Summer Musical

So remember when I told you that I was going to be doing something fantastic this summer? Well it is time to spill the beans. I am going to be in Syracuse City's "The Music Man." I am excited and I cannot wait until rehearsals start. The last time I did a play was the summer after I graduated, and I miss it so much. Musicals are so much fun to be a part of.

I'm a pick-a-little lady... Maud Dunlop to be precise. I didn't know I was old enough to be a married lady, but make up and acting do amazing things. I am ready to work hard, meet people, and sing my soul out.

Anyway, I just wanted to tell ya'll. It will make the summer fly by, I hope! Time is tick-tocking by. I'm alright with that.

-Meg

Shoes and school

I just need to talk about these shoes for a bit.

Reasons why these are miraculous--

1) I bought them online and yet they fit, were the right color and height.

2) They cost $30. The brand is MIA, and I didn't realize how expensive that brand could be until I was looking at other shoes from MIA. I got soooo lucky on the price.

3) They go with any outfit and I can dance in them.

4) My sisters love them and wear them too. (We share clothes, but sometimes they don't like my taste.)

I just wanted to express my gratitude for my gray shoes. I adore them.

I also feel the need to say that I'm so excited to graduate! Next spring is the plan. Feast your eyes on my DARS report:

The dark green is what I've done. The light green is what I'm registered for in the fall, and the pink is what I still have left to do.

I also found my camera battery charger, finally. Now I can post pictures that are of respectable quality.

Over and out.

-Meg

P.S. Sorry I wrote about school. I know I promised I wouldn't. Sorry. I'll stop now.

Running in the rain

I keep saying I'm not a journalist, but I always find myself behaving like one. I am interning at a paper this summer. The Islander is a kinda-sorta legit paper. A young little thing that everyone is Syracuse reads because it is mailed to them as a community newsletter--no charge.

I cover Track and Field because my sister Lindsey is the bomb.com at that, and my other sister is a up-and-coming freshman star. Lindsey runs the 400-meter and Adriana is liking the 800-meter. I like the meters on my camera.

This weekend is the state championships, which are held at BYU. Today was so rainy and cold. We had an umbrella, but it was useless in the torrents of rain and wind. I actually started crying at one point. There was misery in the humid, cold air, and our clothes were soaked.

I can't even fathom how hard it would be to run in that, and yet so many did.

Eventually, the sun came out, although it was never quite as warm as it could have been. Luckily, my mom and I brought a few extra clothes and blankets that we kept in the car so we could change between events.

We're headed back down tomorrow for the finals! (Today was the trials) I'll probably be donning my U of U hat because it feels really good to wear it down there amongst all that blue. And I hope to see some of my besties that live down in P-town.

And I'm going to take more pictures with an intimidating camera which I am borrowing, so I only sort of know how to use it. And I'm going to interview people, despite my dislike for that. It's going to be great and sunny.

-Meg

p.s. I have exciting news about what ELSE I'll be doing this summer... stay tuned. I can't wait to share! (Unless rapture happens, then I guess it won't matter anyway...)

Vegetables are awesomespice

I'm afraid I've been thinking. Probably too much, which is dangerous. We all know this thanks to Gaston.

I've been thinking about a lot of controversial things.

Like being "green." Or, as I like to say, "a responsible human being." I think I have an anxiety disorder, because no matter what I'm doing, I can't stop thinking about all the harm I'm doing to the earth. I took a long shower this morning and I forgot to unplug my phone charger. Yesterday I ate a steak, and although I know that the beef came from a reputable source and so the cow was not subject to pain and suffering during its life, was ethically killed, and was not shipped over hundreds of miles to reach my table, I could not shake the awful feeling I had that I was eating an animal. I was eating flesh!

I have really started to cut back on meat because it really is better for the environment (and for your health.) I really like being vegetarian, but I sometimes do eat meat, for a few reasons.

1) I need some protein sometimes. I'm not a picky eater and I have few allergies, so I usually don't have a problem getting enough protein through other means. But sometimes it's just not happening any other way.

2) If I eat meat, though, it's going to be good meat. Not a marbled meat (which one should never eat. I love hot dogs, but they're just so bad for you...) I'll eat meat if I know it was raised and harvested responsibly and locally, and if it's lean and unprocessed.

3)I don't want to offend people. Someday, meat won't be such a big deal to people, but for now, if I go to some social event and I don't eat meat, the host often will be offended. Would they get offended if I didn't like vegetables? Probably not as much, but whatever. Eating is a social thing, so sometimes I'm just polite and have some meat so everyone feels comfortable.

I've found that people get strangely defensive when I try to explain that I don't eat meat. Then they criticize me if I do eat a little meat once I've said that I'm a vegetarian. This is my usual response to those people.

• First, I never said YOU had to abstain from meat, I just said I wasn't. You don't have to justify why you eat it to me. I know.
• Second, it's not a diet. I'm not eating to loose weight or gain weight. I'm eating to be healthy and conscious of those in the world around me. (Later I'm going to rant about dieting.)
• Third, my arguments for vegetarianism are not any less valid if I do eat some meat. I may not be absolute, but at least I'm trying.

Vegetarianism is not a religion. I'm LDS, and we are advised in the word of wisdom to eat "very little meat." I feel that I am being more obedient to that now that I've changed my eating habits.

And you guys, there are so many awesome fruits and veggies. If you're a picky eater, I just don't know what to tell you. There is so much good stuff out there, meat is only one part of the food pyramid. Even if you still want to eat meat, try making it a more balanced part of your diet. Try being a vegetarian just one day out of the week to help reduce your carbon footprint.

Try some peas, carrots, jicama, strawberries, peaches, asparagus, broccoli, corn, potatoes, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, apples, spinach, tomatoes, avocados, blueberries, grapes, oranges, pears... the list goes on and on. I rarely feel like I'm missing out on anything.

Sorry if this post seemed long and preachy. I feel that this is important, and it is something that troubles me often. I have a lot of other issues with food, but I'll save those for later. Thanks for reading my crazy mind...

-Meg

The blogger crash, my dog, and that one addicting game

I think my blog was left virtually unscathed from the blogger outage!

Years from now, we will reference the Blogger Crash of '11 with a shudder and a wince. We will never forget.

It was pretty awful. My life was boring without anything to stalk and read. And of course, no where to post my random thoughts about the world.

This is my dog, Puck. One day he will learn to behave.

You guys, have you ever played Pocket Frogs? I'm so obsessed. Please, please tell me I'm not the only one! If you haven't, well, I'm not going to explain it to you, because it sounds really dumb. You'll think I'm a weirdo. And I am a weirdo, but I don't want to give the world more evidence of that. If you have played Pocket Frogs, you will know that I am not crazy. I'm just cool. It's a really entertaining app.

-M

Things I love about being home

I love nail polish names. This one is "excuse me"

This was part of my petition to bring back spring. The trees have blossoms, but I'm so cold...

My cousin! I have so many cousins, and this girl is extra special. We're going to go on a cupcake cousin date soon. I can't wait. I love cousins, and I love cupcakes. Pretty much bliss.

Healthful pita make-it-yourself pizzas. This one has olives, pineapples, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and--of course--tomato sauce and lots of cheese. I'm allergic to pineapples unless they are cooked, so I love them on my pizza.

-Meg

Oh a day of quiet

There was rain today, and it curtained the doorway. That is why I stayed inside and watched the family come in and out of the water, rushed but happy with their pattern of Monday.

I enjoyed just being me--cozy and comfy. A slight disappointment in a cluttered room, happily obsessing over mindless puzzle games. I wrote a bit, and enjoyed the luxury of not forcing it out of me.

I am glad not every day is this lazy. But oh, how I enjoyed today. And how I loved that when my dad asked me what my plans were tomorrow, I said:

"I'm going to run, maybe. Finish my article, and clean my room."

And he rolled his eyes.

-Meg

I want to talk about this--

I have struggled over how to react to Osama bin Laden's death. At first, I was just super happy, and I had to go tell everyone in my house to turn on the television.

But as I kept watching, I alternated betweens feelings of elation and pride--seeing crowds break into the National Anthem in front of the white house--and worry about those still in danger. Whenever I saw his face, I felt justice knowing he was gone, but I still felt anxious about other terrorists and our soldiers. I never once felt that celebrating this was wrong. It didn't even cross my mind.

Then people all over social networking sites were condemning those who were celebrating the death of another human. This made me feel really guilty. I know the Christian thing to do is to be sad for him and morn for his soul. And I do believe that Christ's atonement covers even bin Laden's sins.

But the truth is, I am happy he is dead.

I'm celebrating because the world's most wanted man can no longer hurt anyone else. I am celebrating death of one person's hate and desire to strike terror in the hearts of men.

There are still hate and terror, but one person who embodied those attributes has met his end. I rejoice at this.

I reflect on my own life. I want to kill those vices inside of me. I want my impatience to die. I want my hate to die. I want my fear to die. I want my selfishness to die. Because if they don't die, they will kill me.

-Meg

Dear boys:

This post was inspired by Elise, from elise's pieces. Mine are just a bit more... well, bitter.

Dear Neal Patrick Harris boy,

You're an idiot. I am tired of being patient for you.

-Meg

Dear friend boy,

Even though you are miles away from him, will you please reason with Neal Patrick Harris boy? I can only hope he'll listen to you. Thanks.

-Meg

Dear meatball sandwich boy,

I'm so glad you are out of my life.

-Meg

Dear diamond boy,

I can't wait to meet you.

-Meg

Dear Z boy,

Get off your high horse and write me a letter!

-Meg

Bye Bye!

Turning in this guy tomorrow. Phew! (Or however one spells that sound of relief.)

I rent most of my text books, which I love. Sometimes I get a little jealous, and want to keep the books for myself, but then I remember that I really do not need them, and I will never use them again. It is someone else's turn to be internally shredded by minimalism syntax.

One more final, you guys! Then I promise I won't blog about my boring college for THREE WHOLE MONTHS! You have my word. I am going to talk about delightful things. So look forward to that.

-ME

Mood

Finals always makes me want to pick a different major.

Like Parks, Recreation and Tourism. Or Yoga. Or Tetris. Or breathing.

I've never changed my major. I suppose I could, but I do like linguistics. Sometimes though, I just hate doing syntax. I'm allowed to do feel that way, right?

But if there was such thing as a tetris major, I would seriously do that as my major. Just sayin'.

I guess what gets me down during finals is knowing that I am bring about my own stress, my own pain, and my own trials. It doesn't have to be this way. I don't have to procrastinate. I don't have to waste time. I don't have to get discouraged, yet I do. I let myself give in to my weakness as I freak out and panic.

On the instructions for my syntax take-home test, my professor wrote: Don't panic. Don't Delay. I am not trying to trick you.

Comforting, but still so hard. So. hard.

I can do this.

In 48 hours it will be summer and I will be freee! (Yes, with 3 e's) I'm going to celebrate by going to the park and listening to my ipod while I swing. It is seriously my favorite thing to do.

-M

Last night

A month ago today, I was on a plane to California...

Last night must have been a page designer nightmare!

I'm really glad I wasn't working last night. I mean, imagine having the front page all laid out, possibly even sent to the printer.

And then you get the news that Osama bin Laden has been killed.

Rearranging time! No, more like destroy everything and start over. Read the New York Times' story about its front page, {here}.

It's been really slow, but if you're lucky, you can look at newseum.org to see today's front pages around the country, and the world.

Are there more important things to think about than how the page looks in the morning? Yes. Most definitely. We need to worry about security and possible retaliation.

But everyone sees the event through their own eyes, their own frame of reference. This is my frame of reference: a journalist's, because that is what I'm doing now. No, I won't be doing that in a few years down the road probably, but I still appreciate what that life is like.

And I appreciate what our servicemen and women have done for our country. I appreciate their leaders. I appreciate our soldiers' wives, children, parents, for what they go through. I am grateful to live in this country--for the freedom of the press, and freedom of religion, and so many more freedoms.

The battle isn't over, but it still feels really good that he is gone.

-Meg