A Rough Guide to Doing Disneyland in One Day

I would like to start off by saying I'm somewhat ill-qualified to be writing this blog because I have never done Disneyland in one day; I've always made it at least a two-day affair. That being said, I've been to Disneyland more than your Average Jane, so I want to attempt to help those of you who only have the time or money to spend one day at Disneyland. However, this may be helpful to anyone who is going for the first time or doesn't go often. It is also important to mention that while my last day in the park was June 1st, Cars Land and Buena Vista Street open at California Adventure tomorrow (June 15th), so there are a lot of changes going on in that park that I have not experienced. 

The question I've been asked a lot lately is: What type of ticket should I get? If you are going to Disneyland for the first time and/or live faraway and don't know when you will be coming back to the park, I highly suggest getting a Park Hopper ticket. This will allow you to go to both Disneyland (DL) and Disney California Adventure (DCA). I do think it is worth the price difference. You're paying a lot either way, so you might as well make the most of it. If you cannot afford the price difference, your one park should definitely be Disneyland if that was ever a question. If you are going to VidCon, you can purchase a ticket here. If you happen to be reading this and going to Disneyland in a trip unrelated to VidCon, you can purchase tickets here, at the ticket booth in the park, or at any Disney Good Neighbor hotel. Those three options are probably all going to cost the same, but I recommend purchasing tickets through your hotel because that will have the shortest line. (If you print it out online you still have to go through the ticket booth to get a physical ticket to take into the park. You can have it mailed to you, but that will cost extra.)

In preparation it is a good idea to bring layers of clothing. A typical summer day at Disneyland day may be in the 80s (F) but can get down to the low 60s (F) at night. Sweatshirts are a lot to carry around, so I personally like to bring a light long-sleeve shirt that takes up very little space in my bag. You can rent a locker for anything you don't want to carry around in the park. I'm going to say that this is around $10, but I've never done this so I'm not sure. As someone with incredibly pale skin and a family history of skin cancer, I feel it is my duty to tell you to remember to use sunblock and reapply it several times during the day, especially if you go on water rides. You'll thank me later when you don't have to ask anyone to rub aloe all over your back. Make sure at least one person in your group has a camera, and make sure that they use it. You will be very disappointed if you realise you don't have pictures from your magical day. A great thing about Disney compared to other theme parks is that you can bring food into the park with you. Once you get into the park, food will be incredibly overpriced, so if you're trying to make this as inexpensive a trip as possible, consider packing a PB & J and some snacks. It's a good idea to bring in your own water as well. And bring chapstick. My friends always forget chapstick. 

Disneyland has ever-changing hours, but for most of the summer Disneyland is open from 8 AM to 12 AM and upon the re-opening of California Adventure, it will be open from 8 AM to 11 PM. These are the hours of July 1st and the time surrounding VidCon, but if you are going at another time (especially if it's not summer) you may want to look up the hours for the day(s) you're going. If this is your only day at the park, I would recommend you wake up early and try to arrive at the park by at least 7:30. It takes at least 10 minutes to get to the park itself from any parking lot and there are going to be lines to get into the park. Arriving right when the park opens not only gives you the most time in the park, but it'll pretty much guarantee a short wait for your first ride and will give you a jump on grabbing a Fast Pass (which I will explain later if you don't know what that is). Don't forget to grab a schedule on your way into the park. This will tell you showtimes for the whole day for both parks. You will probably also want a map as well. These are both located right as you come into the park where the cast member scans your ticket. If this is your first time in the park, it's your birthday, or you're celebrating anything, you can go into City Hall (located on Main Street to the left as you enter the park) and get a button. You'll probably have to wait quite awhile for this in the morning because people like to do this first to show the button off all day, but if you go during the evening you most likely won't have to wait in line at all. 

Keep in mind that if you are going to the park on July 1st, this is the official Disney Day for a convention of over six thousand people, is during peak season, and is two weeks after the Grand Re-Opending of DCA. There are going to be lines. You're going to have to wait in them. Once you're in said line, commit to it and be patient. Look at this as time you get to spend with your friends. I will try to give you as many tips as possible to avoid the worst lines, but you will still do plenty of waiting. 

Things You Shouldn't Miss

Obviously this is going to be subjective, but here are the things I wouldn't want to miss if I only had one day at the Disneyland Resort. If you are a person who doesn't normally do roller coasters, remember that this is Disneyland. Kids go on them and they are not that fast. 

In Disneyland

Space Mountain*

This is a roller coaster in a dark room that makes it look as if you are riding through space. It's not the fastest roller coaster ever, but it's a ton of fun. I recommend having dance parties while riding this.

Star Tours*

A 3D simulated ride through space with C-3P0, this is my favourite ride in the whole park since it re-opened June 3rd of last year. I've never ridden it as a person who doesn't like Star Wars, but I think it would be enjoyable even if for some crazy reason you've never seen the films.

Matterhorn

This bobsled ride up a mountain re-opens tomorrow (June 15th) with brand new, less awkward seating. It now fits three people to a sled with no lap-sitting. It's a fun coaster that features an abominable snowman and goes faster at night (unless that changes with the new cars).

"It's a Small World"

I know this ride is infamous for it's catchy and repetitive song, but I honestly think it's part of the Disneyland experience. This is one of those rides that will often have a line that looks intimidatingly long, but they're constantly loading people onto boats, so the line is constantly moving and goes quite fast.

At Least One Dark Ride in Fantasyland 

I'm pretty sure "Dark Ride" is a technical term. What I mean by that is the storybook rides that are basically a re-hashing of a Disney movie in ride form. A lot of people write these off as little kid rides. You know what? You're at Disneyland. If you can't be a kid at Disneyland, where can you be? My favourite is Peter Pan's Flight, but Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and Alice in Wonderland are also fun. So you know for planning, part of Fantasyland closes before the fireworks (I believe around 8 or so) and opens up again around 10 PM. Avoid Fantasyland in the afternoon as much as possible since that is when the most young children are in the park.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad*

This is another of the mountain coasters. It generally has the shortest line of any of the mountains. For the fastest ride, sit towards the back of the train.  This is a ride where you slide around a lot and the person on the left may get squished, so take size into account when you board. Also, 3 small-average adults can fit in one seat. If you're not going to see any of the nighttime shows (or you're going multiple days), this is the best ride to be on during the fireworks. 

Indiana Jones*

A bouncy jeep ride through one of 3 slightly different temple rooms with Indiana Jones. If you are like Indy and have a phobia of snakes, you probably shouldn't ride this. Otherwise, it's a must-do adventure. 

Pirates of the Caribbean

Hang out on a boat with some animatronic pirates (they're not actually ON the boat, you are.) Starts out nice and calm, then you'll go down a couple drops (which occasionally get you wet) and you'll find yourself in the middle of combat. Not the most thrilling of rides, but it's a lot of fun. Plus, there are wenches. 

Haunted Mansion

This is where some of the most fun cast members are; some of them get really into the spooky atmosphere. The ride itself may contain ghosts, but it's not very scary if you're above the age of seven. A bonus of this ride is that it's usually cold in there so it's great for hot days.

Splash Mountain

A log ride where you get to chill with Brer Rabbit. People who have never been on this often think that it's just your average log rid where you go up and down a big drop. Come on, this is Disney. There's got to be some story line. My favourite drop on the ride is not the main drop. Note that water levels are adjusted to the weather, so if you are riding this during the summer, you will likely get VERY wet. I had one small dry spot on my body after riding the front of this a few weeks ago. However, it's still a really fun nighttime ride as well.

Soundsational Parade 

Parades are a good time to sit down and take a break for a little bit, maybe grab some food and eat it while waiting. You can view this show from Fantasyland or Main Street. Cast members will rope off the route and you can sit anywhere along it. The parade features Mary Poppins, all the princesses, Aladdin, Simba, and other fun things from your childhood. And, unlike Celebrate: A Street Party, it features no Hannah Montana music, which is always nice. Parade times are 4 and 6:30. (They probably won't change, but you have your handy schedule to double-check that.) 

Other Attractions

Jungle Cruise (if you love puns, you'll love this), Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, and Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin* are some rides you should check out if you've got extra time. The canoes can be really fun if you have a big group and not too many children on your boat. Try to watch the ride and see if multiple canoes are in use because it's most fun when you can race. Don't waste your valuable time on Autopia. 

In California Adventure

Soarin' Over California*

This is a virtual hang-gliding ride that will take you on a trip over some of California's most famous sites, including the Golden Gate Bridge (which is always weird for me 'cause I'm suddenly at home again), Lake Tahoe, and Yosemite. You may not be able to see the real thing while you're in California, but at least you can pretend.

Ariel's Undersea Adventure

This is much like the storybook rides of Fantasyland. A clam shell ride takes you through the songs of my personal favourite Disney movie, The Little Mermaid. I rode this on opening day and the queue extended into the World of Color viewing area (you probably don't know where that is, but trust me that it was a big line) and yet I waited less than an hour. This is the fastest moving line in the entire resort because it is constantly loading. I would be surprised if you had to wait more than 10 minutes to go on this ride.

Toy Storia Mania

This is a 4D shooter game that takes place in the land of toys. You (virtually) shoot things like pins at balloons and rings around aliens. 

California Screamin'*

You know when you go on a roller coaster that's really fun but way too short? This is not that coaster. I'm really into roller coasters and I love this one, but it's also a good one for people who are a bit wary of thrill rides.

Radiator Springs Racers* 

Like I said before, Cars Land opens tomorrow. This means I have never been on this ride. I have heard really great things about it, though, and heard it's a bit like Test Track over at EPCOT which is a lot of fun. This is probably worth checking out.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror*

Yes, this is a ride where you fall straight down in an elevator. I personally think it's worth forcing yourself to go on, which is what I did to my Padawan and now she enjoys it (I think). However, this ride is not for everyone. Try it anyway.

Aladdin - A Musical Spectacular

A stage version of Disney's Aladdin with ever-changing pop culture references and an some additional music. This show will probably only be running through the end of the year or so, meaning you need to see it now. Times are on the schedule you already have. Get there at least 20 minutes before it starts. 

Animation Building

This is a thing people pass over easily. I'm not going to tell you what awaits you, you can see for yourself. After you've soaked up the glory of the main building for a bit, definitely head over to the Sorcerer's Workshop for karaoke and other fun stuff. Turtle Talk with Crush is also pretty fun if you want to take the time to see it, though I wouldn't call it a must. I've never actually done Animation Academy, so I can't tell you much about that.

Other Attractions

Muppet Vision and It's Tough to Be A Bug are two fun 3D short films. If you love the Muppets, Muppet Vision is a must. I don't like bugs, but I enjoy It's Tough to Be a Bug, though I know others who can't stand it for that reason. Mickey's Fun Wheel is a good ride if the line isn't too long, but you should go on the moving gondolas otherwise it's just your average ferris wheel. Grizzly River Run is pretty fun if you want to get really soaked, but it's not that different from rapids rides at other theme parks. Only worth the wait if you really want to get wet.

*denotes Fast Pass

A Fast Pass is a ticket that allows you to go on rides with a shorter time during a certain window of time. Fast Pass distribution is located next to each ride that has a Fast Pass line. You will receive a ticket that will have a window of time on it. What a lot of people don't know is that you can go on that ride any time after the first time has passed. The bottom of your ticket will tell you the time at which you can get your next Fast Pass, however, if you get a Fast Pass at DL you can immediately get another one at DCA and vice versa. These are FREE. 

In Both Parks

Meet at Least One Character 

Taking a picture with your friends and a character is a great free souvenir. Mickey and friends (and occasionally other characters) are pretty much always on Main Street. You can meet Aladdin and Jasmine in Adventureland, Rapunzel and Flynn (they usually have a long wait) as well as Merida in Fantasyland currently, and if you love princesses you can head over to the Princess Fantasy Faire and wait upwards of an hour to meet 2-3 princesses. You can also head over to Toontown to meet Mickey and Minnie in their houses. DCA is the place to go if you want to meet Pixar characters. Jessie and Woody often hang out in front of Toy Story Mania, Dug and Russell can be found in by Redwood Creek trail, and I've found Sully and The Incredibles wandering around. Nautical Mickey and Aviator Minnie can also be found in DCA. However, this may all change with the re-opening. (I have seen pictures of adorable 20s and 30s period outfits on Mickey and friends for Buena Vista Street.) You'll have to wait to meet any character unless you have impeccable timing. There will always be a cast member with each character. She/he will have a camera and will take your picture with that and put it on a Photo Pass that can be used throughout the day. However, getting prints of these is incredibly over-priced. Don't hesitate to hand your own camera to the cast member as well. Most meet and greet times are on your schedule.

World of Color and Fantasmic!

I'm putting these together because I think you should see both and I will try to help you do that. These are both water projection shows. Fantasmic! includes live elements as well. They are two of my favourite experiences in the park and well worth seeing. Seating for Fantasmic is first come first serve, so you often need to get there about an hour before the show starts. If you can help it, catch the 9:00 Fantasmic! and head over to the 10:15 World of Color. However, you need a pass to get into World of Color. These are located next to Grizzy River Run. They are distributed for a specific time. Wait a few hours before you go over there if you want to see the second show. The time of the show will be listed in the distribution area. Like Fast Passes, these are free and just meant to control crowds. You can also get special World of Color reserved seating when you eat at Carthay Circle and other restaurants you dine at. Getting from Fantasmic! to World of Color is not going to be easy, but if you leave when the Mark Twain (the big white boat) pulls into the river, you will leave before the crowd disperses and should be able to get to DCA in time. There will still be plenty of traffic because of the fireworks, though. These are special fireworks for Independence Day on the first. It is possible to see them and then go to the 10:30 Fantasmic!, but I don't think it's very possible to see all 3 things without a TARDIS or at least a hoverboard.

I don't know how bad crowds will be, but I do think it's possible to see all the attractions that I have specifically bolded. 

Dining

I've been asked about the best options for eating on the go. If you want something that you can grab and eat while you wait for a parade or in line for a ride, your best options are the carts located throughout the parks. Your options there are pretty limited (corn on the cob, chimichangas, turkey legs). There is also a corndog cart on Main St. that would be good for on the go. (The ones at Corndog Castle in DCA are better, but there's usually a long line there.) Pretty much anywhere else you go (apart from fine dining) is going to get you your food fairly quickly, but won't be very conducive to walking around with. If you are like me and don't need to eat all that much at one time, kids meals are a good option to save you a few bucks. They list them for a certain age group but anyone can order them. Ordering a cup of water with your meal is another good money-saving tactic. You can check out all of your dining options here and if you're really into food, you can find reviews and such here.

I'd be happy to attempt to answer any questions you have that I may have missed in this ginormous post. I hope there was something in here that you'll find useful!

I Survived BEDA!

I may not have posted before midnight every day, but I did, in fact, complete BEDA!

My friend Hannah asked me some questions last night which I am going to answer because I think it will be a nice way to wrap-up the month.

Did you enjoy BEDA this year?

There were times when I really enjoyed BEDA. You can definitely tell which posts were the ones I had fun with; it definitely comes out in the way I write. I do feel accomplished, though. I feel pretty good, though I know several of my posts were cop-outs. Last year I did Vlaugust, which is the same concept as BEDA but with vlogging. That was really, really difficult (partially because I hate vlogging when people are home which is always), but I feel like I probably got more out of that experience. There was a lot more interaction with people. I got at least a few comments everyday, got some video responses, and shared moral support with a few other vloggers. There was a lot more of a dialogue going on there, which, I think, is what it's all about. I probably won't ever do either again, but who knows?

Did you learn anything new about it/yourself?
Mostly it just reiterated what a procrastinator I am. Also that I am forgetful and unimaginative.

What was your favourite thing you did this month?

I'm going to assume this is a blog-specific question. I think my most enjoyable (for me) post was "Sorted into Hufflepuff". I really love love love talking about Harry Potter. The internet is a great place to nerd out about things. There's usually at least one person who relatives to me on things which is lovely. 

Thank you to everyone who stuck around this month, especially those who helped come up with topics or asked me questions during Question Tuesdays. A very special shout out to Heather who commented on more posts than everyone else combined. 

5 Things Most People on the Internet Don't Know About Me

You may know these things if you stalk all my tweets, but here are some things you possibly do not know about me:

1. I was a Girl Scout from first grade through my senior year in high school.  A lot of people respond to this by saying, "You don't seem like a Girl Scout." What does that even mean? Other people are not surprised by that because I'm a bit of a goody-goody. I feel like there are a lot of misconceptions about Girl Scouts. Some of the best memories I have are from the camp I went to for ten years. I met a lot of amazing people through being a Girl Scout, and my troup even took a senior trip to Florida and a cruise to Mexico. 

2. I'm a little bit bipolar in social situations. One minute I'll be completely overcome with anxiety and hide from everyone, the next minute I'll be dancing and singing "California Dorks" at the top of my lungs. I have no idea why this phenomenon occurs. 

3. I'm a sucker for cheesey Rom Coms. "27 Dresses", "Sleepless in Seattle", "He's Just Not That into You", and "Never Been Kissed" have all made me cry multiple times. I was a wreck watching "You've Got Mail" the other day. I don't really believe in guilty pleasures, but "Made of Honor" is kind of one of those. Just writing this is making me want to watch one.

4. I sort of inadvertently collect mugs. For some reason I constantly find mugs that appeal to me greatly. My mom gets mad at me for having so many, so I've gotten to the point where I've hidden several in my room which I will wait to use when I finally move out.

5. I'm incredibly stubborn. Once I make my mind up about something, it is quite unlikely to change. I'd like to think it's my Hufflepuff loyalty. However, I'm also pretty indecisive. 

Thanks for the idea for today's blog, Katie! :)

Listening to: The Decemberists: The King Is Dead

Sorted into Hufflepuff

I've wanted to write this blog for a long time. I'm not really sure what's been stopping me. I guess for awhile it wasn't very relevant, then it became relevant again and I just didn't do anything about it. Warning: I get pretty passionate about Harry Potter. You probably should get out of here if you don't care about witches, wizards, magical beasts, goblins, ghosts, and magical feasts.

I started reading Harry Potter approximately ten years ago, around the same age as Harry started out. As a kid, I never really thought about what house I would be in. As I imagine most kids did/do, I just kind of assumed I would be where Harry is. Let's face it, Jo doesn't really give a ton of credit to the houses that are not Gryffindor in the books. It's pretty easy to assume that Gryffindor is THE house to be in, especially as a kid.

I think it wasn't 'til around three years ago that I really started thinking about what house I am in. I knew I was definitely not a Slytherin, and no longer assumed I was a Gryffindor. I proceeded to take every online sorting test I could find. The results were fairly split between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, occassionally ending up Gryffindor, not once Slytherin. So here I am trying to figure out which house I was in, mainly so I could get house swag to show my love for Harry Potter. I was pretty much resolved to be a Hufflepuff, but reading is one of my greatest pleasures, so I kind of wanted to be a Ravenclaw (plus blue is my favourite color). I decided to take three more tests and those would be the final word on the matter. Well, the results came back 2-Ravenclaw, 1-Hufflepuff. From then on, I was a Ravenclaw. 

Last year, I found out that we would all have the opportunity to take a sorting test created by Jo herself. Who could know more about sorting than the creator of the entire Potter world? I was very excited. Part of me was a little nervous, but I was confident that I would be sorted into Ravenclaw.

I managed to get into Pottermore BETA, and so began the painful process of waiting for my owl. It seemed like EVERYONE was getting their owl and I was just distracting myself with VEDA. My owl finally came on August 29th. There were still quite a few people who didn't have theirs at that time, but it felt like I was one of the last.

As soon as I saw the email on my phone, I hopped out of bed and turned on my computer and went straight to Pottermore. I turned on the Sorcerer's Stone soundtrack and began going through the story. I really enjoyed the new character backgrounds, but I was reading as fast as I could so I could get sorted. The process of getting a wand was really exciting, and so was the result: hazel, phoenix feather, 12 1/4 in, unbending. That's supposed to be a really powerful combination and I was sure it would give me the edge to get into Ravenclaw since such a great wand was clearly meant for a brilliant wizard. I kind of sped through the rest until I got to the sorting. Watching the message from Jo was terrifying and exciting and wonderful. 

Let's back up for a minute. I had spent the past few weeks hearing people complain about what house they got in, all the while just desperately wanting to be sorted. Several people had told me the questions were a joke, others had told me they were pretty good questions. To me, it seemed like the people saying the test was bogus were just the ones who had gotten into a house other than the one they desired. I was determined to honour the results of the test still, though I had no doubt that I would be sorted into Ravenclaw.

Well, I took the test. I would say I got maybe two questions that felt a little bogus, but the rest were pretty decent. What I like about the test (though I know there are different questions) is that it's not completely obvious which house corresponds to which answer. A lot of the tests online are like, "Would you steal candy from a baby? Then you're a Slytherin!" Pottermore, not so much. Next thing I knew, my screen was telling me that I was a badger. I just sat there staring and holding my breath for a couple minutes.

I had all of the feelings. I was confused. I was so sure I was a Ravenclaw. I was suddenly doubting the legitimacy of the test. I read through the welcome note and was less than convinced that I fit its description of a Hufflepuff. I honestly didn't feel good enough for Hufflepuff, that I wasn't loyal or patient or kind enough. That lead me to believe that I was just the leftovers: the person who isn't brave or ambitious or intelligent, and is therefore taken into Hufflepuff out of the kindness of Helga's heart.

After days, weeks, even months of wavering in my decision, I finally decided to respect Pottermore's decsion. Do I think Pottermore is the absolute final authority on what house you're in? Not at all. But I realised something about myself that I think happens to others as well: the things that are special about me are the things that are so ingrained in me that I don't realise that most people don't necessarily possess those qualities. Honestly, though, it's hard for me to even imply that I'm special. That right there is one of many reasons I now know I am a Hufflepuff: humility. Ravenclaws won't for a second let you forget how intelligent they are. That's not exactly me. As I said before, the main reason I felt I was a Ravenclaw before was because I like to read so much and Ravenclaws are big fans of those paper things that have words in them. But you know what? I'm constantly finding evidence that I am a Hufflepuff. We may be easy to pick on, but we just want to love you.

What I am saying here is this: even if you disagree with Pottermore, at least consider the results. I have had two friends just in the past two days tell me that Pottermore was right, despite the fact that they hated their results at first. The important thing to remember if you are one of us who takes this sorting very seriously is that the house you are in doesn't change you as a person. The house system is meant to put people together who have minds that work in similar ways. It's not perfect; people don't break down perfectly into 4 categories. You may possess qualities from multiple houses, although I would like to remind people that everyone at Hogwarts was only in one house and that Gryffinclaw is not a Thing.

If you read this whole thing, I appreciate you. I would love to hear your sorting stories. 

Listening to: Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls (vol. 1 & 2)

Reading: Eve by Anna Carey 

Sweeney Todd

I'm a little behind on today's blog, but I have a good reason! I was out. That's right! I didn't spend my Friday night at home watching Netflix for once. I can hardly believe it myself.

As you may have guessed from the title or read on my Twitter, I went to see "Sweeney Todd" tonight at my junior college. I've only seen two productions at the JC before this. The first was like, Shakespeare in Hollywood or something like that. I honestly don't remember it well and only saw it because a friend was in it. The second was "Grease". I was really impressed with it. I kind of hate the moral of "Grease" (if you become a slut, you'll get a boyfriend), but it was a really enjoyable production. That was 2 years ago, though. I'm feeling a lot of nostalgia for that day right now. (Well, one of those days. I saw it twice. Didn't pay for it either time.)

"Sweeney Todd" was a great production. It was a very talented cast of people I had seen before in "Grease", "A Very Potter Musical" (which wasn't technically a JC production) and various other productions put on by friends. It kind of blows my mind that there are so many talent people in my area around my age. It definitely made me want to check out more of their productions in the future. I kind of forgot how much I enjoyed live theatre. Between now and the end of the year they are doing "Beauty and the Beast", "Legally Blonde", and "Avenue Q". I'm really excited for all of them. 

Basically, check out local college productions. Way cheaper than professional theatre, but they can really surprise you with how good they are.

Listening to: Sweeney Todd Soundtrack

I'm watching "A League of Their Own" and can't be bothered to put the least bit of effort into this. Hey look, a hit!

"I haven't got ball players! I've got girls!" Yay for sexism.

I had this one friend whom I no longer talk to who always said this movie was about softball. That really pissed me off. I mean, we've certainly come a long way. Not.

Too engrossed in this movie to go off on a feminist rant.

Poor excuse for a blog. Shut up. Still counts.

"By the way, I loved you in 'The Wizard of Oz.'"

Disappointments and Excitement

I once again have nothing to talk about, so I'm just gonna talk about my life/day.

My friend and I have been talking about moving out together, but we both have crap jobs and couldn't afford much in the way of rent if we also want to do things like eat. Yesterday, I was looking through Craiglist and I found an amazing house listed at $1200 a month. Sounded way too good to be true for a 6-bedroom house, but I let myself get excited anyway. Turns out, it was way too good to be true; it was supposed to have been listed as a $1.2 million home for sale. So that was quite a let down. I don't know why I let myself get excited about things that I know are too good to be true and/or won't ever happen. This is a pattern I have gotten myself into.

I just booked a hotel for my next Disneyland trip. That is a thing that I can be excited about that will definitely happen. If you ever need to book a hotel for a general area but don't care specifically where you stay, I highly recommend doing it through Hotwire. They tell you the rating of the hotel and show you a shaded map of a range wherein your hotel lies. I did this for my last Disneyland trip, but this one is in an even better location. It's right across the street from the parking lot where I have decided I now like to park. They probably have a shuttle, too, but then you have to go by their schedule. Anywho, I'm excited because I'm taking my friend who will just have graduated from high school at that time. We've been talking forever about how she needs to go to Disneyland with my other friend Gretchen (who will hopefully also be going) and I. I love going to Disneyland with people I've never been with, and also with people I always go with. I've been asked how I maintain my excitement for each trip. How can I not? It's Disneyland. For me, it really is the Happiest Place on Earth, at least that I have yet to discover. I can't really explain the magical power it has over me. 

This next trip is going to be extra awesome because I get to see my friend make his debut as a Disney cast member. His audition happened the day after I went to Disneyland with him in March. He texted me on the way home to tell me he got it and I absolutely freaked out. I am so excited and so proud of him. 

I never really do anything besides Disneyland and occasionally grab frozen bananas at Balboa Island when I go to Orange County. This time, we're at least gonna check out the beach and hopefully something else awesome. Can I just tell you that it is wonderful to have an annual pass to Disneyland? We can go to the beach and then just casually stop by Disneyland afterwards. It's really an awesome feeling.

If you have any suggestions of inexpensive things to do in the OC, please let me know. 

Listening to: Death Cab for Cutie: Codes and Keys

Question Tuesday #4

What kind of car do you drive?

I drive a '95 red Ford Windstar. It's the height of glamour. 

Where do you work?

At a Tommy Hilfiger outlet.

Do you like your job?

As far as retail jobs go, it's a pretty good one. Most days, my boss is really awesome. She has sorted every employee into a Hogwarts house and she watches Doctor Who. We eat a lot of cake. Yesterday she sent me on Misson Happy Doughnut. The mission consisted of me and another coworker going to buy doughnuts with her money and going to 7-11 to buy milk. They were delicious. Also, I don't have to wear the basically the same outfit everyday which is brilliant.

Banana?

Yes, please. With a side of peanut butter and Nutella. 

How much will time-to-literacy reduce if English got rid of upper case letters?

I don't feel like it would have that much an impact. I'm probably wrong.

Are you more likely to remember a person’s name if you read it than if you hear it? Is the complexity of the name relevant?

It depends on the context. I guess I'm probably more likely to remember it if I read it, so long as there is a face to go with it. I'm really really good with faces. It is pretty rare that I forget a face. I'm not quite as good with names. Complexity can be relevant, but I think what's most relevant is if the name suits the person. If the person reminds me of someone else who has a name I think is better suited to them, I'll probably mess up his/her name.

Why did I just get so excited to find bacon in this turkey wrap I'm eating?

Probably because bacon is the best thing to come off a pig.

 How much could a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood?

I don't think it would waste its time with such things.

Why is Chex Mix so addicting?

They coat it with addictive substances. Have you ever had Turtle Chex Mix? It is the best ever. Now I want some. Thanks, Jill. 

PC or Mac?

I've basically always been on Team PC (I'm currently on a Dell), but I'm thinking about making the switch to Mac if I ever get rich. Macs are so expensive! Why are they so expensive?

Thanks for your questions, even the pointless ones.

Listening to: The Temper Trap: Conditions

Reading: Purity by Jackson Pearce (which came out today so check it out)

Tom Hanks Week

Occasionally I decide to watch a movie every day for a week featuring a certain actor. And by "occasionally" I mean this is the second time. It was Gene Kelly before. Now it is Tom Hanks. I just kept finding myself jonesing for movies that happened to feature Tom Hanks, so I decided to make a thing of it. I like to try to get people to join in my themed things. They never do. 

Today I watched "Catch Me If You Can."

Yesterday I watched "You've Got Mail."

Not sure yet what to watch tomorrow. Options include "Sleepless in Seattle", "A League of Their Own", and "That Thing You Do!".

Join me in some Tom Hanks this week?

Angsty Chelsea

It doesn't feel like Sunday at all because I had to work instead of go to church.

I don't even know why I am still doing BEDA. I have nothing to say. I'm just too stubborn to allow myself to fail completely, even though I have basically failed to have any content in these blogs. 

You know what sucks? Growing apart from people. This always happens to me. No one seems to want to stick around for very long. I mean, I have friends that I've been friends with for a long time, but distance, or no free time, or my crippling depression that made me a completely different person got in the way.

This is something I think about a lot. What is wrong with me that I am awful at maintaining friendships? I completely understand why people wouldn't want to be around Chelsea from two years ago. She was awful and depressed every second and wasn't really in control of herself. I'm not that girl anymore, though. I'm not the girl who has to convince herself everyday that there's something worth getting up for.

I say that, but at the same time, I'm completely terrified that I am that girl, still. I've been lonely a lot lately and that scares me really badly. I can't fall back into who I used to be. I wasn't even myself then.

I remember someone once telling me that whenever she thought of me, she thought of a smile. That's the Chelsea I want to be again. But the world broke her. She was glued back together again, but the pieces never quite fit the same.


Listening to : Coldplay: X & Y

An Unproductive Saturday

I'm feeling really guilty because work called me to come in today and I didn't go in because I wanted to get classwork done. I then proceeded to watch an episode of Angel, scroll through Tumblr for some ridiculous amount of time that may have been around two hours, read a few pages in my textbook, took a quick online test, then looked through Forever 21 online for a long time and went to a friend's house. 

I've been having a ton of trouble motivating myself. This is not a remotely new problem for me, but I just can't seem to get myself to do things, which is silly because this is potentially my last course until I hopefully go to flight school. 

If you have tips on motivation, I would love to hear them. 

Listening to: The Fray: Scars & Stories

Reading: Purity by Jackson Pearce

The Catastrophic History of You and Me

Ah! I have ten minutes to write this!

Ok, so I'm not much of a reviewer, but I'm going to talk about The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg, which I finished last night (okay, 2 o'clock this morning).

Before I even started reading this book, I flipped through it to find that all the chapter titles are lines from songs, so that already caught my attention. And of course, being me, I immediately made a playlist of all the songs I already owned (which I am currently listening to.)

This book is about a girl who dies due to her heart literally breaking in two when her boyfriend breaks up with her. (That's not a spoiler, that's how the book starts.)  This book goes through a quite unique take on the afterlife. The main character, Brie, is trying to cope with the fact that her boyfriend said he didn't love her at the same time as she is dealing with leaving everyone she cares about behind. I'm having trouble thinking of what else to say about the plot without giving anything away. There are several twists in the novel. It touches on real issues and manages to be funny while talking so much about death. It contains some references I really enjoyed as well. It was a really enjoyable read. Pick it up at your local bookstore or library or something like that.

YA or Bust!

If you've been following my blog this week, you know that I've been preparing for YA or Bust!, which is author event containing Stephanie Perkins, Nina LaCour, Jess Rothenberg, and Gayle Foreman. I've read at least some of each of their work, and let me tell you that this is a very talented bunch. I really enjoyed meeting these ladies. I am always scared to meet anyone, but they're all really personable, especially Nina LaCour. They really seemed to want to talk to us. They all read an excerpt from one of their novels, which was fun. Stephanie is the most animated reader. I adore her so much. Her hair is bright red now, and Gayle noticed that the Swedish fish she was eating were the same color. She ate them out of Stephanie's hair. 

That happened as my friend Jaime and I were trying to get a picture, so I'm standing right there. I stole that from Stephanie's Twitter. 

They were a really fun group. We just kind of hung out with them for awhile after a session of questions from a moderator and some audience Q & A. I didn't want to leave in case something awesome happened. 

Not only were we provided with excellent entertainment, but we were fed pizza and gummy bears and given posters, pins, and tattoos. Author events are the best.

Listening to: Of Monsters and Men: My Head Is an Animal

Wednesday Is a Day

The entire format has changed and I am confused. Oh my.

Well, I was reading The Catastrophic History of You and Me when I realised that it was 11:30, so I had to turn on my computer to write a blog. I don't want to write a blog. I want to keep reading. I also want to sleep since I have to but up at 7 AM. How does one become a morning person? I would really like to be a morning person. That would make like easier. I'd probably have to start by going to bed earlier. I'm really excited about meeting 4 authors tomorrow. That's going to make it harder to sleep. Is it weird that I'm worried about what I'm going to wear? I feel like most people don't care about that when they are going to meet authors. Time to go to bed or something. Yeah, I'm probably going to read more.

Listening to: Train: Save Me, San Francisco

Question Tuesday #3

Who are your favourite authors and what are your favourite books by them?

Well I obviously adore Harry Potter and Jo Rowling. My favourite in the series is Deathly Hallows. Maureen Johnson is everything I want to be in a person. I love The Name of the Star and 13 Little Blue Envelopes. Another favourite is Stephanie Perkins. I know she's only written two books, but they are both completely fantastic. My favourite of the two is Anna and the French Kiss, mostly because Anna is a LOT more likable. Stephanie is really good at making distinctive characters. I've only read the Leviathan trilogy, but Scott Westerfeld totally impressed me with it and I have every intention of reading all his other books.

How many authors have you met?

I haven't met that many, but they's all been completely fantastic. I attended Lit Day at LeakyCon and was sad not to meet any authors then, though I did eventually get to meet Maureen Johnson. I met her again in Septemeber along with Stephanie Perkins. They are both hilarious and wonderful. A few days before I met them, I met Scott Westerfeld. He had a whole talked planned out about Leviathan which I had read because of him talking about it at Lit Day. He's a really awesome speaker and he told me I was lovely. A few months ago I met Lauren Myracle. I was disappointed that she didn't give a talk or anything, but it was actually really cool because I talked to her for about ten minutes about books and such. She was really nice. And my briefest encounter was with JOHN GREEN! Poor guy had just the most ridiculous signing line ever and he was so gracious and just genuinely wanted to make sure everyone had a good time at the show. I love that man.

Where did you cheesecake love begin? 

I don't know. Wherever I was the first time I tried cheesecake. 

What's your go-to music at the moment?

Definitely The Civil Wars. 

Listening to: The Runaways: Waitin' for the Night (in my pants)

Reading: The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg

The Disenchantments

I was just about to start writing this when my dad informed me that he will be turning off the internet. Blergenheigen. I just basically want to get something up before tomorrow. I finished The Disenchantments today and I really enjoyed it. I may possibly edit this at some point tomorrow to talk about it a little more. It was very John Green-esque. If you like John Green, you will like this book.


Listening to: The Disenchantments playlist

I Have Lots to Read

This Thursday I'm seeing Stephanie Perkins, Nina LaCour, Gayle Foreman, and Jess Rothenburg (I think. I saw her listed in one place but not another.) at my local bookstore, so I am trying to finish a bunch of books before then. I just really like to read books by the authors I'm seeing before I hear them talk. I usually get a lot more out of it if I know their work. I've already seen Stephanie Perkins both at my local bookstore and at LeakyCon and I adore both her and her books so much. I highly recommend Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door to everyone who enjoys reading. I can't wait for her next book, Isla and the Happily Ever After, which I thought was coming out this year but is apparently coming out in 2013. Stephanie is the best at writing nerdy boys. I just really need to marry a boy of her creation.

I'm cutting this blog way short so that I can finish The Disenchantments, which I am not even halfway through. At this point, BEDA is just about not failing. 

Cabin in the Woods (Also, Taxes Are Icky)

So I spent a good four and a half hours doing my federal and state taxes today. It was a freaking nightmare. I just got an email from the IRS saying there were errors on my tax form and I had to resubmit it and now I'll have to wait and see if there are more errors, which I am fairly certain there will be, because in order to authenticate it you have to have your income from last year (which I don't have because apparently I didn't keep my tax forms from last year), your PIN from last year (which I don't have because I didn't do an e-file last year), or a new pin (which is what I put but apparently they didn't like it.) Don't know what to do about this, which is super obnoxious because they owe me money. 

Despite having my entire afternoon swallowed up by that crap, I had a lovely evening. My friend and I went to Phyllis' Giant Burgers which I have previously mentioned as the place with magical pesto burgers. It had probably been at least a year since I'd last had one and let me tell you it was even better than I remembered. So freaking delicious I would eat another one right now.

Following epic deliciousness, we went to see Cabin in the Woods. Now, I am not a horror person. At all. The last horror film I went to see was Darkness Falls. I was in 8th grade. It's just a genre that is so archetypal that I find it uninteresting. I went to see Cabin in the Woods for one reason: Joss Whedon. I would describe this movie as sort of a Buffy meets The Hunger Games type deal. I don't want to say much else about the plot besides that (and I'm sorry if even that is too much), because I think it is best to go into without knowing much about it. I left the theatre not really sure how I felt about the film at first, but I've decided that it was enjoyable and entertaining. There were a couple of characters that I instantly loved (how does Joss always do that to me?), which of course just made me really on edge due the nature of the film. It was very satirical and surprisingly funny. Like, loud out loud funny. There was a moment that was completely obviously foreshadowed, but I totally forgot about it, and it seemed like the rest of the theatre did, too. It's quirky, it'll keep you on the edge of your seat, it'll make you say, "Oh, Joss," and it will entertain you. You should probably go see it tomorrow. 

Listening to: The Shins: Oh, Inverted World

Oh No

It's quarter to 1 AM and I just realised I completely forgot about BEDA. What made me so distracted? I was watching "Holy Musical B@man!" the new show by Starkid. If for some crazy reason you've never seen a Starkid show, go away and watch them. Starkid have sent high standards for themselves, but they didn't disappoint with their new show. There were loads of puns and I was laughing out load a lot. I don't understand how they are all such lovable people. I want to be friends with all of them. The only thing that would have made the show better was some Brosenthal. Okay, also Joey Richter. 

Before that I saw The Hunger Games for the third time. Still great. Still made me cry. Still gave me an emotional hangover.

I am behind on my online class and today was supposed to be my catch up day. I kept getting distracted, but I didn't let myself watch the Giants game because I needed to work. Big mistake. My favourite pitcher, Matt Cain, pitched a 1-hit complete game shut out. The one hit he gave away was to the Pirates' pitcher. I can't believe I missed it. I am so lame.

I am not counting this as a fail. The day isn't over 'til I sleep, which I am going to do now.

Listening to: Starship Soundtrack

Jo Rowling and Padawan

Once again I have twenty minutes to write this blog.

So I was going to have a really productive day. I went to have cupcakes with my padawan* and then I was going to be completely productive after that. Then I remembered about the Giants game, so I watched that which was nice because it's the first win I've seen this year as I was working all day when Zito won. I'm behind in my online class and I need to do my taxes. I was going to work on those things after the game, but immediately after we finished watching the game, I got called into work. By the time I got home from work it was time to watch The Office, 30 Rock, and Community. So basically the only thing I did today was wash my sheets, which I still haven't actually put on my bed. Kind of a mega fail of a day and I'm not even writing a decent blog.

I was asked to share my thoughts on Jo Rowling's new book, which I said I wasn't going to do, but I need to talk about something. Basically, I'm stoked that Jo is writing a new book. If she was writing a children's book with one work per page I would probably pre-order it. I am anxiously awaiting September 27th. However, "The Casual Vacancy" is kind of a dumb title and the synopsis isn't very exciting to me. And Barry? Really? The main character's name is one letter different from "Harry"? I'm hoping this was on purpose to make us laugh. I doubt she would drop the ball, though. 

*I don't think I've explained my padawan around here. About a year and a half ago I had this coworker who mentioned she had never read Harry Potter. After regaining the ability to form words, I told her I wouldn't talk to her until she started reading them. (To me, sayings "I've never read Harry Potter," is like saying, "I've never eaten pizza. How is that possible?) The very next week she told me she had started reading the first book and was already hooked. She completely fell in love with the series to the point where she came to LeakyCon with me in July. I also introduced her to the Vlog Brothers and she came to VidCon with me. Basically, I grab her by the hand and give her a tour of all my fandoms until she is fully immersed in nerdom. She is learning the ways of The Force.

Listening to: Carrie Underwood: Play On

Sometimes I Get Consumed By Excitement

Today I was thinking about how I've wanted to take a road trip for a long time. Apart from a couple of family trips, I've never been on a road trip outside of California. If you read my blog containing my Bucket List, you know I want to go to all 50 states. I want this to largely happen through road trips. I've been talking about making this happen for years (and the summer of 2010 when I read all John Green's books really left me hungry for a road trip). I posted a status on Facebook tagging a few friends to see if anyone would go with me since friends are what make road trips fun (and let's face it, gas is crazy expensive) and to my surprise, I now have 4 friends lined up to go on a trip with me! I have a friend who goes to college in Olympia, Washington and she's been wanting me to come see her for a long time. Well, she's coming back and forth between home and there this summer, so we're going to drive from California to Washington. I have never been to Washington, so I am REALLY excited about this. We are also planning to go to Canada. Canada! I've never been there either and have wanted to for a long time. I have a book called 1000 Places to See Before You Die in the US and Canada and I plan to do some of the things in that book. Some of my friends who are going and I have had this thing about bowling in Canada for years. Sadly, not everyone we would have liked to bowl with in Canada can come, but we will have to go for it as it may not happen again. I have to get a passport as I have only ever been to Mexico which was before they changed the law on needing passports to go to Mexico and Canada. 

Whenever I get really excited about a trip I make a playlist for the road. It is just a thing that I do. Immediately after deciding upon this trip, I went to iTunes and got to work on a playlist. I tend to make really long playlists. I once made a 10-hour playlist for a 4-hour round trip. I just couldn't narrow it down any more from the 10,474 songs I have. Well, the friend I made that for is the one who lives in Washington. It just so happens that I share a lot of music with all 4 of the friends who are going. It's a very nostalgic playlist, but then I'm a very nostalgic person. I think that's why I like making playlists for trips with people I love: I get to re-live past trips and fun times with them through the songs we listened to, and I get to anticipate the upcoming trip. John Green says that imagining the future is a form of nostalgia. I do believe he hit the nail on the head there. 

Listening to: the 780 song playlist I just made. 

Question Tuesday #2

What are your favourite bands?

Relient K, Chameleon Circuit, Mumford & Sons, Paramore, Ministry of Magic, The Civil Wars, ALL CAPS, Death Cab for Cutie, The Shins, fun., Switchfoot, and probably lots of others.

What was your favourite hobby as a kid?

I don't really remember having a specific hobby as a kid, besides maybe collecting and playing pogs. I spent most of my time from age 6 through 10 with my neighbor, Becca, riding bikes, making up new exlucsive clubs, playing Barbie computer games, and watching A Goofy movie.

Keeping with your bucket list blog, what is your "last meal"? What are you eating and who is there?

Well, since I know its my last meal, I'm going to assume that I get a Wish. I'm renting out all of Blue Bayou (which is the restaurant inside Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland) and obviously all of my close friends are there, including internet friends, plus my family, the entire Fellowship of the Ring, the trios from Harry Potter and Doctor Who, the Green brothers, Charlie McDonnell, Bradley James, and Colin Morgan will all be there. It's gonna be pretty packed. What am I eating? Food from all around the park and Downtown including: steak, corn dogs, nachos, and one of those lava cakes from Rainforest Cafe. Then my ashes will be illegally sprinkled into Pirates of the Caribbean.

If you had a million dollars, would you be rich?

It would take me well over a lifetime to make that much money at my current job. Anyone who wouldn't be happy with a million dollars is super greedy. Also, now I have the Barenaked Ladies stuck in my head. 

What is your favourite thing about VidCon?

In my day-to-day life, I often stand out as being the nerdiest person in the room. At VidCon, I'm not even close to the nerdiest person around. You are surrounded by gloriously nerdy shirts and there are wonderful conversations to be had (if you aren't too scared) with people who share many of your interests. It's like taking a vacation on Nerdfighteria Island. A vacation that is really hard to come back from, hence why I am going to Disneyland afterwards.

When do you plan on making a book video?

Since my retirement from The Book Challenge, I don't really have any plans to make a video about books, or really any video for that matter. I'm not really sure what I'm doing with the whole YouTube thing. 

Write any songs lately?

No, and if fact I never finished my song about "The Girl Who Waited." I don't know what I'm doing.

Discuss a perfect sounding meal.

A perfect meal is one that contains a lot of pesto and then is followed up by cheesecake, made even more enjoyable by the Long Island iced tea I am drinking.  It also includes consuming it along side a good friend or two. 

Are you excited about meeting me at VidCon? 

YES, HEATHER!

What sports do you follow? I know you are a Giants fan, but are there any other teams you support?

Baseball is the only sport that engages me at all. That's not entirely true, I liked watching tennis for awhile, but I missed playing it too much. 

How is your relationship with Recess Egg coming along? Was it just a fling, or are you two still seeing each other?

It took me a minute to realise that this was a typo. I did hoard dyed eggs during recess once. 

We usually only get together for a short while around April, sometimes March. I cheated with Dortitos Tacos today.

Favourite ride at Disneyland?

I've only very recently been able to answer this: Star Tours. It's so much fun, always a little different, and I can never seem to wipe the goofy grin off my face while riding it (though that's true of most Disneyland rides.)

Favourite "land" at Disneyland?

I guess that would have to be the one that contains Star Tours and Space Mountain: Tomorrowland. It also contains edible plants and a Star Wars shop, so that's pretty rad. 

What are you most excited about for VidCon?

So VidCon is going to be totally different for me this year than last year. Last year I had very few only friends, I briefly met up with two of them at VidCon. (This is not counting Sam because I had barely talked to her before agreeing to let her stay in my room and finding out that she is wonderful.) This year, I have more internet friends, a lot of whom are going to VidCon. I'm really excited to meet them. So so excited. Also, nervous. I'm so awkward. I'm also excited for the dance party and Chameleon Circuit (they're playing again, right?)

Listening to: The Civil Wars: Barton Hollow

Reading: The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour

Bucket List and Hug Bucket

I was completely unfamiliar with the concept of a bucket list until I saw the film "A Walk to Remember" when I was about twelve. The film never calls it a bucket list, but Jamie has cancer and knows her time is even more limited than most people's so she makes a list of things she wants to do before she dies. I went out and made a list like this not long after seeing the movie. I just called it my "A Walk to Remember List." I fruitlessly attempted to find this undoubtedly hilarious list, but I do remember writing that I wanted to compete in Wimbledon. I dream big, guys. Although, things on my bucket list now are not really any more attainable. Here are the things I currently want to do before I die in no particular order:

1. Live in the UK. 

2. Go to every Disney park (I recently discovered how awesome Disney Sea looks, so Tokyo is next on the list.)

3. Walk the trail to Mordor and visit every LOTR location

4. Be Ariel at Disneyland

5. Publish a novel

6. Be the voice of a Disney character

7. Lear to actually play my ukulele and guitar and then finish writing songs

8. Start my Hobbit Rock band

9. Have my face made into a Jelly Belly mosaic

10. Surf

11. Snowboard

12. Skydive

13. Become a pilot

14. Visit all the places Hazel and Augustus go in The Fault in Our Stars

15. Visit all the places Ginny went in 13 Little Blue Envelopes

16. Visit every continent

17. Go inside a pyramid

18. Walk on the Great Wall of China

19. Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge

20. Visit every state

21. Go bowling in Canada

22. Visit every National Park

23. Meet Jo Rowling

24. Go to every MLB stadium

25. Visit every Harry Potter significant place

26. Be the Rebel Spy

27. Attend PizzaCon

28. Recreate Hank Green and Michael Aranda's Hungry Games. 

29. Swim with dolphins

30. Be in two places at once

31. Ride a train

32. Ride a trolley/cable car

33. Go to a Giants game on Opening Day

34. Visit my husband in Germany

I would also like to share my Hug Bucket (which is basically a list of all the people I want to meet and hug.)

1. Sam

2. Sam

3. ALL of my online friends

4. Matt Smith

5. Bradley James

6. Colin Morgan

7. Arthur Darvill

8. David Tennant

9. Ryan Gosling

10. Gene Kelly 

11. William Moseley

12. Jason Segel

13. Peeta Mellark

14. Ron Weasley

15. Etienne St. Clair

16. Legolas

17. James Marsden

18. John Barrowman

19. Charlie McDonnell

20. Cary Elwes 20 years ago
21. Adam Scott
22. John Krasinski
23. Julie Andrews
24. Walt Disney

Lisening to: Gotye: Making Mirrors

Reading: The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour

Top 5's

I asked Twitter what I should write my blog about tonight and my friend Hannah said I should do my top five favourite things in five categories. She gave me several choices, so here goes. Just FYI, this changes all the time.

TV Shows

1. Doctor Who (I love space and history and imagining what else is in the universe. It makes me laugh and cry, often within close proximity. It's also just incredibly British which is glorious.)

2. Gilmore Girls (I would go so far as to say this is the wittiest show I've ever watched. I enjoy the heck out of the dialogue with its pop-culture references and the quirky characters.)

3. The Office (This show has some of the most ridiculous, but unique characters on TV. I make ridiculous squealing sounds while watching it because it makes me laugh so hard. Also, Jim and Pam.)

4. Downton Abbey (There needs to be more of this because a British period show is a dream come true. This show is intoxicating. Loads of people didn't like series 2, but I loved it.)

5. Boy Meets World (I am one of those people who eats nostalgia for breakfast. This show brings me to my childhood and is still such an enjoyable show as a 22-year-old.)

Movies

1. Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Extended Cut (I love being transported to other worlds through media and Middle Earth is one of the best. These movies have every aspect a movie should have; they're visually stunning, the score is brilliant, there's action, adventure, some comedy, love, friendship, wonderful characters, and of course an epic battle between good and evil. The extended cuts make already wonderful stories even better because we get to spend more time with the characters and things are more fully explained. If you think picking a trilogy is a cop out, Return of the King is my favourite.)

2. Singin' in the Rain (I have the biggest crush on Gene Kelly. He is the most charming man to have ever lived. This movie tells a great story of the transition in to "talkies" while being a wonderful, upbeat musical. I love musicals.)

3. Ten Things I Hate About You (I know this is a teenage Rom Com, but I adore it. I've always wanted a boy to serenade me the way Heath Ledger does to Julia Styles in this movie. It's got romance, laughter, and a great soundtrack.)

4. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (It's an action-packed witty adventure with a lot of attractive people. What more could you want? The rest of the series is a lot better than most people give it credit for.)

5. Hairspray (I remember seeing this in the theatre for the first of three times and being blown away by how fun it was. I couldn't remember a time when I'd had such a good time watching a movie. It's really funny and has great songs.)

Foods

1. cheesecake (I love every variety of cheesecake I've ever put in my mouth, but white chocolate raspberry is my favourite.)

2. Pesto Burger (A restaurant called Phyllis's makes pesto burgers on sourdough buns on which I get jack cheese and holy crap they are beautiful.)

3. BLT Hotdog (Local pub-style bar/restaurant TAPS makes these: deep-fried bacon-wrapped hot dogs on a sourdough bun with lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo.*)

4. Ginger Chicken Quesadilla (There is a restaurant in the Phoenix area, well, a couple, called Chino Bandito which is a Chinese-Mexican food hybrid. Sounds gross, tastes fantastic.)

5. Nachos (I adore nachos from all sorts of places, but I really love the ones at Joe's Taquerilla in Downtown Disney. With the exception of when they were closed for renovation, there has not been a Disney trip other than when I was little that did not include nachos from Joe's, and several trips that have involved nachos multiple times. They basically taste like Disneyland to me.)

*My friend and I went out for these last week and came up with the following origin story: Once upon a time. Professor Dumbledore conjured magical pig meat in the shape of a delectable sausage. He apparated it to Gandalf in a bottomless pit who promptly roasted it on the wings of a Balrog. When the Balrog flapped its wings the sausage was flung into space, where the TARDIS opened its doors and it flew inside to be caught in a lasso of bacon by the Doctor, who time traveled to the time of Jesus Christ who blessed it and gave it to Marty McFly and Doc Brown who brought it to Taps in the year 2012, where it was delivered to me on a delicious bun on the wings of an angel on a hoverboard.

Bands

1. Relient K (I talked about this previously.)

2. Chameleon Circuit (OMZ THEY ARE SO GOOD LIVE and "Still Got Legs" is fantastic.)

3. Ministry of Magic (It's physically impossible for me to listen to them without either A. Dancing or B. Crying)

4. Mumford & Sons (I've never put an album on repeat as much as "Sigh No More." Hauntingly beautiful.)

5. Paramore (I don't violently love them as much as I once did, but there are no bands with chicks on this list and Hayley has the most amazing voice. Best band to listen to when I am angry or just want to belt something out in my car.)
EDIT: I love The Civil Wars and I do not know where to include them but I can't not mention my love for their ridiculously beautiful harmonies.)

Ways to Procrastinate

1. Twitter (This is the most changing of all the lists for me. I find myself waiting for people to tweet me or just blankly staring at Twitter FAR too often.)

2. Netflix (This doesn't even need an explanation. They never should have added streaming to Wii.)

3. Cleaning (I never clean until there is something else I need to do.) 

4. Tumblr (I haven't been doing that lately, but it's great when I really want to procrastinate.)

5. Wii Fit (Exercising is something I really only do on Wii when there are other things to be done.)

I hope that was a little more interesting than some of the other blogs I've written so far. 

Listening to: Death Cab for Cutie: Codes and Keys

Reading: The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour

Failbot

Here I am again with twenty minutes to write a blog. I keep doing this. And I got nothing done today and tomorrow is Easter which means I won't have much time then. Quality happens here.

I am currently watching "High School Musical." It is my friend Jordan's birthday and it was requested that everyone watch this. I don't think I've watched this since I was in high school, which was 5 years ago. I used to watch a lot of Disney Channel movies, but now I'm not quite used to the cheese and bad acting. It's still enjoyable. "Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century was my favourite Disney Channel Original Movie back in the day. I was really obsessed with it in sixth grade. I went around saying "cetus lopedus" which was misheard on several occasions as phrases which would not be in Disney movies. If you haven't seen it, you watch for it to come on the Disney Channel. If you have seen it, here's some sweet nostalgia for you. 

I've been pretty stressed out this week at work waiting for the mystery shopper to come to our store (Tommy Hilfiger). For anyone who doesn't know what that's like, basically a person hired by a separate company to come to stores and score their experience in specific categories. Last month, we failed hardcore. I came to work this morning to find out that the shopper came two days ago while I was working. It was my first mystery shop. From reading the report, he was mostly helped by my coworker, but we got 100%! I am so excited because we were frantically trying to fix sale signs throughout the store for the majority of the day and I was running around like a madwoman. 

I hope you have a wonderful Easter, whether you celebrate or not.   

Good Friday

I was going to talk about spoilers today but it's Good Friday and I watched "The Passion of the Christ" and to talk about spoilers just seems far too trivial now. 

I have had approximately 8 years to see "The Passion of the Christ" before actually doing so tonight. I used to be pretty squeamish, so I was pretty much avoiding it for that reason. Tonight was Opening Day for the Giants. Between the game not being over and the fact that I didn't shower, I didn't end up going to the Good Friday service. In the past it's been one of my favourite services of the year, a time when we get together with other churches for a massive service. Things have been changing through the years; our service was joined with just one other church this year. It's a really good time to reflect on what this day means, what Jesus has done for us, what he has done for me personally. Not being a part of that time is what got me to watch the movie I had been avoiding for 8 years. 

I accepted Jesus into my life when I was four. This means I have heard the Easter Story no less than 18 times, probably much more. Needless to say, I know it pretty well. I've heard extremely detailed accounts of the crucifixion process. Turns out, knowing how something happened and seeing it happen are two completely different things.  It's not the gore that make it hard to watch, it's the incredible amount of suffering Jesus went through. Have you ever cried to the point where you feel like you are going to throw up? That is how I felt watching this. The ruthlessness of those who beat Jesus was appalling. It was really hard to watch Mary as well. I don't think I could watch my son be tortured to death. 

I don't have much else to say about the film. I am just so grateful for the sacrifice Jesus made for me, despite the fact that I could never do anything to deserve it. 

Listening to: Jeremy Camp: Restored

  

BEDA Is Hard

Fifth day of BEDA and I already don't know what to write. I have a topic I want to write about, but I have twenty minutes to write this and that's not enough time for that. I'm pretty sure I'm annoying everyone with asking for ideas. Sorry. I have no imagination. I don't even have a lame story about my day to tell you. It was just a mundane day. 

My coworkers want to have a Tommy Movie Night and see The Hunger Games together. I do not want to cry in front of my coworkers. Maybe I won't cry the third time? 

What happened to the Douchebag Jar on New Girl? They've had plenty of opportunities to charge Schmidt for it. They haven't brought it up in a long time. 

It's Thursday. NBC can't seem to show all of my favourite shows at the same time. I'm having Parks and Rec withdrawals real bad. Need me some Beslie. 

Goodnight

Listening to: Vampire Weekend: Contra

I Love Cheese

Today I woke up to the sound of my phone vibrating. I was tired, so I ignored it and went back to sleep. Then I heard it a little while later, followed shortly by my house phone, which really woke me up. I then listened to my messages to find out that I had been scheduled to come into work at nine. I had no idea I was supposed to work today. I'm not sure if I was told the wrong schedule, wrote it down wrong, or it got changed, but I had to pop out of bed and get to work as fast as I could. No shower. No makeup (I don't wear a lot but I have terrible skin and practically invisible eyelashes). Glasses. So I showed up 50 minutes late to work feeling completely disgusting. The manager who was there wasn't too mad, but I felt really awful. Not a great way to start the day.

The rest of my day was mundane. I had issues with software and couldn't find the motivation to do my classwork or basically anything else. I ate some cheese. 

I hate to do such a crappy post so early on in the month, but I'm exhausted and unmotivated today and just can't bring myself to do more than this.

 I have really cool friends. I kind of love them. Yeah

Listening to: Oh. Nothing. The sound of my computer fan.

Reading: What I've been reading for the past 3 days