Confused

Why are BYU students so fashion challenged when it comes to dressing in times of seasonal shift? Today, I saw two girls wearing winter, Ug-like boots with walking shorts. (Insert head shake of disapproval) It's really funny to walk across campus, in time to my music, of course, you see students bundled in winter coats and turtle necks walking alongside coeds in flip-flops and shorts. Oh, dear. As I sit here in the Tanner Building, a girl is walking up the painfully extensive staircase (my legs seriously turn to jello every time I walk up them) in a sweater, denim skirt, brown Dockers, and striped knee socks. Again, you just have to wonder. 

Rap Wars

This week, my Facebook has been in frenzy of rhyming and rapping as my friends and I have engaged in a battle of words. The madness started when one of our friends said that he thought that my roommate Jessica and I are the closest set of roommates in our group of friends. Roommates Andrew and Nick didn't appreciate that pronouncement, and proceeded to initiate a battle to determine better roommates. For the last week or so we've been competing for roommate dominance, and it culminated this week with poetry.

I opened a can of worms when I innocently wrote a poem on Jessica's Facebook that went thus:

And now, a kind of rhyming, mostly not poem.

Ode to a Roommate:

Jessica, Jessica, you're so great!
Jessica, Jessica, your paper takes the cake!

You rock my socks,
You're a ShamWow roommate,
If you were any more great,
You'd have to wear a cape! (because you would be a super hero.)

About 15 minutes later, Andrew, taking this as a challenge wrote on Nick's wall the following:

My good pal nick just look at you
your hat is sweet I like your shoe
My roommate is the coolest guy
If you feel low he'll bring you high
Nick exercises with the goal
that he wont run into a pole
His hair is short his toes are long
now lets all join in this great song

all praise nick! the greatest guy I know
he'll help me through my struggles, in earthquake rain or snow
all praise nick! the greatest guy is he
his bathroom explosions are the best you'll ever see

Ok, so I was sitting in the Blue Line Deli just laughing out loud when I read this. I gave Andrew major props, but I didn't realize that this was only the beginning! The rest of Tuesday evening and all of yesterday produced the following, increasingly hilarious and gangsta correspondences:

Nick to Andrew, 3:17p.m. on Oct. 14:

*ahahEM*
Andrew Starita,
your name rhymes with pita.
Though others tell us we are not very tight,
I have to disagree with all my might.
You see, only true friends can sing songs in the shower,
like miley, j-bros, and tower of power.
We come from humble origins,
meek, lowly, and somehow...oh dang nothing rhymes with that word...ummm
You are oh so freakin buff,
I shudder when you threaten to rough me up.
But I know that I am stronger,
because my toes are so much longer,
than yours.
word.
So as the days go by,
I sit here and wonder why,
you would write about our bathroom races,
on this here book of faces.
But thats really okay,
I don't hold a grudge in any way;
because we are just that tight,
I think Jess and Emily know whats right,
to give up now
and stop using their imitator shamwow,
and find out that the truth,
seen by all the most novice of slueths,
it is that Andrew and I are the tightest roommates,
because his name rhymes with pita.

Nick to Jessica and Me, 11:04 a.m. on Oct. 15:

*AhEm* k...
Emily and Jessica,
you think you two are friggin hot,
but ya'll should realize you are so not.
You see, andrew and I rule this coup,
we're hot like hot dogs, baked beans, chicken noodle soup.
When the both of you simply open your eyes,
and take in all of our roommatey goodness you'll be surprised,
at how much we guys are truly made for one another,
like patrick and spongebob we are true blue brothas.
word.
So listen up you two gals,
I know you think you are great pals,
but on the inside andrew and I beat you both,
on the inside is what really means the most.
That's where you'll find the care,
that's where you'll find we share,
the tightest bond ever known to man,
woman, child in all the land.
If you feel like you two still are closer than we
I recommend taking a look in mirror and then you'll see,
that there is no hope,
yo, you chicks are dope.
But that's okay,
cuz we love you anyway,
take care,
fuzzy bear,
Andrew and I have the most bangin hair.

Me to Nick, 4:32 pm. on Oct. 15:

This is a story about two roommates, Em and Jess.
Way more ShamTastic than Spanky and A-Star, these girls are the best.
Their bangin room has a homey glow
which makes them better, don't cha know.
Andrew and Nick, their lights are fluorescent,
because their inferior friendship is not effervescent.

But hold the phone, Nick talks so big,
but their hair is whack; whackier than a jig.
Sure, Andrew loves Nick, though not as much as Em loves Jess,
for Andrew's tendency to forget his backpack causes Nick heart-damaging stress.
Nick, you may wear lavender frost,
but do you have polka dot Halloween socks?

Jess and Em are da bomb.
Together, we could beat even the mob.
You fools have no clue
what for real friendship can do.
We're homes to the core,
how can we ask for more.

Word.

And finally, it culminated last night with a truce, in the form of a truly awesome rap by shawty Nick:

Nick to Emily, 11:01 p.m. on Oct. 15:

"To the Max"
Well hold the phone right there young soul,
this poemy goodness has gotten way outta control.
It was all fun and games til you wrote on Jess' wall,
a note, a poem, whatever it was, it was seen by all.
So now it's my turn,
and I hope ya'll will learn
how to end the contest,
and put this killer rappin to rest.

(Cue the white guy doin a sick beat-box)

Emily, Emily, Emily Wood,
yo this girl is tight, straight outta the hood,
she punches numbers by day and does homework all night,
askin for nothing, only pickin a fight,
over an ibc,
or maybe some cookies from me.
But what I really like,
are her shamtastic pies,
to the max, apple jacks,
freedom fries, just relax,
Shamwow, snowplow,
this girl is hot, don't touch her, OWW!!!!
From the dub-ya-V
this thing is straight from me,
so I'm out
like a sprout,
in the springtime with no drought.
Goodnight,
sleep tight,
from ya boy, I'm so darn white.

This made my night. My friends are hilarious.

Word.

Plugged In

My iPod has been one of my closest companions at school this year. Walking to classes, studying, and working, waking up in the morning, I've been loving music and getting into some new bands. Something that just makes me happy is when I'm walking around campus and my step matches the beat of the song I'm listening to. I feel unstoppable and like nothing else in the world matters. I can't help but smile. :)

My Playlist:

Jimmy Eat World: These guys are a given; I don't think I have a playlist without some of them. I've only been really into them for a little more than a year, but we're close now. My FAVORITE song of all time is "Kill." The title is misleading, but it really is amazing. The line, "I can't help it, baby, this is who I am," is my mantra many a time when I feel stupid for doing something dorky or awkward. This reminds me not to change myself for other people, but be confident in myself.

MAE: I got music from this band from a friend a couple weeks ago, and love it! They're peppy, but not too pop. Good stuff. They sound a lot like Death Cab for Cutie, and have some really good songs.

Weezer: I never thought I'd like them, but since I tried them out recently, I find they make an excellent addition to any playlist.

Keane: My friend, Michael, from whom I receive much of my musical guidance and inspiration, made me a playlist online with the song "Nothing In My Way" on it, and I LOVE IT! It's one of those songs that I can listen to over and over again. It's an especially good campus strutting song.

Sherwood: These guys are similar to MAE, and have some good songs.

Coldplay: I go back and forth with Coldplay, but right now I'm definitely a fan. Their songs are mellow and good for in-between-class contemplation.

Death Cab for Cutie: It took me a while to like them, but I love "Transatlanticism," "Photobooth," and "The Sound of Settling."

I don't listen to individual albums, but rather playlists ranging from 50 to 450 songs. My iPod is in a perpetual state of shuffling though the music that says a lot about my life at the time. I have countless playlists, most of which are named (with alliterations, of course) after the period in my life they accompanied.

What's on your playlist right now?
Do you feel a personal bond with your iPod?

Good and Not So Good

Monday:

Good: Morning trip to the temple with Kristen. Provo looks so pretty right after the sun rises, and the temple is a beautiful, peaceful place to start the week.

Not So Good: This is the pile of data entry that greeted me at work. I actually had more, but minimized my stack after four straight hours of punching the ten-key. I actually gasped out loud when I saw the whole stack of yellow papers. 

Tuesday: 

Good: I took my American Heritage test and knew pretty much all the material! I got an 86% on the multiple choice and feel really good about my essay/short answer part. I'm hoping for an A, but we'll see. The curve will hopefully help. Here's hoping some people didn't study!

Another Good: I took a celebratory trip to Roberts and Target tonight. Roberts for ribbon, Target to exchange the ink cartridges I bought two weeks ago which fit my family's printer at home, not mine here. Along with getting the right ink, I hit dollar section Halloween jackpot! Featured below is my Halloween cereal bowl, (which is actually for little kids. . .) Halloween list pad, and my favorite, the "Spooky CD." This dollar section find has 26 tracks ranging in length from 5 seconds to 13 minutes, and features all your spooky sounds, from creaking doors and whistling wind to the more unique demented Christmas carols and old man speaking Chinese while 80's music, reminiscent of "Thriller" plays in the background. No joke. This cd is awesome. I highly recommend it for everyone's next trip to Target. (Also featured in the blurry photograph is the electric purple and black hounds tooth ribbon I got at Roberts. I am wearing it as a sash tomorrow!) 

Finding My Niche

In one of my posts last week, I mentioned how I was having a hard time finding what I wanted to do. Since then, I’ve received some new inspiration and I’m exciting to try out some new things. 

Thanks to Susan for the comment on my post about looking into the fashion industry. I thought about it, and realized that I would really love to do something in that field. However, I don’t really know what jobs there are to be had. I love putting together outfits and trying out new combinations of textures, pattern, color, and accessories. Sometimes I find myself getting distracted while I’m studying at night because I’m mentally assembling my outfit for the next day. Since I’ve been at school, I have yet to repeat an ensemble, and I’ve brought some pieces back to life that I haven’t worn in a while. I especially like working with some of the Susan Cast-Offs I got from her last package. She sent a couple great pieces that I’ve had fun playing with. 

Documented below is a favorite new outfit I put together this week, with a bright pink cardigan from Susan. I put it together at about midnight before I wore it, and wasn’t sure if it looked too 80’s. I got approval from my suitemates, but wasn’t quite sold. I got dressed in a hurry Friday morning and didn’t have time to process my ensemble before stepping out onto campus for my day, and immediately began questioning my latest fashion move. I could swear that people were staring at me and thinking thoughts of “What the heck is she wearing?,” “That’s a HUGE belt!,” and “Whoa.” In an act of fashion cowardice, I removed my belt on my way to my first class. I put the belt back on while I was studying in the Wilk before my 11:00 class, and by the time I got to said class, I was in a panic, feeling like a skinny-jean wearing, giant-belted, 80’s freak. I found a bathroom, walked in, and luckily there was a girl in there who I know. I desperately asked her if my belt was okay, and she consoled my fears. Her friend gave me encouragement, telling me to “wear it with courage!” so I did. For the rest of the day I walked confidently across campus, deciding to rock the look. It was way fun, and I felt the buzz that can only come with wearing a new and trendy outfit. It must have been a success, because some guy came up and talked to me while I was putting up “Missed Punch” lists around the Physics department and ended up getting my number. Haha. That made me feel pretty good. Ah, the power of fashion.

I’ve decided to start taking the prerequisites for the Business School, because I think that I would really like to go into Business Management. I’m also going to take Basics of Clothing Construction next semester, and maybe unlock some new powers of fashion creation.