat on my bed and looked around. It felt great. Now I think I can start this year off right. Sadly, I'm not done yet. I need to hit my desk drawers and figure out whatever in the heck I'm going to do with my childhood collections of stuffed animals and such that I feel must go. But that's for another day of fun-filled purging. Till then, friends! Oh, and I'm considering a new comforter-color combo. I'll keep you posted.

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And a gentle reminder! Persuasion! Tomorrow! And the paper said 8:00 pm on PBS, Mountain Standard Time. So double check where you are to make sure you don't miss it! And if you do, let me know and we can do crumpets and enjoy Wentworth over an afternoon tea!

The Spice of the British...and a Surprise!

Okay, so, announcing to all the Jane Austen Chick-Flickers in the world. The BBC has redone 4 Jane Austen novels (Sense & Sensibility, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, and Northanger Abbey) and will be showing all 6 adaptations of her novels (this means Colin Firth as Darcy will delight my small screen once again...and Kate Beckinsale as Emma...um, I'll stick with Darcy) on Masterpiece Theater over the coming weeks. First one up is Persuasion, THIS SUNDAY (as in, January 13th) at 7:00. So mark your calendars, set those TiVo's and allow yourself to be carried into the Jane Austen Universe! And if you are so interested, on the Masterpiece Theater website, the kindhearted programmers put up the entire schedule of the 2008 classics they will be showing over the coming months. Dare I say, I will be in English bliss until May! In my opinion, there is nothing to spice up the dreary winter months quite like the British.

And to add to my excitement and glee, my family and I have recently cemented our plans to go abroad in April. Oh my heavens, how many times have I wanted to say that and MEAN IT! Wahoo! We are going to Paris, Prague, and London. And I really don't care that I'm missing 7 work days. Hello! Europe! My Europe! (name that movie, sports fans) While in London, we're going to see "Wicked" the musical, so pretty much, after April, I can die happy, and a European traveler. It's just nice after putting up pictures and posters and calendars for years of London, Paris, Venice, Rome -- that I am actually going over there. At relatively low costs, thanks to frequent flier miles and hotel rewards points. So, that's something to look forward to as the winter months drag on...and in between Masterpiece Theater offerings. Oh shoot! I need to plan what I'm going to wear! Help!

Hummingbirds and Priority Mail

Okay, so my New Year's Resolution was to blog more often. Every person has a story that is uniquely their own. A voice that only theirs can produce. And I have been neglecting mine. But, unfortunately, I have to be practical and knowledgable about all things "Leah." Whenever I say I want to be consistent in something, I usually am good. And then I get sick. Or busy. And my goal goes kaput in about 3 days or less. It's scientifically proven. How sad is that. But, in order to get around the Consistently Consistent Consistency Curse (okay, now is that a cool name or what?) I have decided not to make it a goal that I blog every X amount of days. Rather, I will blog when I feel the need and not put it off for a more convenient time. So, let's see how that works. I'm hoping it means more blogs and a less-frustrated-with-herself Leah. Help me out here! I think the funniest part of the whole blogging thing is that I open my page and I expect it to be different. For some reason. And it isn't. And I get irritated - until I remember that I am the one who can change it. Go me for being quick on the uptake.

So, first news of the month. Christmas came and went (just in case some of you were still in denial or living in an alternate, Christmas-is-in-July universe)! And with it came grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, Ipods, lil smokies, naps, and WAY too much good food. I liked the whole paid vacation part of it, but definitely did not jive with the having to go back to work after the vacation part of it. But, there went December. I am now 25, the proud owner of a blue Ipod Nano, and about 25 pounds heavier. The joys of the holiday season.

And only slightly behind the top story of the month in terms of importance, I turned in my college applications! Almost all of them!!! Please applaud, because I am, and only me applauding is, well, pathetic. I only have the University of Arizona left to do, and boy. With that out of the way, now I just get to....wait. Seriously. Wait. And wait. And wait. I think I'll find out in mid-March, early April. So, please bless I get a nice envelope that says at least one of these schools loves me. But, the most aggravating part of the application process. So, I got almost all of my professor's letters of recommendation back, except for the last professor. He's quite busy, so trying to get these letters done was definitely a crunch, but he did - on January 2nd. So, because I got his letters last, I couldn't send off my letters to York University in Canada until January 3rd. No biggie. Priority mail them and poof, they're there. Oh yeah. P.S. International mail is not so friendly. I go to the post office and wait in the ever-present postal line. I get the nice lady who is soft-spoken to help me. I explain my plight that I needed to mail the four letters to Canada ASAP. She told me that for 1.92 I could first-class them to Canada. It would take 6-10 BUSINESS DAYS. Deadline is on the 15th. You do the math. So the next option was priority. 6-8 BUSINESS DAYS. And that would be $9.62. Or - I could do 3-5 BUSINESS DAYS for $22.00. Yeah, guess which one I was forced to go with. GRRR with International Mail and their extorionist ways! Finally, to end my sad application story, I come home later that day to find that York had updated their application system and that professors could now just email in their recommendations. OF ALL THE.....

So, there it is. No more about applications until my doom is spelled out in the envelopes. One more tangent and then I'm off to do my bed-time routine of heating up my rice bag, curling under my many covers and reading a good book and scriptures before going to sleep...this is a good tangent, too. A friend-ish person and I were chatting today, and we hit upon a somewhat quirky game. If you - or the people you know and love- were animals in a previous life, what would you be? He came up with a sea horse for himself, because he loves the ocean and is a beach nut. I then suggested something akin to a hyena, because hyenas mooch off of other people and make you crazy listening to them. I don't think he liked that option. So he's a sea horse. Then he asked me what I was. I thought for a second, and came up with a hummingbird. It was the first thing out of my mouth, and strangely, it kinda fits. Go with me here on this. I'm attracted to all bright colors. In clothes, beddings, decorations, rainbows, fields of wildflowers. You name it- if it's a bright color, I will instantly label it as cute and therefore desirable. I am also so focused on my short-term missions and goals that sometimes I get quite tunnel-vision. Any of you who tried to help me be social these past few months will agree with that, as Applicationville took over my life. I am also so fast and flitting around doing whatever comes my way that no one can catch me. Hence why I am still single. Haha. Plus, I hate being tied down and just want to be free. And I believe soaring over the world qualifies as a singular type of freedom. Anyway, so I am a hummingbird.

Now the fun part - what would you be? Why?