Reasons Why I'm a Goon

1. I post way too many lists on this blog

2. I thought of my New Year's Resolution today, and got so excited about it that I wanted to start immediately...but then decided to wait until January 1st so that I can call it a New Year's Resolution.

3. I began drinking tea about a month ago because it's a romantic thing to do.

4. I cried four times watching Finding Neverland last night.

5. I read books aloud to myself sometimes.

6. I don't just love movie trailers; I analyze movie trailers as I watch them, picking out what's good and bad about how they're put together.

7. I secretly want to make movie trailers for a living.

8. I asked for a subscription to National Geographic for Christmas

9. I've had the same plastic key chain on my backpack since 9th grade. It's a plastic light-up skull that I found in a Froot Loops box, and I like to think that it got me successfully through quite a few Speech seasons. Now I just use it as a general good luck charm.

10. I spend a lot of time reading food blogs and bookmarking recipes to make at a later date. When I have an actual oven. And counter space. And money.

11. To fall asleep at night, I listen to an episode of the Stuff You Missed in History Class podcast. A few nights ago I made the mistake of listening to the episode about the Lindbergh baby kidnapping. Then I got scared and had to turn the light back on.

Things That Make Me Happy, A Continuing Saga

Things that make me happy:
1. Movie trailers
2. Bad Christmas Music (Bob Dylan's "Must Be Santa," anyone?)
3. The neverending story that is "John Adams"
4. Meeting people on trains and talking to them for the whole 3 hour ride
5. Getting emails signed "your esteemed friend"
6. Debating international conflicts over Facebook chat
7. Snow on the mountains
8. Sweet potatoes
9. Sleeping in a sweatshirt and socks
10. The fact that I'll be home in a month

Two Stories

I have a few stories for you. Story No. 1 : Sprechen Sie Englisch?

Some nice young man just came up to where I'm sitting fiddling around on Mac, and started speaking to me in rapid-fire German.
Here is what I do when I hear rapid-fire German:
1. I don't interrupt (even to tell them I don't understand; it seems rude).
2. I try to erase the deer-in-headlights look I know is probably plastered on my face
3. I throw in a few nods for good measure
4. I try to pick out words I actually recognize to see if I can get a general grasp
5. When the person finishes, I give a little laugh to see if he/she was just quipping. If they look confused, I set in with the "Sprechen Sie Englisch?"

Anyway, it turns out that the poor guy just wanted to know if there is a place where he can smoke indoors.

Story No. 2: Karma's a...Well, You Know

Ever since I've left America, I've been finding money. This, I realize, is a strange concept coming from someone who is horribly unlucky at cards, someone who is a terribly distracted driver, and someone to whom generally ridiculous things always seem to happen (ex: getting pooped on by a pigeon whilst in Venice. Don't make me tell that story, please).

But, despite the various scientific arguments against my newfound lucky streak, there it was all the same. In the Toronto airport, on my very first day of travel, I found about $10 of Canadian money lying on the floor. In Venice, I found a 5 Euro bill drifting between walkers' feet on the sidewalk. In Berlin, I found 15 cents lodged between cobblestones at the zoo.

Before you ask me to buy your next lottery ticket, let me tell you what happened to me this morning. I went for a run (yes, yes, still working on that. I want to do a 5K in the spring with my Mom and sister, so I have an actual goal now). Before going for said run, I stuffed a 20 Euro bill in my shoe, thinking I could stop at the grocery store on my way back (the Special K addiction marches on). You already know where this is going, don't you?

When I got to the grocery store, so very excited at the prospect of cereal and milk for breakfast instead of the Nutella-smeared toast they offer at hostels, I bent down to retrieve my cash, only to discover that it was gone. It had fallen out somewhere along my route. Although it was a windy day, and although there had been dozens of other people biking/walking the same path as me, I still went back to look.

No luck, dear readers. I can only attempt to console myself by viewing this as a mere $4.85 loss. Doesn't help much (I really, really, wanted that cereal).

Salzburged

Some funny things about living in Austria:

1. Every time I have to make an interaction with a native German speaker, whether it be to buy a bus ticket, order lunch, or simply to apologize for a random act of clumsiness, I think of said interaction like a game: let's see how long I can keep them believing that I am also a native speaker. Usually not long. But I'm getting better.

2. I am now utterly and completely unimpressed with the Alps. What? I can see a mountain from my dorm room window? Ho hum.

3. This is not a good place for people with a sweet tooth to live. It's downright dangerous. Must take brisk walks/slow jogs daily in retaliation.

4. Since I'm (sort of) a native now, I'm quickly becoming annoyed by tourists. Dear large group of 60 plus-ers: please take your umpteenth picture of Mozart's birthplace and quit blocking the sidewalk. Danke schön. (Sorry if this sounds mean, but those darn tour groups almost made me late for class this morning; their bulky cameras and fanny packs forced me to practically crawl along the street in order to keep moving.)

5. Almost every single person in my group (that is, other members of my study abroad program) goes out drinking every night. Every single night. Drunk. Stumbling home at 7 a.m. as I'm walking the opposite way, heading to class. Ergo, I have not made many friends as of yet. Because although I'm now legal, and although I'm certainly not opposed to having a drink now and then (not that I really have yet), I also firmly believe that the majority of one's fun, whether alone or with a group, should be had sober. I mean, if you're drunk, you're not really having fun. The chemicals poisoning your liver are. And I don't know if they should be having that much fun, especially when in close proximity to a vital organ.

Come on guys, can't we just play Sardines instead?

I miss Morris.

6. It's so incredibly beautiful here, but I think about home and the people back home ALL THE TIME. I'll be looking at something, and all of the sudden I'll think, "Jeez, my Dad would enjoy this retired WWII tanker. He would probably make me spend hours touring it with him, because he always has to read EVERY SINGLE THING in EVERY SINGLE DISPLAY." And then I'll shake my head and remember that I'm supposed to be independent and grownup and I'm supposed to be making new friends and sharing things with them. And then I'll remember that my dorm room currently smells like a brewery and I'll feel a little bit of despair because I don't know if I want that kind of friend.

And then I'll get really snobby and decide that I already have enough friends back home. Why do I need more?

And then I'll sit in my room by myself, stare at the wall, and think, "Oh. That's why."

Don't get me wrong; I love it in Salzburg. I just wish I had some good people to love it with.

Stay gold, guys. And maybe send some my way. I'm the one reading Northanger Abbey in Room 330.

Can I Stay Wit You Please?

Good Lord I hate Wordpress. I don't know if they actually claim to be user friendly over there, but if they do, it's an atrocious lie.

Can I just stay wit youse guys?

Stats:

Current suitcase weight: 55 pounds
Fee charged for an overweight checked bag: $70 American Dollars
Hours until I leave: 6 1/2 hours
Hours I will be in the air today: 9
Books I'm bringing along to pass the time: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire (sequel to Hunger Games), and my crappy paperback version of Gone With the Wind

This is What I have to Work With

This is what I have to work with.

And it's not going well, folks. I'm overwhelmed. I have everything (as you can see), but I just have no idea how to go about cramming it all into my suitcase. I don't want to be the girl wearing the same shirt day after day, but I also don't want to be the girl who can't hoist her suitcase off the baggage carousel without the help of four large German men in lederhosen.

Furthermore, I think Wordpress may have some sort of vendetta against me. I think it knows I also have a Blogger, because I strongly suspect that it is purposefully making itself difficult to navigate. It doesn't really matter anyway, though, because I still haven't thought of a name for my travel blog! I want something clever, yet specific to the purpose of that blog (i.e. describing my European adventures). And if you suggest I name it My European Adventures, I may have to make an Oompa Loompa my Person of the Week for the next year just to spite you.

Here are the current options:
Salzburged (too violent sounding? And it makes me think of burgers which is kind of off-topic)
Holly Goes to Europe (too immature sounding? It's not very subtle...)
Rick Steve Ain't Got Nothin On Me, Dog
Holly's Von Trip (I'm officially fooling around now. Sorry.)

Poster Child

I turn twenty-one years old on Thursday*. I leave the country, not to return until December, on Friday. The following Saturday, I will be in London. The following Monday, I will be in Munich, and then in Salzburg approximately two hours later (or so my itinerary says).

Before these days come to pass, I have to do the following:
-Begin one travel blog (and think of a name for said blog. See me with any ideas)
-Shop for various small items, including, of all things, a winter hat (where am I going to find one of those at the beginning of September? Again, see me with ideas)
-Clean the bottomless pit of despair that used to be my bedroom
-Work four more shifts at Target (3 of which begin at 4 a.m.)
-Pack one large suitcase and two small carryons with enough clothes and books and random necessities to keep me happy until December
-Win/Steal/Pawn family jewels to buy a Kindle so I don't have to tote aforementioned books across Europe (ignore this post. Books are heavy.)
-Say goodbye to 2 wonderful parents and 2 gloriously smelly German Shepherd dogs
-Relearn all of the German I've forgotten over the past three months (I know, I know: good luck with that, Holly)

On a happier note, I think I've officially hit all the emotions commonly associated with study abroad preparations. You've seen excited, you've seen scared, you've seen wistful, and now you're seeing stressed.

I feel like one of those posters you see in a guidance counselor's office. You know: the one with the awkward photo of a '90s teenager holding a book and a backpack and somehow managing to look pleasant and disparaging at the same time? That's me.

*Remember when you and your friends Googled the day of your 21st birthdays to see if they fell on weekends (for optimal partying, of course)? Well, I never actually did that, but now that I'm approaching the monumental day, I greatly appreciate that it's a Thursday. You know I love Thursdays. Whenever something exceedingly strange or exceedingly wonderful happens to me, it's always on a Thursday. Here's hoping Thursday won't let me down this week.

Free Movies

I absolutely bless the day when I discovered that my local library allows card holders to check out any quantity of movies for an entire week. For free.

And that library has good movies, too. Here's what I picked out today after work:

1. Shakespeare in Love
2. Howl
3. La Vie En Rose
4. Emma (BBC series starring Romola Garai)
5. Little Women (1933 version with Katherine Hepburn as Jo. I've never seen this version. Seems criminal, I know.)
6. Garden State (This is the wild card movie. But someone told me it's good, and I always love a good Natalie Portman film, so I'm giving it a try.)

In Which A Trip to Half Price Books Straightens Me Out

Did anyone ever tell you that studying abroad involves a lot of paperwork? No one ever told me.
But paperwork has been my game these past few days. Visa application, financial aid schtuff, hideous passport pictures, etc.
I was coming out of the bank this afternoon after getting a signature notarized (not as exciting as I thought it would be), when all of the sudden my visa application blew out of my hands and across the parking lot. As it twirled towards the highway, and as I ran after it, all I was thinking was "if this darn thing blows into speeding traffic, you had better believe I'm going after it." Luckily, it didn't, so I didn't have to. But I would have.

I'm almost done with everything, though, and then all I'll have to worry about will be brushing up on my German and shopping for Europe-worthy clothes (you know: scarves, sweaters, more scarves, lederhosen. That type of thing).

In other news, I've been in a bit of a book funk ever since school ended; I've been starting books and not finishing them. I hate this funk. I hate not being able to write up finished books in my Read-a-Thon notebook. I hate puttering around listlessly in front of my bookshelf. I hate watching TV in desperation (although Billy Elliot was on the other night. Good movie).

Thankfully, a recent trip to the library, and a more recent trip to Half Price Books seem to have straightened me out.

Here are my HPB finds:
1. As I Lay Dying (with a sweet inscription to Kristi on the inside cover)-$3.00
2. My Antonia-$1.00
3. This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen (because how could I pass up a collection of concentration camp stories collected under a title like that?)-$6.98
4. The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath (I've wanted it ever since I read The Bell Jar last winter)-$9.98
5. Lolita (Am I going to actually read a Russian novel at last? Does this count as a Russian novel seeing as Nabokov didn't actually live in Russia for most of his life?)-$6.98

Feeling that my literary-fueled life has purpose again-priceless.

Lay Mizz

Some midnight thoughts from page 48 of Les Miserables:

1. How does one put the slash above the e?
2. This book is messing with my summer reading. I am officially 11 books behind last year's count.
3. Do I really have to look up these French Revolution references? I don't wanna.
4. Is it legal for me to read another book on the side? Will said side read cause me to put away Les Mis, possible forever?
(yes)
5. How in the world is this the abridged edition? It's 800+ pages long! Pleasehigherpowersdon'tsmitemeforreadingabridgedIswearIdidn'tknowwhenIboughtit.
6. So far, when people have asked me what I'm reading, I've said, "Les Mis" (pronounced Lay Mizz). This abbreviation stems from my lack of confidence in my French pronunciation. I hope no one's on to me.

Goodnight from page 49.

Non-Morose Activities

I guess my last few posts have been kind of morose. But I'm not morose anymore, I swear!

To prove it, here are some non-morose activities I've engaged in this weekend:

1. Shopping at MOA with my mother and sister. Now, don't get the wrong impression. I hate shopping for clothes. I do. But I like clothes, and I really needed them. So off we went. And it turned out pretty well. My sister is a master bargain shopper, so we had fun digging through racks of 50% off in Gap and Banana Republic and other stores that I would probably never pay full price in because Good Lord I don't want to end up destitute in the middle of Europe this Fall.

2. Graduation parties. I attended 3 total this weekend, and they were all really great. It's always a little awkward to do the mingling-small-talk thing, but I think that's unavoidable at any party.

3. Lock-in with 50+ sugared-up, sleep-deprived 1st-8th graders. My darling mother (a teacher at the school where the lock-in was held) volunteered to take charge of the gym activities. Amy and I went along to help and ended up playing Medic*** for 3+ hours. It was a lot of fun, but it was also a bit of a shock for me because
a) holy cow I've been sore for the past three days
and
b) when did kids get so mean? I love kids, but I don't love them so much when they're screaming at each other (and me) about who should be the medic, and who is too terrible at life and at all things athletic to be medic. Amy, who is the most even-tempered person I know, spent half the night whipping balls at this one 5th grader who was being an absolute jerk. He was throwing balls back at her, but man, Amy has an arm, and what's more, she was MAD. Forgive me, but it was fun to watch.

4. Work. Always, always work. I still love working at Target, but sometimes I feel like I come off as kind of a bonehead because I always have to ask questions and I always have these embarrassing space cadet moments (mostly stemming, I would like to point out, from lack of sleep). Sometimes I want to scream for the whole store to hear that I'm an Honors student, that I go to Morris, that I can do a mean crossword puzzle. But I guess I'd rather come off as stupid than crazy.


***Here's Medic for those of you who had slightly joyless childhoods: the gym is divided in half, 1 team on either side. A million of those soft, foam-filled balls are released. Each team throws balls at the other team, trying to hit them. Once you're hit, you have to sit down, and you cannot get up until your team's designated medic touches your shoulder and 'heals' you. If one of the medics is hit by a ball, they also have to sit down, and can't get up again until they manage to hit someone on the other team (from their sitting position). A team wins when all of the opposing team's players are down, including their medic.

End of 2010

It's been a list-worthy year, I think.

New Things I've Done in 2010:
1. Won money for my writing (Firstlinefiction and the College Writing essay contest at UMM)
2. Worked new jobs: Target, Writing Room, Info. Desk, S.S. Office
3. Met a ton of new friends
4. Lost a few old friends
5. Narrowed my career search down to three criteria: people, writing, travel
6. Stopped being a teenager

Best Books I Read in 2010:
1. Going Bovine (Libba Bray)-After finding out he has a rare disease and doesn't have long to live, Cameron Smith sets off on a quest to save his own life with the help of a pink-haired angel, a video game-playing dwarf, and a lawn gnome who may just be a Norse god. Sounds kind of crazy, I know, but this book has so much heart and humor that I couldn't put it down.

2. This Side of Paradise (F. Scott Fitzgerald)-I know you've already heard me rant quite a bit about this one, so I'll only say that Amory Blaine is probably one of my favorite fictional characters.

3. The Shack (William P. Young)-This book somehow captured perfectly the way I've always wanted to think of God.

4. Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro)-Again, I've already written a review of this book, but it's probably the best of the best books I've read in 2010. It's immensely powerful, and at the same time heart-wrenching in the most subtle, quiet way.

5. Utopia (Thomas More)-I've wanted to read Utopia ever since I saw Ever After as a little girl. The way they rave about it and quote from it in the film convinced me that Utopia must be some sort of magical, enlightening story. And it is, although I'll admit that I think I need to read it a few more times before I can fully grasp it.

6. Atonement (Ian McEwan)-I've tried to get into this a few times, but when I finally gave myself a chance to sit down and just consume it, I suddenly wondered what had taken me so long. Incredibly fascinating story that is magnificent in its tragedy.

Finally, mainly for fun, and because the spread is of an unbelievable large size...

Food Currently Being Assembled for our New Year's Party:
1. Lasagna
2. Garlic bread
3. Salad
4. Deviled eggs
5. Meat/cheese plate with crackers
6. Pickles wrapped in corned beef spread with cream cheese
7. Champagne/sparkling grape juice for the kids
8. Chocolate wafer cake (you slather whipped cream in between the cookies to sandwich them together, and then spread more all over the entire cake. Let it sit in the fridge for a few hours and the cookies absorb the cream and soften. It's only the most delicious thing ever.)
9. Spinach dip with crackers
10. Shrimp with cocktail sauce

Overall, I think it's been a lovely year, and while I'm sad to see it go, I'm also ready to see what 2011 will bring.
I also have a not-so-secret crush on Dick Clark.
Happy New Year everyone.

A Christmas List

After days of thought (I'm serious. Days) I have compiled the following list:

Holly Lynn Gruntner's Absolute Favorite Christmas Movies of All Time:

1. The Year Without a Santa Claus-My favorite of what I fondly call the "furry" animated Christmas films (you know what I mean-they're all on ABC every Christmas). Why do I like this one in particular so much? Two reasons: Snow Miser and Heat Miser.

2. Heidi (Shirley Temple version)-When my sister and I were little, my grandparents bought us a dozen Shirley Temple films on VHS. They had grown up seeing Shirley on the big screen, and wanted to pass her down. Heidi isn't my favorite S.T., but it's certainly the most Christmassy. Also, as in all the S.T.'s, there are plenty of wholesome, ridiculous, genuinely hilarious moments.

3. The Family Stone-This is one of the few on my list that came out fairly recently. Featuring an ensemble cast (think Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Luke Wilson...), The Family Stone is first and foremost about (you guessed it) a family. A quirky, judgemental, close-knit family who has a little trouble accepting a certain outsider into their midst. I would highly highly recommend this one.

4. The Santa Claus-You've all seen it. You all probably love it. Bernard the Elf makes me laugh harder than any other sarcastic, dread-locked elf I know.

5. Joyeux Noel-I first saw this one in high school, in a War History class. It's about a moment in history I never knew about: during World War I, there was something called the Christmas Truce, when opposing sides stopped their shooting and got together for a celebration. Beautiful, beautiful film.

6. Home Alone-Again, you know this one. In my family, we actually watch Home Alone on Thanksgiving, but since it's still technically a Christmas film, I thought I'd list it.

7. It's a Wonderful Life-Only seen this one once, but I hope to get a hold of it this year as well.

8. Gremlins (yes, I consider this a Christmas movie)-Steven Spielberg. Green Goblins. Snow White. Furbies. Christmas. What better combination is there?

9. Love Actually-I hope you've seen this one. Please tell me you have. I don't know how to describe it. Romantic comedy, ensemble cast, and it's about...well...you know.

10. Elf-I KNOW HIM!

Finals Week, Part III

Isn't this the most beautiful thing you've ever seen? It's Trinity Church, in Antarctica. I wasn't aware that they had churches in Antarctica, but I'm certainly glad they have this one.

P.S. I'm surviving. 2 papers left, one of which I'm currently working on.

P.P.S. I've been slowly building my reading list for Winter Break. I don't know if it's a realistic amount to read in a month, but I'm certainly going to try. Here's the list, in case you're interested. It's a combination of books I've never read, and books that I have read but absolutely HAVE to tuck into again:
1. The Remains of the Day
2. How to Win Friends and Influence People (hey don't judge! It could come in handy)
3. The Handmaid's Tale
4. Huck Finn
5. Little Women (I've literally read this book once a year since 3rd grade. I love it so very much)
6. Three Cups of Tea
7. Uglies (plus the rest of the series if I get hooked, which I'm sure I will)
8. Paper Towns

Cinderella

Right now I sort of feel like Cinderella, for the following reasons:
1. There's a ball going on, and I'm not going.
2. Because I have to do work.
3. And I'm sitting here watching the girls on my floor get dressed up.
4. And I wish I were going with them.


I'm unlike Cinderella for the following reasons:
1. I have no adorable rodent friends.
2. It's a not a prince's ball in the palace; it's a Yule Ball (that's right-Harry Potter style) in the Student Center.
3. There are no hideous step-relatives preventing me from going.
4. My 'work' consists of papers, and presentations, and general studying, not chores and laundry.

You know, Cinderella used to be my favorite story growing up. According to my parents, I used to beg them to read it to me. Unfortunately for them, it was quite a long read, for a picture book.

Nowadays, I'm not such a fan of old Cinderella. We still own the Disney version on VHS, and whenever I watch it I'm struck by what a weak character Cinderella is.

First of all, she's not very proactive. Instead of fighting to improve her own life, she relies on mice, and a dog, and a horse, and a fairy godmother to help her win her prince. She's constantly singing about the importance of dreams, but does she ever really take any risks to make her dreams come true? Nope. She goes to a ball and dances one dance with an incredibly shallow prince, who doesn't speak two words to her, and probably only likes her for her beauty.

Furthermore, what were her dreams in the first place? To fall in love? I mean, this girl has pretty much been locked up in a manor scrubbing floors her entire life. Doesn't she want to see a bit of the world? Get an education? Make some friends? Actually live a normal life for a bit? Apparently not.

To be completely fair to Cinderella, however, I decided to google her. See if she's really just all fluff. Here's what I found out:

The story of Cinderella is actually thought to have originated around the 1st Century B.C., when a Greek history named Strabo recorded this story about an Egyptian girl:
They tell the fabulous story that, when she was bathing, an eagle snatched one of her sandals from her maid and carried it to Memphis. While the king was administering justice in the open air, the eagle, when it arrived above his head, flung the sandal into his lap. The king, having been stirred both by the beautiful shape of the sandal and by the strangeness of the occurrence, sent men in all directions into the country in quest of the woman who wore the sandal. When she was found in the city of Naucratis, she was brought up to Memphis and became the wife of the king...[3][4]

Nothing else I found led me to believe Cinderella has any depth, although I do admire her longevity. I guess everyone likes a little blind romance.

And she does have some good qualities, I'll admit. What do they call her? "Ever gentle and kind." Certainly admirable, but not exactly my kind of heroine these days.

Things I'm Thankful For

Happy Thanksgiving. I recall last year (or was it the year before?) I didn't want to talk about Thanksgiving. Not because I don't love it, but because there didn't seem to be anything new to say about it. Same old food, family, gratitude, etc. Rinse and repeat.
The thing is, though, this year the repeat part is what I'm especially thankful for. I'm thankful that we have a tradition like Thanksgiving that is the same year after year.

Right now I'm laying on my back in my old comfy bed. My laptop is propped on my knees. My throat hurts like the dickens. So does my head. Of course I haven't had so much as a sniffle the whole semester at school, but the instant I was home I got sick. So it goes.
I'm thankful for Nyquil. Is it okay for one to be thankful for drugs?

Other things I'm thankful for (besides the obvious (but still important) friends family health food shelter etc):
1. Sweats
2. Books
3. Cousins that aren't so little anymore
4. Dogs
5. Paul McCartney
6. Optimism
7. Garfield comics
8. The color blue
9. Strangers who smile
10. Part time jobs
11. Snow

Goodnight everyone. I'll see you tomorrow for some mad Black Friday shopping. I'll be the red-eyed one toting the Kleenex box. Hopefully I'll be smiling.

Stress Levels High

Here's what I have to do:
1. Study for a German test on Friday
2. Begin researching/writing my 10+ page Understanding Writing research paper
3. Write a paper for Icelandic Sagas (4 pages, due next Friday)
4. Write a paper for Honors: Traditions in Human Thought (5 pages, due next Friday)
5. Figure out topics for the above 3 papers
6. Give blood tomorrow
7. Work tonight, tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday
8. Do laundry
9. Get my Mac fixed once and for all
10. Study for American Literature Midterm next Friday
11. Finish reading Atonement (pleasure)
12. Sign up for Intramural badminton
13. Sign up for Big Friend/Little Friend?
14. Become a superhero so that all the above tasks can be successfully completed.

Reasons Why I'm Happy (A List)

I'm happy today. Happier than I've been in a long time. Not that I'm not a happy person in general, but this kind of bouncy, fizzy, spontaneous, wonderful happiness only comes around every so often, only lasts for a limited time, and only occurs for the following reasons:

1. It's Friday, the beginning of Labor Day weekend. Hence, I have no classes until Tuesday AND therefore have a short week next week.

2. Along with some dorm mates, tonight I have chosen to rebel against the hit-but-most-often-miss Food Service and make the trek to China Buffet instead.

3. The weather outside is my very favorite kind of weather; windy, mid-60's, sunny, and Fallish.

4. I'm wearing a comfy purple plaid shirt. Sometimes your clothes just make your day, I think.

5. Tonight is free movie night on campus, and District 9 is showing. Not that that particular movie exactly fits my happy mood, but how can you go wrong with a free movie? (Actually, I lied. The free movie last year was G-Force. That was very, very wrong).

6. Tomorrow I'm driving down to St. Paul with some friends to shop at bookstores, to eat Cossetta's pizza, and to generally revel in the glory that is a big city.

7. I got my first birthday card today! I'm turning 20 in 5 days, you guys! It's really happening, and I'm actually okay with it. Not that there's anything I can do to prevent my aging anyway.

8. I had a good time in class today. Didn't embarrass myself in German I, spoke up a few times in American Lit., and learned a great deal despite it being Friday and beautiful.

Holy Buckets!

I started writing my bucket list today. My second bucket list, actually.
I wrote the first one junior year as an assignment for my College Psychology class, but I think I was trying to make it entertaining because there are things on it like:
43. Spend a night in jail
82. Find out how many licks it really takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop
You know, I really don't want to go to jail. It's an experience I can die happily without. And I don't even like Tootsie Pops. Why would I want to sit around and lick one all day?

So anyway, here's the new and improved bucket list (or what I have so far). I'm trying to make this one more serious, and also more achievable. Not that I'm limiting myself, just that I'm not including anything that I cannot ever see myself doing. I'm dreaming big, but I'm choosing meaningful, important dreams instead of random, unHollylike ones.

My Bucket List (Started August 15, 2010)
1. Visit all of the Laura Ingalls Wilder houses/sites (Pepin, Walnut grove, De Smet, Mansfield). Burr Oak is lame, and they didn't do much in Kansas-I’ll skip them.
2. Meet an author I truly admire and have a book signed by him/her.
3. Read a Russian novel.
4. Write a book.
5. Have a library in my home (with leather chairs and a globe).
6. Attend the Academy Awards.
7. Volunteer regularly.
8. Give blood at least twice a year for the rest of my life (or for as long as I am able).
9. Ride in a hot air balloon.
10. Visit Grandma and Grandpa Gruntner’s graves in St. Paul.
11. Camp in the Boundary Waters.
12. Go on Jeopardy (or at least make the auditions).
13. Climb a mountain (doesn't have to be extremely high or require oxygen, but it has to be a legitimate mountain).
14. See a play on Broadway.

It just occurred to me that the danger in keeping a list like this is the same as the danger in keeping my ever-growing books-I-need-to-read list; since it's an ongoing thing, it's impossible to ever check off every single item. I'll never feel like I've completed all of my goals because goals will continue to be added.
But I guess that's not such a bad thing. Even though I won't necessarily get the same satisfaction I would have gotten from crossing off the final item, I'll keep doing wonderful things and reading wonderful things because I'll keep dreaming up wonderful things. In the end, I don't think you should ever truly be able to put a cap on something like this. What a boring life you might lead if you did!

I'm going to end with a fun fact I discovered yesterday while Googling (wow I love that "Googling" doesn't come up as misspelled in the spell check; it's a real word now).
Laura Ingalls Wilder (aforementioned resident of aforementioned towns, author, pioneer, my hero, etc.) was only 4 feet 11 inches tall! And her husband, Almanzo Wilder, was only 5 feet 4 inches tall!
I know that people were shorter back in the 19th century, but jeez! I've always dreamed of going back in time and meeting Laura, but I would probably just tower over her awkwardly with my 5 feet 10 inches and embarrass myself.
I strongly suspect, however, that compared to her immense character and talent, her height wasn't so very striking after all.

The Axe Has Fallen

I was doing a pull in school supplies today at work, and one of my coworkers (a guy named Matt) was saying something about not wanting to work, about it not being worth it. I asked him what he meant, and he said that he was being let go, and that he would only be working for a few more weeks.
And then he mentioned that Spencer, another Target coworker of mine, had already been let go. This completely shocked me. Spencer? Spencer John? He was in a bit of my Target story! He was nice! We had orientation together! He took one of my shifts for me when I couldn't work it! I mean, I didn't know him well at all, but I certainly feel the loss! He just...disappeared! I had no idea that he was even permanently gone!
Matt continued by saying (yeah, this guy's a talker) that Spencer had probably been let go because he was slow. Slow on the zone, maybe. Slow to respond to things. Funny, because I always thought that he was rather willing to help out. Very willing, in fact.
Now, don't get me wrong. I am not criticizing the management at Target in any way, or questioning their judgment. I'm merely sharing my observations, and my general shock at the loss of team members I had worked with and gotten to know.
I realize that all of this is probably even to my benefit. Fewer people on the payroll, better pay for me, I guess. But boy I hate to look at it that way. I would personally rather have the people.

Anyway, what struck me the most was the fact that I could be next. Now, I consider myself to be a good, contributing member of the Target team. I try to respond and help out as quickly as I can, I don't purposefully dawdle on breaks, I give great guest service (mainly because I simply love chatting with people), and I make good time on the zones (although sometimes I get a little O.C.D. and spend more time arranging things than is probably necessary).
It's easy to play myself up, and I don't want to sound too self-righteous, but I'll just say that the reason I put so much effort in at work is because I constantly remind myself that I'm getting paid. It's my job. I enjoy it, I take pride in doing well, but I'm also getting $8.00 an hour, and I need to make that $8.00 worth it. Not only to me, but to the person who is shelling it out in my paycheck every fortnight.
Gosh, I hope I don't get let go. Honestly, though, it wouldn't even make much sense for them to fire me. I only have a few weeks of work left before I go off to school, and after that I'll only be an asset; I won't be on the payroll except for Christmas and the other main, busy holidays. I'll give them the extra manpower they need without taking too much pay away from everyone else. That's the way I see it, at least.

Okay that was part one of The Axe Has Fallen.
Here's part two:

My good friend Ben (one of my best friends at Morris) will not be coming back to UMM next year. I'm mentioning this not because I know he'll probably read it (Hi Ben), but because this news is really bringing me down, and if I want my blog to reflect the impactful things in my life (which I do), then I can't leave things like this out.
So here we go.
The Top 9 Things I'm Going To Miss Most About Having Ben at UMM:
1. The whistling. You can hear Ben coming from a long way off because he's constantly whistling (or singing or humming).
2. His laugh. Again, you can hear it for quite a ways. Makes him easy to find.
3. Having mysterious messages/drawings appear on my whiteboard.
4. We were going to take/suffer through German I together!
5. He's always up for going on a walk somewhere, whether it be to Pamida, the Student Center, or the Humanities Building (where he waited with me for like 30 minutes just so I could get advised).
6. Somehow Ben always knows everything about everyone. He's not particularly nosy; people just feel comfortable telling him things. He's like a well of secrets (which comes in handy a lot, take my word for it).
7. Watching Survivor! I hate to admit it, but he definitely remembers more about past seasons than I do, although we both agree that Rupert is the best Survivor of all time.
8. Just generally having such a good friend around, one who's always willing to listen, who gives great advice, and who will tell it to you straight up when you need him to.
9. I only have one eyeball, and it's for you! (sorry-inside joke)

Okay this is making me sad. It's not like he's dying or anything.
Now is the time when I have to embrace my new mantra: everything happens for a reason, and a lot of the time it happens for the best. There's a reason for this, which will hopefully become clear very soon. In the meantime, I'll be saving all of my best trips, falls, spills, etc. until we hang out again.