I must say.....

the friend who told me that Say Anything's new cd was awesome, was indeed correct.


Here is a great song of theirs, acoustic style

Today's post, part 2

In something unrelated to my previous Christmas post from today, I just remembered a funny incident that happened lastnight at the bookstore:


Woman customer #1: Excuse me, I found this in the religion section. It was by the bibles, with it's pages open. I am pretty sure 'Kama Sutra' doesn't belong in that section.

Me: Oh...Uh...thanks. (takes kama sutra book from customer)

Women customer #2 (her friend) walks up: What? They sell that stuff in here? (turns to me) You guys sell PORNOGRAPHY in here?!!

Me: Uh, well..."technically" it isn't exactly pornography to some people--

WC#2: I can't believe this!

Christmas' of Yore

It's times like these, in the hustle and bustle of the holidays, that one likes to reflect. (when am I not reflecting? I am the Queen Of Reflecting. Or as Rachael calls me--A Bleeding Heart)

I recall a Christmas--perhaps the last one that I believed in Santa--that my dad put some red felty fuzz stuff (you know, the stuff Santa's suit is made out of) on the gate of our fire place, to make it look like Santa snagged his pants on the out of the chimney. When I went to bed that night, I was woken up by a bell ringing outside of my house (obviously Santa's sleigh!), which come to find out was my dad ringing a little bell outside my window.
Despite the magic of this night being squashed by a later realization that Santa was just some fat man who needed to make a couple of extra bucks during the holiday's, this is a fond memory that I am sure I will never forget.
And then there was that one year that I got a walkman (finally!)for Christmas and popped in the ol' New Kids on the Block cassette tape and ran around my couch in the living room for hours.
And THEN, there was that one Christmas that my whole family got together (back in the day, in my Washington state days) and we walked down the street to my Great Uncles house to bring him some food and some Christmas cheer. This elderly uncle had become sort of a recluse in those recent years and we never saw him. We walked to the door of his old, somewhat creepy house, and gave him so grub. He wasn't friendly and wasn't in the holiday spirit, but it was nice to see him anyway.

This year I have been procrastinating my Christmas shopping. I haven't even popped in one Christmas c.d. (for shame!!!!)--not even the Chipmunks Christmas cassette that is somewhat melted from a hot car ride back in 1992.

I do have a bunch to be grateful for. Lots of great friends, family, and a really great guy.

This weekend I will start buying some gifts for all of my peeps. I have to mail the packages to Salt Lake this year, which will be different.

Happy Sunday, here is some nonsense for your reading pleasure

Tis Sunday, and a fairly easy one. I am trying to get some stuff done, but not feeling very motivated. Oh well.
So, in my efforts to feel more motivated, I brought up my iTunes to find some music to get me in the spirit. Scrolling down my somewhat limited list of music on my work computer, I saw Coldplay. Now, my reason for mentioning this is because when I saw the name I laughed out loud. Why, you ask? Well, it all began over a year ago.

I was living in my very cool, yet expensive, downtown apartment in Salt Lake City. I had been somewhat of a fan since there second album, but somewhat hated the song "Yellow" from the first album, so up until that point you would never hear me gush over their greatness.

ANYWAY, their third album came out in approximately June of 2005. I decided I would walk downstairs to the mall (i lived above the mall!!) and get the cd at midnight when it was released. This was for two reasons:

a.) I had never bought a cd at midnight before
b.) They were giving free posters with the purchase of the cd, and I like free stuff

ANYWAY, so I bought the album "X & Y" and fell in love. I think it was their melancholy that turned me on. Whatever it was, I was hooked and they were all I would talk about to pretty much anyone I knew or met for months.

This is funny to me, because my friends will still send me text messages or call me to say "I saw Coldplay perform on tv, and I totally thought of you..."

And it also makes me laugh, because a lot of people totally hate Coldplay. Some of my dearest pals do not understand my fondness for these british guys. But that is okay. I still wear my Coldplay shirt proudly, and would probably cry if I saw them live in concert.

ANYWAY, that is why I laughed when I saw it. Because despite the fact that their music isn't particularly happy ("For you I'd bleed myself dry...."), they seem to put me into a great mood. Maybe it is nostalgia from my bittersweet adventure at my apartment.

P.S. The Garden State Soundtrack was also a cd I wouldn't shut up about right around that same time.

*Sigh*

I forgot how much I love Damien Rice's music. If you don't know who Damien Rice is, you may recognize this song from the movie Closer (Natalie Portman, Jude Law). It is amazing. I love music like this.

Eye twitch

For the past week I have had an eye twitch that wont go away.

Now, in my past experience with eye twitches, they have only lasted maybe a day. So, obviously I am concerned.

It feels like there is a bug in my eyelid, doing a little dance. It feels like it could be noticeable if you looked at me, like you would say "Wow, Amanda, that is some eye twitch." I looked in the mirror, and when it twiches the lashes on the end of my eye do a little flutter.

Luckily it isn't consistant, just comes and goes for the past week. I think I will recover. I would google "eye twitch", but then I would turn into a crazy, hypochondriac who all of the sudden thinks she might have eye cancer. Because last time when I was feeling a bit weird, google said I probably had cancer of the neck.

A new hair do for me?

I have always loved Gwen Stefani and her platinum hair. I wonder if I could pull off this 'do? Hee hee hee.....

Sleep, oh how I have missed you

I am not going to whine about being tired all the time, because it is (somewhat) my choice to work two jobs and go to school. But damn, I have been worn out lately. I think it had a lot to do with the movie and deciding if I would end up in Salt Lake or stay in Arizona.

With the move out of my apartment out of the way, the stress has somewhat subsided and I can get through the next week or two with finals and stuff.

ANYWAYS, after pondering the pros and cons, I did decide to stay in Arizona. I had some great talk with friends, co-workers, family, and I know this is where I should be. I am exciting to move on from this point and really thrive.

Which, brings me to what I normally think about at this time every year: New Year's Resolutions. I really hate to say "New Years Resolution" because those are normally not kept. But, I must think of some things I would like to do, or not do, in the new year. Should be interesting.

Oh, and my friend just burned me a large stack of cd's, including the new Muse c.d., which I love dearly. Her name has been witheld for her protection, but I will say she likes to tease me for wearing leggings.

And does anyone think Interpol sounds like She Wants Revenge? Or is it just me?

World Aids Day

Today is World Aids Day.

According to an article on http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6562444, Aids in America is no longer on the decline, as it was ten years ago.

Why is this? It has been 25 years since the epidemic was first detected. It knows not just one gender, one economic class, or one race.

I hope in the coming years we will be closer to a cure for this horrible disease. I hope that people will keep talking about it and people will learn to take responsibility for themselves.

As the man in the above article mentions, let us save ourselves from us. There are so many things in life that we do not have control over, but there are also many things we do have control over.
I hope we continue to help other countries who are not educated or have any resources for their health. There are so many levels of issues surrounding the problem of AIDS, but it isn't hard to spread the word, even if it is just a red ribbon.