i have been known to sing in the shower. and by sing i mean put on full concerts. like, sold-out-show-in-the-vienna-opera-house style, holding nothing back, belting it out like that famous fat lady.
today i sang for the first time in my new shower. i've been showering silently since we moved in, hesitant to give my roommates tangeable evidence that i am a weirdo. but today, i just couldn't help myself. i mean, the shower is huge and echo-y, and after humming a few notes to test the acoustics, i was a gonner. there was nothing for it but to sing.
here is my typical shower playlist:
only the most emotional and melodious songs make the cut for shower-time-singing. it is not the venue for hip-hop, and rap sounds ridiculous bouncing off the walls reminding me repeatedly that i am, in fact, not black. no, the shower a place where emotions run free.
my singing career started when i was 3 or 4. i made up my own songs then, though. my favorites were, "flowers grow and flowers die" and "you are precious, precious to me". not only are those the titles of the songs, they are the lyrics as well, repeated to taste. i later advanced to "somewhere out there" the reading rainbow theme. it has exploded from there.
it has recently come to my attention that i know next to no boyz II men. i'm pretty embarrassed admitting that. especially since they would make such an amazing addition to the playlist mentioned above. starting the day off with this song and a nice shower just feels right.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
grandmother
meet my grandmother
maybe i love watching downton abbey as much as i do because it feels like watching my life, or, at least, my grandmother. just look at them, violet and effie dean, empresses of their own domains:
one and the same. two peas in a pod. they would be best friends if the laws of physics and reality would permit. oh, the tea-parties that would be had, the jewelry that would be sported, the side-comments that would be made. my grandmother is living proof that the british aristocracy is not dead. not even in america. court is still held, lavish dinner parties still thrown, capes still worn, and right here on normandie circle.
this regal woman
has had a profound influence on my life. before you meet her you should know that she insists on being called grandmother. nothing else will do. believe me. i have tried using other names and on one such occasion, she informed me that i had one last chance before i was dead to her. i did get away with calling her "ganagome" when i was little, but that was only because i was so darling. however, her hearing isn't what it once was...
some parting words of wisdom:
maybe i love watching downton abbey as much as i do because it feels like watching my life, or, at least, my grandmother. just look at them, violet and effie dean, empresses of their own domains:
one and the same. two peas in a pod. they would be best friends if the laws of physics and reality would permit. oh, the tea-parties that would be had, the jewelry that would be sported, the side-comments that would be made. my grandmother is living proof that the british aristocracy is not dead. not even in america. court is still held, lavish dinner parties still thrown, capes still worn, and right here on normandie circle.
this regal woman
like lady violet, grandmother is a strong woman with a strong personality, a strong will, and a knack for surviving. ever since my granddad died 16 years ago, she has presided over our family. but i am willing to bet that even when granddad was alive grandmother still manned the helm. that's just who she is. that's just what she does. she has taught me much of the power that determined, tough, spirited women have. she often tells me that i am capable of anything and she believes it enough to make it true.
i used to think that my grandmother was like a female dumbledore. now i know that she is really violet, dowager countess of grantham.
some parting words of wisdom:
Friday, February 10, 2012
moving
since i graduated from high school i have moved no less than 15 times. i admit, part of that is because i bounced back and forth between utah and arizona in the summers, but i still had to pack and unpack and repack all of my junk.
this year has been no exception to the moving trend in my life. i moved back to salt lake from provo and into a little place in sugar house where i lived until the end of december. at that point, i thought i should move back home with the parents for a bit, so i sold my contract and that's what i did. but last week, my cousin melindie and i decided we should probably rent the taj mahal which, contrary to popular belief, is not located in india, but on 1300 east 522 south, salt lake city, utah.
i wish that i had pictures to back my claims of grandeur. but since i don't i will list the home's greatest features in a tidy list. (since starting law school, i have started to LOVE lists and outlines.)
1) a pool
2) a slide into said pool
3) a waterfall next to said slide into said pool
4) a wrap around deck complete with posh lawn furniture and fire bowl
a) as if my cravings for summer weren't bad enough, now summer taunts me from my own back yard as salt lake's weather grows evermore dismal
5) a floating staircase
6) oversized leather couches
7) a HUGE laundry room with built in study counter
8) a shower that feels lonely with 3 people in it
9) a window seat/niche in my bedroom
10) no tv
ok, 10 might not be an attribute, but i am telling myself that it is because it will make it so much easier to do cool law school homework.
i have never been more excited to move than i am about this one. the house is a beaut. but more than that, melinda and i have been talking about living together since we were just wee ones. dreams are coming true. good, good dreams are coming true.
and here's a good song to top it all off:
and here is a rap that i have almost completely learned:
this year has been no exception to the moving trend in my life. i moved back to salt lake from provo and into a little place in sugar house where i lived until the end of december. at that point, i thought i should move back home with the parents for a bit, so i sold my contract and that's what i did. but last week, my cousin melindie and i decided we should probably rent the taj mahal which, contrary to popular belief, is not located in india, but on 1300 east 522 south, salt lake city, utah.
i wish that i had pictures to back my claims of grandeur. but since i don't i will list the home's greatest features in a tidy list. (since starting law school, i have started to LOVE lists and outlines.)
1) a pool
2) a slide into said pool
3) a waterfall next to said slide into said pool
4) a wrap around deck complete with posh lawn furniture and fire bowl
a) as if my cravings for summer weren't bad enough, now summer taunts me from my own back yard as salt lake's weather grows evermore dismal
5) a floating staircase
6) oversized leather couches
7) a HUGE laundry room with built in study counter
8) a shower that feels lonely with 3 people in it
9) a window seat/niche in my bedroom
10) no tv
ok, 10 might not be an attribute, but i am telling myself that it is because it will make it so much easier to do cool law school homework.
i have never been more excited to move than i am about this one. the house is a beaut. but more than that, melinda and i have been talking about living together since we were just wee ones. dreams are coming true. good, good dreams are coming true.
and here's a good song to top it all off:
and here is a rap that i have almost completely learned:
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
game plans
megan and i went to our first jazz game of the season a few weeks ago. it's exciting for so many reasons, not the least of which is finding 2012's jazz crushes. mine remains the same: paul e. millsap. megan, however, traded in cj for a rookie: alec m. burks. both have proved their worth in salt, to the team and to us.
while both of our boys have been adding beautifully to the game, megs and i came up with some game plans of our own so that when we meet them (i for the first time, and meg for the second...lucky dog) they will fall in love with us forever. this is what we have so far:
katie's game plan to win and keep paul millsap
when i meet paul millsap he will obviously ask me who my favorite jazz player is. i will say, "john stockton," with a certain gleam in my eye that will tell him that the only way for him to convince me otherwise is with a kiss. so, he'll obviously give me a kiss. and then he will ask me again, "who is your favorite jazz player?" and i will say, with gleaming eye, "karl malone." another kiss will ensue and so on and so forth until i've gone through all of the russels, boozers, harprings, baileys, even ostertags, that i can muster until we finally land on, "paul millsap." this is what it will look like at that moment, complete with smiling and supportive d-will in the back:
and then we'll be together forever.
megan's plan to win and keep alec burks
in november when the nba season was looking grim at best, megs went a charity game that the jazz had. and she met everyone who matters afterward, including little baby boy burks. she loved him immediately and welcomed him to utah by having him sign her brand new i-pod. humble alec was bemused at the request, but acquiesced nonetheless. so, when they meet again, megan will say, "hey alec. i just want to welcome you to utah." alec will say, "didn't you already welcome me to utah by having me sign your ipod?" and she'll say, "i did. but now i'm gonna give you a proper welcome." and she'll kiss him. and then he'll do this:
while both of our boys have been adding beautifully to the game, megs and i came up with some game plans of our own so that when we meet them (i for the first time, and meg for the second...lucky dog) they will fall in love with us forever. this is what we have so far:
katie's game plan to win and keep paul millsap
when i meet paul millsap he will obviously ask me who my favorite jazz player is. i will say, "john stockton," with a certain gleam in my eye that will tell him that the only way for him to convince me otherwise is with a kiss. so, he'll obviously give me a kiss. and then he will ask me again, "who is your favorite jazz player?" and i will say, with gleaming eye, "karl malone." another kiss will ensue and so on and so forth until i've gone through all of the russels, boozers, harprings, baileys, even ostertags, that i can muster until we finally land on, "paul millsap." this is what it will look like at that moment, complete with smiling and supportive d-will in the back:
and then we'll be together forever.
megan's plan to win and keep alec burks
in november when the nba season was looking grim at best, megs went a charity game that the jazz had. and she met everyone who matters afterward, including little baby boy burks. she loved him immediately and welcomed him to utah by having him sign her brand new i-pod. humble alec was bemused at the request, but acquiesced nonetheless. so, when they meet again, megan will say, "hey alec. i just want to welcome you to utah." alec will say, "didn't you already welcome me to utah by having me sign your ipod?" and she'll say, "i did. but now i'm gonna give you a proper welcome." and she'll kiss him. and then he'll do this:
basketball-court-love-dance-party! they'll be inseparable from then on.
i can't wait to carry this out. basketball season never looked so fine.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
cravings
utah is being especially tricksy with her weather this year. today is a balmy 46 degrees fahrenheit (not celsius or our faces would melt off). that's march/april weather. not december. as a result, my appetites are askew. this is what i have been craving:
1) doing this here,
2) getting really this here,
3) mucho de esto de aqui,
4) smelling this,
5) wearing these,
6) watching a little bit o' this,
7) and listening to some of this.
but, alas, it is january. and the snow is sure to come and last through half of june to make up for wasted time. somehow i need to get myself to crave things like this:
1) doing this here,
2) getting really this here,
3) mucho de esto de aqui,
4) smelling this,
5) wearing these,
6) watching a little bit o' this,
7) and listening to some of this.
but, alas, it is january. and the snow is sure to come and last through half of june to make up for wasted time. somehow i need to get myself to crave things like this:
it just does not have the allure.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Clara Nina
this is clara:
the facts say she's my cousin. the truth says she's my sister. about a month ago, clara was hit by a frontrunner train. the details of this accident are not important or the focus of this post. clara is.
she's been in the hospital since she was in the accident. she moved out of the ICU on wednesday meaning that i got to go and visit her for the first time tonight. she wasn't fully awake, but she was there.
clara is my childhood hero. we shared a room at jacob lake for the summers during my formative years. she's six years older than me and i thought (and think) that she was the coolest person to ever walk the earth. if she cut her hair, i cut mine. if she grew it out, so did i. she had brown eyes, so i hated my blue. she was 6 feet tall, that was my goal. she had elastics for her braces, i strung them through my teeth. she taught me about the finer things in life:
1) scottish boys and their accents,
2) lake powell,
3) how to achieve the perfect tan,
4) cinema,
5) music,
6) how to flirt,
7) tasteful dance moves,
8) the art of the mixtape,
9) late night conversationing, and
10) basketball.
she also taught me the importance of being kind and generous, of making people feel included and important. she taught me the power and strength of being sweet and gracious. she showed me how to fight and how to strive for those things that are good and worthy. she is funny, happy, and pure. she brings light along wherever she goes. she's not afraid to get in and work and she won't stop until the job's finished. she gives warmth to everyone she meets and is somehow unaware of the effect she always has. she provided the best example i could have ever asked for. she is the older sister i didn't have, but didn't need because she is there.
clara has not changed a bit. she is still strong, fighting, and beautiful. she is still the woman that i want to be when i grow up, moreso now than ever. with the Lord, our prayers, and her will, this will be overcome and added to her benefit. and she continues to add to our benefit, just as she always has.
the facts say she's my cousin. the truth says she's my sister. about a month ago, clara was hit by a frontrunner train. the details of this accident are not important or the focus of this post. clara is.
she's been in the hospital since she was in the accident. she moved out of the ICU on wednesday meaning that i got to go and visit her for the first time tonight. she wasn't fully awake, but she was there.
clara is my childhood hero. we shared a room at jacob lake for the summers during my formative years. she's six years older than me and i thought (and think) that she was the coolest person to ever walk the earth. if she cut her hair, i cut mine. if she grew it out, so did i. she had brown eyes, so i hated my blue. she was 6 feet tall, that was my goal. she had elastics for her braces, i strung them through my teeth. she taught me about the finer things in life:
1) scottish boys and their accents,
2) lake powell,
3) how to achieve the perfect tan,
4) cinema,
5) music,
6) how to flirt,
7) tasteful dance moves,
8) the art of the mixtape,
9) late night conversationing, and
10) basketball.
she also taught me the importance of being kind and generous, of making people feel included and important. she taught me the power and strength of being sweet and gracious. she showed me how to fight and how to strive for those things that are good and worthy. she is funny, happy, and pure. she brings light along wherever she goes. she's not afraid to get in and work and she won't stop until the job's finished. she gives warmth to everyone she meets and is somehow unaware of the effect she always has. she provided the best example i could have ever asked for. she is the older sister i didn't have, but didn't need because she is there.
clara has not changed a bit. she is still strong, fighting, and beautiful. she is still the woman that i want to be when i grow up, moreso now than ever. with the Lord, our prayers, and her will, this will be overcome and added to her benefit. and she continues to add to our benefit, just as she always has.
Friday, December 16, 2011
things i love
i'm currently sitting in a civil procedure review. civil procedure is my favorite class. it is also the most boring and the most difficult. but it is my favorite nonetheless because of my professor, Lincoln Davies. as its title states, civil procedure is a procedural class. i had no idea that there was legal procedure before i set foot in davie's class. but of course it makes sense. justice couldn't proceed willy nilly and actually be served. and so our lovely court system has created one billion rules that lawyers must follow at every conceivable point of a lawsuit in order to get said suit into and out of a trial. and let me tell you, these rules are detailed. and poorly written. confusing, boring, and obscure. you never see sam waterston or matlock whip out their book of federal rules of civil procedure (or, in their case, criminal procedure, but potato potato) and win a case based on some lame provision in some lame rule because everyone's eyes would glaze over and the tv show would bomb. but, let me assure you, this does happen in real life.
anyway, what i'm trying to say is that civil procedure is not the most scintillating of all topics. but it is my favorite because i had a really exceptional teacher. he is someone who puts his whole heart and soul into teaching, teaching well, and teaching memorably. having just been a teacher myself, that was the first thing i noticed about lincoln. and he has never, ever dropped that ball. he's stayed interesting and interested the semester through making the subject favorable because of himself and nothing else.
which leads to a greater truth: good people make life (the good or the bad) good. people are the best (and possibly the worst, but that is not what we are focusing on) things in the world. they are daily what i am most grateful for, the things that i simply could not live with out and hurt the most when they are lost. they are what make life special and memorable, by in large. and that is why i came to law school. because, through the law, i can work with people.
i met with a councilor yesterday so that she could check out my legal resume and a legal cover letter that i wrote and make sure they are up to snuff. one of the suggestions she had on my resume is that i really should include those things that i am most interested in because, along with everything else impressive and important that i am supposed to have done, they set me apart. they make me into a person to the person who will be interviewing me. and for some reason, that brought me such hope and comfort. i can bring those things that have claim on my heart to help me find work in a similar situation.
that relates back to the whole "i love people" rant that i went on earlier in this post because i am interested in every one of my interests (basically) because of the people that they are connected to. law school has been the most difficult for me not because of the subjects or time that it requires or the new ways that it makes me think, but because i feel like i have lost my people due to a change in location, situation, and a lack of time. and then yesterday, talking about writing a resume, i finally saw the light at the end of the law school: it actually can bring me closer to the things that i love and the people that have made them lovable. there are so many things that i want in this life. and law school really can help me get there.
here are a few more things that i love:
1) horse camp!!
2) this. movie. looks. awesome.
a) partially due to this girl's style. i seriously want ALL of this.
3) please listen to the translation so that you know exactly how hilarious this song is. but know the dance is not for the faint of heart.
4) davies rapping about jml/rmjml (judgment as a matter of law/renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law)
it's backwards because bert made a t-shirt out of it and wore it on the last day of class.
anyway, what i'm trying to say is that civil procedure is not the most scintillating of all topics. but it is my favorite because i had a really exceptional teacher. he is someone who puts his whole heart and soul into teaching, teaching well, and teaching memorably. having just been a teacher myself, that was the first thing i noticed about lincoln. and he has never, ever dropped that ball. he's stayed interesting and interested the semester through making the subject favorable because of himself and nothing else.
which leads to a greater truth: good people make life (the good or the bad) good. people are the best (and possibly the worst, but that is not what we are focusing on) things in the world. they are daily what i am most grateful for, the things that i simply could not live with out and hurt the most when they are lost. they are what make life special and memorable, by in large. and that is why i came to law school. because, through the law, i can work with people.
i met with a councilor yesterday so that she could check out my legal resume and a legal cover letter that i wrote and make sure they are up to snuff. one of the suggestions she had on my resume is that i really should include those things that i am most interested in because, along with everything else impressive and important that i am supposed to have done, they set me apart. they make me into a person to the person who will be interviewing me. and for some reason, that brought me such hope and comfort. i can bring those things that have claim on my heart to help me find work in a similar situation.
that relates back to the whole "i love people" rant that i went on earlier in this post because i am interested in every one of my interests (basically) because of the people that they are connected to. law school has been the most difficult for me not because of the subjects or time that it requires or the new ways that it makes me think, but because i feel like i have lost my people due to a change in location, situation, and a lack of time. and then yesterday, talking about writing a resume, i finally saw the light at the end of the law school: it actually can bring me closer to the things that i love and the people that have made them lovable. there are so many things that i want in this life. and law school really can help me get there.
here are a few more things that i love:
1) horse camp!!
2) this. movie. looks. awesome.
a) partially due to this girl's style. i seriously want ALL of this.
3) please listen to the translation so that you know exactly how hilarious this song is. but know the dance is not for the faint of heart.
4) davies rapping about jml/rmjml (judgment as a matter of law/renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law)
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