Date Update

So, my date was on Saturday. I had a really nice time. He is a good guy, and I don't just go around calling every guy I meet a good guy. It was fun, and I was happy, despite a slightly strange doorstep scene.

I must say the most awkward part of the evening happened when I was going home. You see, my sister and her boyfriend went on a date Saturday night too. I was driving up my street and I was almost to my house when I saw my sister's boyfriend's car in the driveway. And then I saw them on the porch. Very close to each other. So I decided to drive around the block a couple times so they could... finish saying goodbye.

Awkward.

Apparently my sister saw me, because Sunday morning we were fixing our hair and she mentioned it. As did her boyfriend when I saw him Sunday evening.

I repeat: awkward.


Update to update as of 9:07 PM:
So I totally teased my sister's boyfriend today when I saw him. It was great fun, and he was completely embarrassed. Ha! I exact my revenge for awkwardness!

Horrifying scary danger!

Yes, I faced horrifying scary danger this week. It caused much nervousness, sweaty palms, and shakiness. "What was it?" you may ask. I'll tell you.

I asked a guy on a date.

Now, you may think that asking a guy on a date is not horrifying scary danger. Well, for me it is. Here's why, in three parts.

Horrifying
This part was not so much horrifying for me as for the poor guy I asked out. Because yesterday I looked gross, quite frankly. I was:

1. exceedingly tired
2. having a bad hair day
3. not wearing any makeup
4. suffering stomach pains thanks to some ill-sitting Chinese food
5. dealing with a random sore knee
6. rebounding off a 3-day migraine weekend
7. nervous.

All of these combined to make me one horrifying package. He said yes anyways. What a great guy!

Scary
Asking guys out is scary. This is one reason among many why I generally don't do it. It scares me beyond belief. I really hate it. I get all nervous about it before I ask them, and then I get nervous before the date with them. And that's scary! This is one reason why I prefer guys to ask ME out. Then I only get scared once instead of twice. Of course, the poor guy probably has to go through the scariness of asking me out. Poor guy. I don't really have any pity for you SINCE YOU DON'T EXIST! (Guys as a rule do not ask me out on dates. Probably because I am so horrifying.)

Danger!
Okay this one is less of a threat really. The danger is, what I really like this guy, and I get all excited, and I get deluded into thinking he likes me back, and then he introduces me to his girlfriend? Then I get a broken heart. Or what if I go to pick him up and he stands me up? That would be sad. I had a dream once that that happened. It was not a good dream. Anyways, there is always danger involved when relationships are concerned.

Despite all this horrifying scary danger, I am really excited about this date on Saturday. It should be fun. I'll be with friends, which always makes it easier. And really, I'm sure this date will not be filled with horrifying scary danger. It will probably be filled with exciting happy fun!

The End.

PS If you know what show the line "Horrifying scary danger!" is from, you are officially cool in Janel's Book of Coolness.

What time is it? What time is it? It's Valentimes! It's Valentimes!

So, since yesterday was Valentine's Day, I thought I would give you all... da da da DAAAH! Another list! Since I love lists. :) So here, in no particular order, are things I love:

My family
My friends
Annie (Better than just a friend, she's a best friend!)
Julie
Sleep
Food
Books
Music
Eric Whitacre
Listening to a really good choir sing Morten Lauritson's "O Magnum Misterium"
Chocolate
Cookies
Choir
The smell of new shoes or shoe stores in general
Fall
Spring
Tulips
Daisies
Roses
Violets
The way the sky is really clear the day after a snowstorm, and you can look out to the west and see the mountains.
The way trees look when the sun is setting, all black against the colorful sky.
Pianos
Lists
Grapes
Hanging out with my youngest brother
Teen Girl Squad
Mental_Floss
May
Weezer
Aerosmith
Beethoven
When you wake up after you've had a really deep restful sleep, and you're all snugly under the blankets.
Jane Austen
Funny conversation heart conversations, like this one:
Man: Why wait? Kiss me, very fine, foxy lady
Woman: Why not? Just once.
AWESOME MEGA KISS!!!!
Woman: Oh you! Slow down! Yes now! Too much!
Man: Yes dear. Only 4 you.


Conversation brought to you in part by Thursday lunch at the Institute having conversation hearts on the table.

Apologies and Excuses

Well, I must apologize, dear readers. I set out on this blogathon fulling intending to write every day, and what do I do? I skip not one, but two days in a row! This is clearly unacceptable, except perhaps I have some very good excuses.

Excuse #1 - Friday
6:00ish AM I wake up and get ready for my day.
7:30ish AM I go to school.
8:00ish AM I arrive at school, immediately go to the computer lab, and finish a paper that's due at noon. NOTE: I do not get online.
9:00 AM I meet with my choir director.
9:50 AM Nick and I practice our half of the 8-handed, 2-pianoed, "Stars and Stripes Forever."
10:00 AM Amy, Annie, Nick, and I practice the whole shebang. We decide it is awesome.
10:45ish AM We stop so we ladies can change for pictures.
11:00 AM We get our picture taken and sing a little.
11:45 AM I change, put stuff in my car, grab my lunch, and go to class.
12:00 PM I go to my English class, where Club Sandwich Boy does nothing funny, at least while I'm there.
1:00 PM I go to work. We are exceedingly busy, so I don't have time to look at stuff on the Internet as I do occasionally.
6:00 PM Work finishes, and Annie and I go to a wedding reception.
7:00 PM We leave the wedding reception, change, and eat food.
8:15 PM We meet our friend Julie and go to a party.
12:00ish AM I go home.
12:30ish AM I arrive home, see my sister on the computer, decide to get ready for bed, decide I'm too tired to write tonight and will write two posts tomorrow, and go to bed.

Excuse #2 - Saturday
7:30 AM I wake up and get ready for my day.
8:40 AM I go to work. I notice my car is making funny noises.
9:00 AM I arrive at work, and get cracking.
1:00 PM I begin to drive home. My car is making funny noises, idling high, and the check engine light is coming on. I decide to stop by my mechanic, since it is on the way home. He tells me I can leave the car there, but they probably won't get to it until Monday. I call my mom to see if she will pick me up.
1:45ish PM My mom arrives. We go run some errands before we go home.
2:30ish PM We arrive home. I do homework.
5:00 PM I stop doing homework to wait for my friend to pick me up.
5:30 PM My friend arrives. We go to her apartment so she can change and pick up her roommate, and then go to Annie's house to get Annie and Julie.
7:00ish PM We go to a play. Julie receives a phone call from a guy who is answering a question raised while they played Celestial Pursuit. On a date. A WEEK AGO!! We are vastly amused.
7:30 PM The play begins. It is hilarious, and features a very attractive prince. I develop a migraine.
10:00ish PM The play ends. We decide to eat food. We flirt with our very attentive waiter. I eat a little, but not much, thanks to ye olde migraine.
11:30ish PM We leave and drop Annie and Julie off at Annie's house. Then we drop off the roommate. Then I go home. I feel immensely sick.
12:30ish PM I go inside, put my leftovers in the fridge, and go directly to bed to prevent throwing up. I do not write two blogs, I do not change into my jammies, I do not brush my teeth, I do not pass GO and collect $200.
2:30 AM I wake up and realize I'm still in my clothes. I change and go back to bed.

Are these good enough excuses? Probably not. But they're the best I have. So, in compensation, I have written three posts today. Enjoy.

Nicknames

I think probably everyone has had some kind of nickname in their life. Among my many aliases, I have been called Nellie, Nell, Nells, Janellie, Janeli (say if as if you were speaking Spanish--the j makes the h sound--and sing it to "Tradition" from Fiddler on the Roof), Mighty Mouse, One Dimple, and countless other things that I don't remember. Some of these are from family, some from friends, but they all were things that I have been or are still called.

There's a certain strange thing my friends and I do. We make up nicknames for the people around us. These are typically only known by us, mainly so we can talk about the person whilst* they are standing right there, and they will have no idea. It's been interesting to see how we come up with the different names for the people we know.

Sometimes we just make up a name for someone. There is one person we call PMSE because, well, we were trying to avoid him, and those letters provided a perfect excuse. "You can't come with us." "Why?" "Because we're three girls who are PMSE." The letters do actually stand for something, but I'm not going to tell you what. That would defeat the purpose.

I have the tendency to give people names with "Boy" at the end of them. So that gives us people like Jason Campbell Look-Alike Boy (He really did look like a fatter Jason!), Weird Evolution Guy, Cute Quiet Zoology Boy, who is not the same as Cute Zoology Boy, and the list goes on. Recently added to the "Boy" list would be Club Sandwich Boy, who got his name for randomly talking to the guy behind me about club sandwiches one day in English.

Usually names come from some outside source. For example, we are acquainted with a young women whom we call The Ugly One. Now, this is no reflection on her looks; she is a very pretty girl. However, those of you who have every seen Teen Girl Squad! may know exactly why we would give her this name. If you're not acquainted with Teen Girl Squad, get to know them now.

Our biggest resource for names, however, is Jane Austen. Her characters are so real we can find people similar to them everywhere. We know a Miss Bates, who is extremely talkative on one major subject, although our Miss Bates's fixation is not the same as Emma's. We avoid our Mr. Collins whenever possible, for he creeps us out. We've disdainfully talked about our Mr. Wickham and his complete disregard for women's feelings. We've been seriously annoyed with our own Isabella Thorpe, who keeps a guy around for convenience until a better one comes along. Of course, they aren't all bad. We are acquainted with a Mr. Bingley, who is gentlemanly and kind. I'm sure in time we'll meet our Mr. Knightleys, Ferrars, Tilneys, and Colonel Brandons. There has to be at least one Mr. Darcy out there somewhere.

I've been wondering, though, about these nicknames. Is this a common occurrence, or just something we do? Do other girls out there do this? Do guys do this? The world may never know, unless you leave me a comment and tell me!

*I think whilst is such a cool word. :)

Happy Artificial Holiday with Strong Commercial Overtones

A couple years ago, I took a poetry class. This was a huge step outside of my comfort zone, because, as I've mentioned before, I don't feel that I am that strong of a writer. Also, poetry is a much more difficult medium than many people think. You have to find just the right words, the right order, the right rhythm, the right form. Anything amiss makes the poem fall flat. At any rate, it was Valentine's Day, and we were writing sonnets. So, in the spirit of the season, I'll share mine with you.

Happy Artificial Holiday with
Strong Commercial Overtones

The silly hearts and flowers everywhere
The cupids, bears, the songs and sappy cards
Cologne and perfume make her want fresh air.
She tries to get away and disregards
The pain within her heart, her heart of stone
Although she says that she is "fine just fine"
She can't ignore she cannot be alone
She needs to find herself a valentine.
He left her heart and now she has to see
The happy couples walking two by two
Part of something that she used to be
Before he ran away for someone new.
So if you think she does not truly care,
Look into her eyes—it is lonely there.

Improv Everywhere

Guys, I'm not going to lie: my blogs have been lame of late. This one will probably be no exception. My only excuse is my brother and I have just spend the past hour and a half watching videos made by Improv Everywhere.

Here's the basic idea of what this New York group does: they make scenes. Literally. They have an idea for some outrageous plan, get enough people to do it, and then do it. It's amazing!

Some of my favorites are:

Redheads Protest Wendy's

Slow-Mo Home Depot

Look Up More

Meet a Black Person

But the truly awesome one would have to be Frozen Grand Central. Enjoy.

And it came to pass that Janel did copy Annie

The Book of Janel

1. I, Janel, being born of goodly parents, do commence this record. And I will tell you of the travails and joys of my day.
   
   
2. For I did arise early in the morning. And behold I did see that it was snowing. And this thing did astonish me, for much snow had fallen already. And while I knew that we did need this snow, nevertheless I did not wish for the snow, for it did make the roads treacherous and the sidewalks slippery.
   
   
3. Nevertheless, I did go out unto my car, and did go to the place wherein one refuels. And I did put gas into my car, and did not look at the price, for fear of weeping. And I did also put air in my tire, for it was low. And this did take some time, and my hands grew very cold, even that I could not feel them. And I did also go unto the moneychangers, and did retrieve $40, for I owed Nick five bucks.
   
   
4. And then I did go up unto the place of learning, even Weber State. And behold, the roads were slippery and treacherous because of the snow which lay upon them, and I did fear for my life. Nevertheless, I did arrive in safety.
   
   
5. And I did go unto the Institute. Now, this Institute was a place of learning, as was Weber State; but Weber State was a place of secular learning, while the Institute was a place of spiritual learning. And it was also of place of study, and a place of gathering. And much feasting did happen there, as well as much merrymaking.
   
   
6. And also, many people did go there to flirt, and this did bring them happiness. And now, this did confound me, for I was not mighty in flirting. And many did meet their eternal companion at the Institute, and this did bring them great joy.
   
   
7. And I went up into my class, and did learn from the New Testament. And I did feel the Spirit, which thing brought me joy. But there was announced a Valentine's Dance, and it was a dance wherein the women did ask the men, which did grieve me. For I did think the men should ask the women on dates, for they had been commanded to by an apostle of the Lord. Yea, and he did exhort them to hang out not, and to date and marry. Nevertheless, many men did not what the apostle commanded, and did continue in hanging out. And this did bring sorrow to many women.
   
   
8. And after the space of an hour, I went unto the lab of computers. And there I did write a paper, yea, even a paper on Internet pharmacies. And I did also fix a different paper, which paper was an abstract. And these things did worry me greatly, for I was not mighty in writing.
   
   
9. Then, I did go back unto the Institute, unto the place of singing. And behold, many did greet me with kindness and with embracing. And I did sing the songs of Zion, which did bring me great joy. And I did also laugh at director of the choir, yea, even Brother Simon. Now Brother Simon was not a man large in stature, but he was mighty in the gospel, and did lead the choir with much energy. And behold, I did love him like unto a father, for he did give me good counsel.
   
   
10. And after this joyous hour, I did go unto the building of social sciences, unto my class of English. And I did workshop five papers, which was many. And a youth, yea a silly youth, did discourse about club sandwiches, and did borrow my pen. And he was pleasing in my sight.
    
    
11. And after the space of an hour I did go unto my place of work. And behold I did eat my meal while I did work. And I did eat fiery Cheetos, which did cause my ears to burn. And there was much rejoicing at my place of work, for the trainee whose stink surpasseth all that stinketh was no longer there. And did not Annie testify of this? For there was truly much rejoicing.
    
    
12. And I did type many things into my computer. And behold I did grow weary of typing, nevertheless I did continue. And I did eat a brownie to give me energy, for it was delicious and minty.
    
    
13. And when the time of working was over, I did return to my dwelling place, and was glad to return. And thus ends my record.

Lame-o!

Okay team, this blog is lame today. I'm not going to lie. But Ill be back tomorrow with something good.

I'm a lover of words, and here's one I had to share. So enjoy it. Use it in a sentence. Make it yours.

solipsistic (adj) Extreme preoccupation with and indulgence of one's feelings, desires, etc.; egoistic self-absorption; extreme egocentrism.

A Rant: Snow Removal

I have discovered Weber State's theory of snow removal. Here it is in 5 easy steps!

Step 1:
Snow falls. If snow falls during the night or weekend and is more than 6 inches deep, snow will be removed. However, any snow that falls thereafter will follow the next steps.

Step 2:
Allow students to walk all over snow, forming a thick, slippery layer of ice.

Step 3:
Throw down enough ice melt to turn black shoes white.

Step 4:
Allow snow/ice mixture to melt.

Step 5:
Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until snow melts, or until next snowfall.

There you have it folks, Weber State's snow removal theory. Never mind that students fall flat on their faces or backs because of ice! Never mind that their shoes get ridden with holes because of ice melt! It's the only true way to get rid of snow! Shoveling would be too easy!

Interesting situation

I've found myself in an interesting situation the past few months. I don't like any boys. I don't mean I don't enjoy the company of male friends. I'm just not forming any huge-o crushes as I typically do. It's been a new experience for me, not necessarily a bad one, but different.

Usually, I develop some major crush at least once a year. I could tell you who they all were too. Here they are, in no particular order (Except alphabetical. I did work in a library.): Chad, Cute Zoology Boy, Dan, Dan, Jesse, Jon, Jonathan (not Gross Jonathan), Rob, and Steve, Steve, and Steve. These crushes are without fail one-sided. And the one side is alway my side. I may be led to believe otherwise, but it always ends they same way. They get a girlfriend/married/dump me.

The past six or so months have been a little different. While I find several guys attractive, I don't really have any desire to go on dates with them. It's a strange feeling. I had a friend apologize to me recently because all of our conversations as of late have been one sided...all about her and her current crush. I don't have a problem with it.

It's kind of liberating to be free. Yes, I still want to date, and yes I still think I'm in the "Dating Black Hole," but I'm okay. I don't have some all-consuming passion with a guy. I don't have to try and figure out what every little thing he does means, when usually it means nothing. I don't have to deal with the heartbreak when he gets a girlfriend who is tall and blond and beautiful. It's great.

Young vs Young Single Adults

Just a newsflash: I found some shoes! And they're not pink! Rejoice with me!

And now for something completely different...

I was thinking about different things as I drove home this evening. I thought about my sister and her boyfriend (yes, they are back together... Hooray!), and about my family, and about a bunch of different things that could be another post all in themselves. But one thing I started thinking about as reached home was the interesting way my church groups people.

When you are an infant, you generally stick with your parents. Once you reach 1 & 1/2 though, you go to Nursery until you are three. Then you are in Primary until you turn twelve. After Primary, depending on your sex, you either go to Young Men or Young Women's. Once you reach eighteen, however, you are thrown into that interesting mix called the Young Single Adults, at least until you get married or turn 30.

Now, Young Single Adults have no official divisions but in my observations, I have seen there are some unofficial, but truly real breaks, or at least there are if you are in Northern Utah. You see, there are Young Single Adults (YSA), and then there are Young Single Adults (ySA), Middling Young Single Adults (MYSA), and Old Young Single Adults (OYSO). YSAs are just that group of single people from ages 18 to 30. The ySAs on the other hand are young, usually those people from 18 to 22 or 23. These are by far the most common, at least in my area. The OYSOs range in age from 26 or 27 to 30. The MYSAs are usually between the ages of 22 to 26 or 27. It's kind of difficult, because it seems to me that the YSA activities, at least in my area, target the ySAs, which leaves us MYSAs and OYSAs no choice but to do one of three things:

1. Move
2. Join a singles ward
3. Get married

Getting married is the most difficult of the three because typically once you are a MYSA you fall into what my friend calls "The Dating Black Hole," wherein you don't date at all, mainly because you are too old for the ySA returned missionaries and too young for the Single Adults who are over 30. This is rather depressing indeed since I fall into this category. It's not a fun place to be.

Moving is not always an option, but if you do, usually joining a singles ward comes attached to this. I could do this, but I hate feeling like I am fresh meat, even if I am not really all that fresh of meat. Therefore, the only choice is to stay in my family ward for the time being, where I am not a young Single Adult and not a Single Adult. I've heard that elsewhere this is not the case, that it's normal if you are 25 and still single. But here in the Top 'O Utah, it seems that if you are 25 and still single, something is very wrong with you.

At any rate, dear readers, I'm sorry this is such a depressing post this evening. I was just thinking about it, and with it came all the frustration and annoyance of not being that old, and yet being perceived as old. I'm not really depressed about it, just frustrated. Anyways, rejoice, I have new shoes, and now I will have dry feet. (If you sing it to this hymn it sounds pretty good, if I say so myself.)

Girls' Night

So technically, it's Saturday, but I'm going to count this as Friday's. So I had a girls' night of happiness this evening. As all girls know well, it is nice to have an evening to just get refreshed. There was much bad date rehashing, relationship discussing, laughter, chick flicks, and chocolate. Mmm the chocolate. Good times indeed.

I don't know if guys ever need that kind of thing. I mean, I'm sure they have their own male bonding type things, but girls' nights I'm sure are completely different than that. Girls need time to talk, to explain their frustrations. Since I'm not a guy, I don't know if they do this or not, but I have the feeling not. It's one of those fundamental ways that girls and guys are different. Girls just need to communicate like that every so often.

At any rate, it was quite enjoyable. And needed. Sometimes guys not allowed is good. And now, I need to go to bed so there will be some coherency at work tomorrow. Good night, children everywhere.