Lately, I've gotten into the hard stuff. Like weeding. It's an addiction that has kept me up at night and started to interfere with my work and family life. Now that I've acknowledged it, I can start down the road to recovery.
But, seriously though, look at it!
You can't see it but there are actually baby peppers on these little devils.
Chives!
The poppies are sad because I hit them with high-powered water. Oops.
Legit Strawberries, guys!
The three empty pots are going to be spinach and cabbage. The cilantro was being camera shy in the back. But it's pretty big and I'm super proud of it.
Most of the stuff I've planted hasn't sprouted yet but I did put in some ground covers and do a TON of weeding today with Nick. He took some coaxing but was a good sport. He may be an enabler to my madness. I've seriously planted everything imaginable....
This was my Gone with the Wind impression shortly after we discovered
carrots in our front yard. "I'll never be hungry again!"
Afterwards, I took a nice nap with this li'l guy:
Only cat I'll ever love....
Also found this old latte art from forever ago. Lately I've been able to do feathers and leaves really well but forget to take pictures:
AND I've had some cool developments on the job front. Talking to strangers seems to be paying off. The other night I was visiting my bestie, Cho, at her restaurant and while I was waiting at the bar I started a conversation with a guy who works for Halestorm (the makers of Singles Ward and The Best Two Years). He seemed interested in reading some of my screenplays and offered to network with me for film. I also talked to a couple in my mom and dad's ward who work in film and might be able to get me in contact with the right people and gave me tons of great advice. I'm super excited.
Also, just got an e-mail from the company I worked with in Costa Rica offering to interview me for one of their positions. I would love to go for it so I can polish up my Spanish but it wouldn't be a lot of money so I'll have to think long and hard about it. Either way, stuff's happening!
Oh, and I'm reading books again! It's fabulous, I missed being a bookworm since I started college and couldn't muster the attention span. My anxiety kept getting in the way. But now I'm fairly worry-free and can go sit on the roof or go to a cafe and read for hours. I love it. I have a huge stack of books I bought and never read too so my reading list probably won't run dry. Life is good. Also got in a debate with a guy yesterday who was a full-blown misogynist and gave him a feminist smackdown! I won't go into details but I left the discussion feeling like a smarty-pants :) It's been a good week for me.
So, thus far in my post-grad experience I've pretty much spent a majority of my time outside in the sun and dirt. I usually dig-a-dig-dig all morning in the garden and then hop on my bike and zip on over to the coffee shop. I come home covered in food, dirt, and coffee and probably smell kind of funky 99% of the time. Sometimes I get rained on because I did not get the memo about that gigantic lightning storm the day I decided to start planting and rode my bike to work.
I actually came into work Saturday morning after a late night in Lindon in which I fell asleep in my clothes and then came straight to work (stopping by my house to hop on my bicycle, of course). I walked in all sweaty and gross and wearing the same clothes from the day before and the first thing my co-worker said was how beautiful I looked. I did not feel very beautiful. I guess she has a thing for smelly, sweaty people.
Anyway, I'm super psyched about my garden this year. It's huge. Well, huge compared to the potted veggies I had in my apartment last year. I managed to grow a few sad little tomatoes and peppers and pretty much everything else died because my roomie forgot to water it all while I was in Spain. D'oh!
But, THIS year I've got a front and backyard and am growing everything! Basil, cilantro, mint, chives, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeños, eggplant, zuchini, spaghetti squash, onions, carrots, and cucumbers.... and I may plant some spinach and cabbage as well. Maybe garlic and ginger.... and some strawberries. Am I being too ambitious? Probably.
I've also got wild lettuce, swiss chard, and carrots growing on their own in our front yard. That's probably why we have so many rabbits in our neighborhood....
Ever since we moved to Lindon, my parents have been avid gardeners and taught me to love the whole process of growing my own food. My Mom's way into plants too and I'm constantly going to her for advice. My new place didn't feel complete until I had a little aloe vera plant sitting on my kitchen window thanks to her obsession with houseplants.
Now, after months of composting, lining garden beds, laying out weed blockers, and planning I've finally got everything planted (at least mostly everything). Here are some pictures, because I'm just so proud (we'll see how I feel when the weeds get overwhelming and I've killed a few plants):
Ignore the weeds overtaking my lawn! They're next on my list for total annihilation! (Following the boxelder bug infestation,which wasn't pretty)
Not pictured: Chives. Because they're on the roof and I didn't feel like breaking my neck.
Needless to say, I'm one happy little vegetarian :)
And here's the latest latte art:
This one's for a psych-eval. What do you see?
I still kind of suck but maybe if people stopped ordering girly iced lattes and smoothies I could actually practice! Sheesh!
I can't even sum up the emotions I've been feeling the past week or two. I've gone to school for nearly 20 consecutive years and a major chapter of my life has come to a close. I don't know what to do with myself without school and I think I understand why so many of my family members have chosen to become teachers. We're not very good at letting it go. Education molds so much more than just our intelligence. I've learned valuable social skills and life lessons along the way. And my learning certainly doesn't end here. I plan to keep on growing and discovering new things and meeting more extraordinary people as I go.
Oh, right, that insinuates that I have a plan. That's the question I keep getting now and of course it's going to keep coming up until I make something of myself. The truth is I came out of this without a well thought-out or concrete plan or career opportunity. I have options though and that's encouraging enough. I know something big is going to come, I just don't know what. So, I'm staying optimistic. Here are some of my ideas for what I might do:
-Go to Korea. It's something I've been back and forth on for years. I would make lots of money and get to travel and have an amazing experience. However, it would take a year away from pursuing my film career so I might be putting it on the backburner while I apply for some film jobs. Come August, I'll have applied and be at the point of making a decision about it.
-Apply EVERYWHERE. Right now, I'm trying for jobs as a Production Assistant, Casting Assistant, Writer's Assistant, Junior Editor, and even administrative assistant/receptionist at production companies in hopes of getting my foot in the door.
- Submit screenplays to: the Hollywood Black List (which they've now opened to the public), Film Festivals, and Writing Competitions. And I'll probably never stop. My screenwriting professor has been encouraging me to do this all year and I think it's worth a try. He wants me to submit the screenplay I wrote this past year but it would need a lot of work before I do that. Something could come of it though!
-Volunteer with local film festivals and independent films. I'll probably do this in my spare time no matter what I do just so I can gain experience and rub elbows.
-Spend more time in a Spanish-speaking country to work on my Spanish until I become fluent.
So, there you have it. If anyone asks me what I'm doing with my life and I give them a vague, mumbled reply... here's proof that I'll be doing SOMETHING. And I've submitted over 100 job applications already and I'm still on a roll. I'm also working on making connections anywhere I can.
Anyway, graduation was great. I woke up early and Nick helped me get ready (laughed his head off at my robes and shouted "expelliarmus!" at me) He even lent me his stole of gratitude, we made a knighting-ceremony-esque production out of it. Then he drove me to campus.
The ceremony was short and sweet and full of flamboyant Fine Arts students, bare feet and curtsies galor. Gotta love our colorful little chunk of the U of U community. I even ran into a few friends from screenwriting and other classes who I hadn't realized were graduating. One of my former roommates even met up with me beforehand and we went in together but got separated when we had to gather with our departments. Here are some pictures from the ceremony:
Texted this to Ashley for hair approval. I'm so lame.
The Dean
Byron from screenwriting
My production 1 professor/screenwriting classmate, Dustin, who got his Master's during the ceremony and came by to congratulate me afterwards.
I sat by a friend from screenwriting and a girl I'd befriended downstairs when I couldn't get my hat on straight. I wish I'd taken more pictures :/ Then, afterwards, met up with my family for some pictures outside Kingsbury hall. (Photos courtesy of Harey-Poop)
Why...?
Both grannies were there and gave me a nice bouquet of roses. Such cute ladies.
(I'm the sad little geek waiting by the stairs.)
THE shoes. My mom graduated in these shoes and I've loved them ever since I was little so I was determined to wear them. It took a lot of practice and some coaching from Nick to walk in them ;)
I had my last screenwriting class the night before. I had to try really hard not to get emotional at the end. That was the one class that had made the biggest impact on me and I had come so far since my first semester taking it. Even our professor admitted that he'd had a hard time coming that night because of all the goodbyes. Screenwriting had sort of become my community during school and it's going to be strange to spend my Thursday nights somewhere else and not having the constant anxiety of writing a screenplay and bringing in pages. I said goodbye to Paul afterwards and he promised to write me a really good recommendation letter.
After the ceremony, I had a nice dinner with my relatives at my parents' house and was overwhelmed by all the hard work my parents did (Mom even made my favorite dessert - mud cake) and the generous gifts and cards from my family. It's just so weird that it's over and now I have to think about my future and be a responsible adult....
I just hope my parents and friends know how much I appreciate their guidance and support over the past 5 years. It's been a crazy ride!
And lastly, I'd like to thank this backpack:
I bought it the day I arrived in Virginia before I'd even checked into my Freshman dorm. My sister, Ashley, had come with me to help me get settled in and we went shopping to get some essentials. It was the first backpack I owned that wasn't a hand-me-down.
It's been through numerous classes, airplane rides, crappy apartments, trax rides, and even trips abroad. I've stuffed it with water-bottles, trail mix, laptops, lunches, textbooks, phones, keys, bike-pumps, notebooks, and more pens and pencils than I can ever count. When my Mom was sewing it back together for the third time she told me I'd better get another backpack or graduate fast because it wasn't going to last another year. That was two years ago and I think out of stubbornness I decided that I was going to graduate with this backpack. So, here at it's retirement, it is held together with thread, hemp, hot-glue, safety-pins, and cloth and has been sent through the washing machine I don't know how many times. And it will probably be my companion on my next several adventures. Here's to being sentimental about cheap crap!
I don't really feel at home in a place until I've found my own little spot where I can read a book, draw, or just meditate. When I lived at my parent's, it was my old beat-up pink chair (that coincidentally vanished as soon as I moved out).
Here, it's my roof:
This was last Friday when I had a Fat She-hermit (shermit?) night and devoured a pizza by myself while studying and watching the sunset. It was tragically beautiful... or beautifully tragic. I haven't decided.
As soon as I moved in I was psyched about the fact that our kitchen window led to the roof of our "shed/garage". I immediately got a camping chair so I could hang out out there but then the winter hit and it never happened.
But, now that it's warmer, I finally get to take advantage of MY spot. I've been out there almost every day lately, especially when I come home in an awful mood and need to zen. It really helps me not to freak out on the cats or my roommates when I've had a bad day. That, and I get a good amount of Vitamin D, plus the sun heats the bricks during the day so when I go up there in the evening, I can sit agains them and be all roasty-toasty. Only downside... sometimes Rick and Larry yell at me and disrupt my zen time. Rude.
Oh, it's also an ideal pranking location. I've gotten my roommate twice. The first time, he was cooking dinner and didn't know I was on the roof. Just as he turned around I jumped back in through the window and shouted "hey!" at him. Spaghetti. Everywhere. The con was that I had to clean it up. It was worth it.
In other news! I just got my graduation robes:
Yeah, that's happening. I liked the part where they sent them with a piece of candy. Like, here's your consolation prize! And if you don't blow it in the next month, we'll even let you have a degree!
I don't even like laffy taffy.
Oh, and latte art at the cafe : not awesome, but we're getting there:
I wish I'd taken a picture of the marijuana leaf I made. That one was pretty decent.
Not as a homosexual, but as a Mormon who lives and breathes the gospel but who thinks that rights are rights and my religious agenda shouldn't interfere with other people's lives. I believe in a separation of church and state and I like that my church and my government are their own entities. If anything, it gives the gospel more meaning in my life. Not everyone has the religious beliefs and upbringing that I have so why should I expect them all to adhere to the same lifestyle? If I expect people to let me practice my religion, why shouldn't they expect the same with their own practices?
There it is.
Today, half of my friends changed their Facebook profiles to the equality symbol. I would have done the same except for fear of stirring up controversy and unneeded contention in such a public arena. Maybe because I'm also a coward. I have too many people on my Facebook with differing views and I want to respect them all because they each have good reasons for their stances.
But I did want to say something and I think that as I have all of two people reading this blog, this might be the safest place to vent.
I could go on and on but I'll try to keep this brief:
I support gay marriage.
If you don't like it, don't have one.
It's not going to make your kids gay. Open-minded, maybe. And heaven forbid that happens.
Marriage is a sacred thing (and for me, it's eternal versus the earthbound marriage that's stirring up so much controversy) and I can't deny another person that privilege if it's what they want. It means sharing something with the person you love most. And if you truly care about that person, you should be allowed to be considered that person's family. It doesn't make marriage any less meaningful to me. I've seen more heterosexuals take light of marriage than homosexuals, in all honesty. It doesn't matter which way they swing. People are people and there are douchebags in every subculture.
Kids with gay parents don't typically care that they don't have a "mother" and a "father" (as far as I know). They have parents and I don't imagine they love them any less. Gender is not an issue. My friends who have gay parents are just as well-rounded as I am. A man and a woman can still be crappy parents just as a homosexual couple can (or not).
It's not going to lead to people marrying/having sex with goats. I'm pretty sure that stands under non-consensual.
One day, this issue is going to fall in line with women's suffrage and the civil rights movement. It's just bound to happen and we can't fight it. The fact that so many Christians are is making us very unpopular. Not that that should be an issue but it doesn't help our case when we complain about being persecuted and then go on to persecute others (not that all Christians are doing this).
If I have kids someday and one of them is gay, I don't want him or her to be afraid to be honest about themself with me or with society. I'm not very open about my views unless people ask because I know a lot of people won't accept it and it sucks. I don't want to put other people through that.
When my roommate holds hands with his boyfriend in public, it's not a statement intended to offend anyone. It's a simple gesture of affection and should be left at that. I'm not trying to offend homosexuals by holding hands with a guy in public.
Shoving my religion down other people's throats, when they don't want to hear it, isn't going to convert anyone to my views.
As far as I'm concerned, this is a social issue and my religion has nothing to do with it. I don't consume alcohol but we saw how the prohibition went down. We know making it illegal isn't going to make it go away.
It doesn't affect me. My friends having same-sex relationships doesn't mean I'm going to and it doesn't mean that Mormon temples are going to have to allow same-sex marriages. It's a private institution. And people have to be temple-worthy for it anyway.
Look at Canada... it's been legalized for years and their society is still standing. As Pierre Trudeau put it: "The government has no business in the bedrooms of Canadians"
Most of my friends right now are part of the LGBTQ community. And they're good people. My roommates are some of the most caring and pure-hearted people I know and yet they're met with so much hate, ignorance, and opposition over something that, as far as they're concerned, they can't control.
I believe in free love. Not in the sense of having sex with multiple partners but in the sense that everyone deserves my love and acceptance. As my church says: Love one another. Everything else is between that person and God. Live and let live.
Besides, if we keep denying gay marriage....
There, I got it off my chest. I'm sure there are great counter-arguments to most of what I said, which is why I don't try to stir up debates on Facebook. I could argue back and forth but it's not going to accomplish anything because people have their views for a reason. I probably know most of the arguments too. These are still my views and I'm sticking to them. I may not be very educated or politically involved but I can still think for myself. It doesn't make me a radical liberal, I'd just like to think it makes me a decent person with a little common sense.
Sorry, that wasn't as brief as I thought it would be. Here are some thoughts on love and commitment:
Sincerely,
Whit
(and I hope there are others who feel the same, even if, like me, they lack the courage to say)
As a side note: I really appreciate that my church has been reaching out with statements like this that clarify our stance: http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/church-mormon-responds-to-human-rights-campaign-petition-same-sex-attraction
Birthdays are really controversial for me. I love them, I hate them, I sometimes wish we could just pretend they don't happen.....
I wish I could pinpoint what it is that gets me so bugged around my birthday.
It could stem from that one birthday party when my parents took me and all my tomboyish friends to a hair salon to get makeup and curly updos. After which, one of those friends told me that she didn't want to be friends anymore because I was too girly (I remember wanting to go horseback riding or to the fun center but for some reason neither of those happened, either it was a money thing or Mom had a girly agenda....hm....).
Or it could be that I don't like the attention. Or making other people feel obligated to celebrate me. Or just getting older and not feeling like I've accomplished much in general. I don't know, really.
Either way, I get all moody around bday time every year. It starts with getting slightly excited a month before and thinking maybe I'll actually plan something fun. Then the closer I get, the less zeal I have for even acknowledging it. Then I eventually get to the day and just decide to buy myself a congratulatory smoothie and go about my day as normal.
Anyway, this year was no different. I called my sister a month before and told her she should come down and we could go out and have fun on my bday. A week later I took it back but she was already set on coming (I didn't realize at the time but she had already contacted some of my friends to surprise me at dinner).
I thought about going to the Mummy exhibit that's in town but it was too expensive and people were busy so it kind of fell through. I finally settled on just hanging out with Hay and going out to dinner with whoever was available that day.
My day actually started really well. I woke up to this incredibly crappy weather and a barrage of text messages (I didn't even check my facebook until way later that night because it's too overwhelming, but the wall posts were appreciated nonetheless!):
(First day of Spring gloriousness!)
Ate a cliff bar and broke in these bad boys (thanks Mom and Dad!) with a nice run around my neighborhood:
I even got to race my good buddy, the mastiff across the street. He even stood at the ready until I ran past. I may have ran a few laps past his fence since he was so excited to race with me. And my Iphone is magical and always knows what songs to play. It was perfect.
I skipped Spanish class (Ay, no bueno!!) and lounged around the house watching some depressing biographical dramas from the punk-rock era with my roomies. I even gathered up the energy to try curling my hair while my roomies were out:
(Oh-em-gee, shameless selfie!)
At some point during this frustration, my roomies came in and yelled my name. They got a really crouchy response and then I threw open the door only to see them holding a box of my favorite vegan cupcakes. They sang Happy Birthday to me and I felt like a jerk. I may have devoured those cupcakes four times over. My roomies are awesome and they know me too well.
Then I pounded out some of my screenplay before Haley arrived. We went to Gateway and strolled through the Urban Art Gallery there and Haley bought me some prints for my wall (despite my objections to her spending money on me >:( ) < angry Jabba the Hutt face!
and we discovered a new Blickenstaff's had opened there and probably spent an absurd amount of time playing with all the toys:
(I'm the birfday princess and Harey is my gallant knight!)
We even found Bueno bars, which I haven't seen since Spain:
Then we got Rose Lemonade at Tony Caputo's and met up with Megs, Nick, Brady Kummer, and Cho at my house and drove to the Himalayan Kitchen for dinner. Devynne met us there as well. It was delicious and I was in heaven. The server was pretty funny too and nice enough to take an awkward photo of us with the aftermath:
(Cell-phone tower. So embarrassing....)
All in all it was a surprisingly great birthday and I actually felt pretty special. Gotta thank Hays for making it happen! I kind of blew the surprise by inviting everyone to dinner but they all conveniently had work off.... sneaky, sneaky. So that was surprise enough ;) Maybe I can get over this annual birthday crisis I seem to have.
(And to conclude...here is Cho's depiction of Kummer as a zombie. She claims the app was glitchy...I claim operator error. We had some fun goofing around after dinner and annihilated what was left of my cupcakes.)
