The Disney Problem... And Solution!

We're planning a trip to Disneyland for this coming October. Yes, another one. This time though, we are hoping to go with all of Lewis' family. Should be fun!

Saturday last, as we were all gathered at the casa de los Youngs (as opposed to the apartamento de los otros Youngs) (where I live), we were discussing details of the trip. Sammie, my delightful niece, mentioned how lame the Peter Pan ride was. She described how boring it was to just go up like a foot and ride around for a minute or two and then go back down. No fun at all.

As she was describing this, I just stared at her with a look of shock and awe on my face. I couldn't believe that anyone would think the Peter Pan ride as "lame" or "boring" or "stupid." So I told her she had no sense of nostalgia.

And that's when it hit me. She probably doesn't have any nostalgia towards that movie! Me, I grew up on that movie and other movies like it. That's why I love Peter Pan's Flight and Snow White's Scary Adventure and Pinocchio's Daring Journey. They're not thrill rides, they are rides about movies. Movies that I have loved since I was a wee one. That's what Disneyland is all about. Sure, you do have thrill rides like Indiana Jones or Space Mountain or most everything over in California Adventure. But Disney is not just about thrills. They create an attention to detail experience with the characters that the world adores.

But for how long? How long will love for movies like Snow White or Peter Pan be enough? We live in a world where many of the young people have not even had the chance to see these beloved films. The advent of DVDs are partially to blame for this; families who own VHS copies of the movies rarely pull them for their kids. VCRs are obsolete! True, you can find many Disney Animated Features on DVD, but only once every seven to ten years when they come out of the Disney vault. But will that even be a viable marketing campaign in the future when primary DVD purchasers haven't seen the movies in the first place?

To prevent this (love for cherished characters dying off due to lack of movie viewership) from happening, the Imagineers at Disneyland have (possibly inadvertently) developed some solutions. One is to replace old rides/attractions with updates from more recent films. Case in point, the Swiss Family Treehouse was replaced by Tarzan's Treehouse in 1999. But that practice makes a part of me really sad. I mean, it's good to make updates and to continue to expand and whatever. I'm all for brand new rides and replacing stuff that was no good in the first place. But where is the line? How far can that be taken? Will Snow White be replaced by an attraction from a more recent movie? Can you replace Snow White? Is that what Walt Disney would have wanted? I don't know about you, but I would not want a cryogenically frozen Walter Elias Disney after my neck. You've been warned, Imagineers.

I'm getting carried away. There is still an abundance of classic Disney in Disneyland and there are no current plans to alter that.

A second solution would be to create more rides from interesting characters/stories developed specifically for the park. Sometimes the movie comes later like with Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion, but the rides were still there first. I am okay with this as it gives Disneyland a personal stake in people's nostalgia. They have nostalgia for the rides alone, and not necessarily in concert with a movie attached to them. Which definitely makes me keep going back for more!

Neither solution is perfect of course. For example, instead of replacing the old with the new, why doesn't Disneyland just keep adding rides? I don't think anyone would complain about a bigger Disneyland. And if you do, you have no heart. Or soul.

The fact of the matter is today's generation of youths is missing out on a series of classic movies that their parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents grew up on. So here's what I think Disney should do. A few months before they release their movies from that mysterious vault they're always talking about, they should also play them in movie theaters around the country for a limited engagement. That way, parents can take their kids to see for themselves the magic of these animated features, and understand why Peter Pan's Flight really is a great ride. Plus the rest of us would have an excuse to go see the movies from our childhood that we haven't seen since. Disney can do this. They've done it before! I know because my parents wouldn't let me go see Jurassic Park with my older siblings when it was first in theaters and they took me to Snow White instead.

The cynic in me says that this quest would be futile. Most children would probably go into the movies with sky-high expectations and would come out saying it was "lame" or "boring" or "stupid." Psh. Kids these days!

Extra-Strength Awesome: 2009

Well, it's a new year. A new decade, in fact. 2009 ended in a whirl wind and 2010 has gotten into full swing, particularly with the new semester. Ugh, the new semester. I'm so over school. Although, to be fair, I really did enjoy my classes last semester, and it looks like I'll be enjoying them this semester too. It helps that I got straight A's. Well, okay. Straight A's and one A-. Boo freaking hoo.

Anyway, I was reflecting on all that happened over the past year and it made me think of what I would write if Lewis and I sent out an end-of-year letter like you know how some people do. Of course I would mention our accomplishments such as making it through a whole year of marriage together (and doing so quite successfully, if I might add) or me completing my internship. I would like to say that I graduated like I was supposed to, but I'm happy with how things turned out. True, a whole other year of school wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but so far getting my teaching certificate has been something I've enjoyed. And I feel safe in school. Sounds silly, but just try to see if I care. I like it.

Lewis was busy this year in school as well. He finished absolutely everything except for his student teaching, which he just started yesterday. Oh, and a religion class. But such is the life of a future BYU grad.

Speaking of the future, and graduating, Lewis and I will both graduate this April. Even though I'm graduating with a degree in marriage, family, and human development, I'm going to walk with the education peeps so family members can be there for both of our graduations. Of course, two days after graduation, I will be back in school finishing up the last few classes for my teaching certificate. Then Lewis will start his first year of teaching and I will start my teaching internship (hopefully) in September. Basically, 2010 looks pretty darn bright and sunny from here.

Wow, we sound like nerds with all this education talk! We had lots of fun besides school in 2009 too. We spent several weekends up in Park City at Lewis' parents' condo. It's very cozy and nice up there, so we love spending time there. It's not a very far drive to get away for the weekend or something like that. Other traveling escapades included a trip to Idaho to spend Easter with the Hirschis, another (very brief) trip to Idaho for the Hirschi family reunion, and an absolutely fantastic journey to Disneyland where we celebrated our first anniversary. Plus, during the summer, my family came to visit so we got to spend a lot of time with them, and they even survived the shenanigans that come with staying in our tiny apartment (such as when the kitchen table caves in on itself just in time for Sunday morning breakfast).

Overall, we found ourselves very blessed in the year that was 2009. We are very happy together and we have two wonderful families that have our backs no matter what. I couldn't be luckier.

So like I said, I would probably write something like that if I wrote an end-of-year letter. It would probably be more interesting if we had kids and/or I didn't send out a weekly letter to family members/blog. Plus it would probably just sound braggy cause my life is so awesome. I'm a fan of it, anyway.

New Year Resolutions

Well, it's time for 2010 to begin. And you know what that means: New Year resolutions. Normally, I just think of a resolution and then I forget about it until the next New Year. And even then, I usually don't remember what it is. So, in order to ensure increased accountability (sort of) I am hereby writing my resolutions down and publishing them on the internet.

Initially, I decided that my New Year resolution would be to learn how to solve a Rubik's cube. But then I did that before the New Year. So maybe I'll pretend that was my resolution from last year and I fulfilled it in the nick of time. Whew!

In either case, I had to come up with a new resolution(s). So here they are (drumroll, please) the Alyssa Young 2010 New Year Resolution docket:

1. This New Year, I resolve to read the scriptures every day. Lewis and I read our scriptures often, but not as often as we should. And that's just silly considering how easy of a habit it is to make. At least I think so. No excuses!

2. This New Year, I resolve to keep our apartment clean. Specifically, this means

a. Dishes are to be cleaned right after they are used.

b. The living room/kitchen table is a clutter-free zone.

c. The bed is to be made every morning and dirty clothes are to go in the basket, not in front of it.

3. This New Year, I resolve to pack lunch for school in the morning and actually make dinner at night. Snacks are not suitable meals, even when I'm really tired. This also means I need to

a. Get in the habit of removing meat from the freezer to thaw.

b. Plan a menu and actually stick to it.

c. Not be afraid of leftovers.

d. Use the food we buy before it is gross.

Also, I have an indecent amount of kitchen appliances/gadgets/tools for someone with a kitchen my size. I should actually use them. I finally got an apron, so now I don't have an excuse.

4. This New Year, I resolve to exercise regularly. I like to exercise and I like how it makes me feel. I don't know what my problem is that makes me not do it regularly. I mean, we own a Wii Fit, and although you may scoff, I've gotten some pretty good work outs with that thing. In any case, it's better than nothing and I can do it in the comfort of my own, warm home. I'm also considering investing in a set of small hand weights to use with the Wii Fit. My resolution is to exercise at least 5 times each week. It doesn't all have to be on the Wii Fit, but that is a handy start.

Basically, my New Year resolution is to be more healthy. Healthy in spirit through reading my scriptures; healthy in home because it will be clean; and healthy in body because of eating better and exercising. Sounds stereotypical, right? Well guess who has two thumbs and doesn't care? This lady.

So let it be written, so let it be done.

The Ninth Day of Christmas

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

9 hours of daylight
8 Christmas carols
7 guns a-shooting
6 Lewis kisses
5 bags of wings!
4 calling phones
3 final tests
2 Praxis scores
And a mid-Atlantic winter snow storm


Today is the Winter Solstice, meaning it is the shortest day of the year. Strictly speaking, we will have 9 hours and 18 minutes of daylight today, from sunrise to sunset, but I decided it was okay to round down to 9.

According, to Wikipedia, "the Winter Solstice occurs exactly when the earth's axial tilt is farthest away from the sun at its maximum of 23° 26'. Though the Winter Solstice lasts an instant in time, the term is also colloquially used like Midwinter to refer to the day on which it occurs. For most people in the high latitudes this is commonly known as the shortest day and the sun's daily maximum position in the sky is the lowest. The seasonal significance of the Winter Solstice is in the reversal of the gradual lengthening of nights and shortening of days. The Winter Solstice is also the shortest day or lowest sun position for people in low latitudes located between the Tropic of Cancer (23°26'N) and the Tropic of Capricorn (23°26'S). Depending on the shift of the calendar, the Winter Solistice occurs some time between December 21 and December 22 each year in the Northern Hemisphere, and between June 20 and June 21 in the Southern Hemisphere."

Today, the Winter Solstice officially occurred at 10:47 am.

This is very good news for me. I was getting steadily more depressed as the days got shorter and shorter. I never made it home before the sun went down. Even Sundays have been stinky because we don't get out of church until 5 when the sun has already started to set.

But now the days will be getting longer and longer, a fact that is ever so pleasing to me. I'm a fan of the sun, even if it is bitterly cold outside, which I'm sure it will be again soon. Brr.

The Seventh Day of Christmas

On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

7 guns a-shooting

6 Lewis kisses

5 bags of wings!

4 calling phones

3 final tests

2 Praxis scores

And a mid-Atlantic winter snow storm

Lewis family has a tradition that I believe only started a few years ago now (Christmas before last, right?). On Christmas day, after all the gifts are open and the thank-yous are exclaimed, they lay each other out with guns. Now before you get your cyber panties in a twist, these guns are merely of the Nerf variety.

I participated in this great Nerf battle last year and I am happily anticipating the impending doom that will arrive this December the 25th.

While we were out shopping today, Lewis' parents purchased seven new Nerf guns for this year's belligerence. I'll let you decided for yourself why we only picked seven, when there are more than seven people in the family. Alls I know is that it's beneficial to me.

The Fourth Day of Christmas

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

4 calling phones

3 final tests

2 Praxis scores

And a mid-Atlantic winter snow storm

As far as cellular service is concerned, I've been with T-Mobile for five years now. And it has been adequate. I've had my share of faulty phones replaced, but who hasn't? Well, my contract with them expired last week. Lewis and I were planning on having me pay month to month until April when his contract expired and then join AT&T together so we can (eventually) get iPhones. But then circumstances facilitated the need to save as much money as possible, so we decided that the best thing to do would be for me to join the cellular telephone plan belonging to Lewis and his mother when my contract was up (they're with Verizon).

As a bonus, Verizon said it was time to let Lewis upgrade with a new agreement, so we could get it so our time in their hands expires together.

So today, we headed over to our neighborhood Verizon Wireless store to check out the phones. While there, I narrowed my selection down to these four:

1. The Samsung Intensity

Lewis and I actually walked into the store with the plan to each get this phone. It's a pretty basic phone, no special bells and whistles (which is all we really need). It has a slide out qwerty keyboard, which is cool. However, as we discovered when we got the chance to actually hold it rather than just look at a picture online, it feels flimsy and like it will break with one fall. And if you know me, I have a bad habit of either dropping my phone on accident or throwing it across the room when I'm angry. Although I don't do that as often as I used to.

Plus it was hard to type on the keys at the top of the keyboard.

2. The HTC Driod Eris

We spent a lot of time looking at this phone. It's what Verizon wishes was the iPhone. It's a touch screen with lots of applications (or "apps" as the kids call them). Overall, it's a pretty sweet phone. However, it's a smartphone, which adds 30 bucks a pop onto our bill, and that just didn't seem too practical considering the whole point of this is to save money. And the good graces of Lewis' mom. So that was a no.

3. The Samsung Alias 2

I looked at this one mostly just because I found it to be intriguing. If you open it like a regular flip phone, the keys are one way, but if you open it on its side, the keys change. And then they change again if you want to send a text. It's pretty neat. (And if none of that made sense, just watch the video from the link). In the end, though, I decided that the changing keys were just too confusing. Cool idea, but meh.

4. The LG enV3

This one was our winner. Lewis has an enV right now, which he admitted is a quality phone in spite of the fact that it likes to shut itself off randomly and without notice. As far as design is concerned, the enV3 seems to be a good improvement from the original enV, so that's good.

The only trouble now is how we are going to tell our phones apart. We both picked the phone in slate blue because the other option was red and well, you know... red. Blech.

So that's that. Actually, we ended up stressing ourselves out about the lack of desirable phones while we were actually at the store, so we ended up going home and just ordering our phones over the phone, interestingly enough (I'm convinced that the reason we didn't just end up getting the enV3 in the store is because the one they had on display was of the red variety. That and the fact that you had to mail in a rebate to get the upgrade discount at the store whereas it's instant online or over the phone). They will be here on Friday. Which is great news for me especially because I haven't been texting since October, so basically my phone has not been used much at all. I realized that I don't get very many calls. But that's okay. It's been a busy few months at school, so the lack of cell phone usage is probably a very good thing.

Happy fourth day, everyone!

The Third Day of Christmas

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

3 final tests
2 Praxis scores
And a mid-Atlantic winter snow storm


Today, I took three finals. And they were my last finals for the semester! It was a very happy feeling to get everything done, and to be done with school.

The best final I had was probably my Family Law exam. And that's because I took the final while at my in-laws' condo up in Park City, sitting on an extremely comfortable couch, in front of a cozy fire, typing on a keyboard that was connected wirelessly to Lewis' computer, which was connected wiredly to the big screen TV. It was delightful! If any of my future teachers are reading this, I would sincerely appreciate it if you would format my exams so that I may complete them in this manner. Mucho gusto.

Halloween: Cajun Style

I smell like costume make-up and mothballs and I don't even care!

Today is Halloween. Well, it's Halloween at elementary schools up and down the country anyway.

I've always loved Halloween. But now that I know what Halloween is going to be like every year for the rest of my life, I love it even more. The elementary school is the hip hop happenin' place to be for Halloween. I'm so glad the month I'm spending in an elementary school this semester includes Halloween.

At the school I'm at, the kids weren't allowed to dress up until after lunch. However, if their costume included face paint, they were permitted to wear it to school. So we had one kid show up to school with a white face, black eyes, and blood dripping from the corners of his mouth. Also, his hair was slicked back and sprayed black. It was amazing.

The kids in my class were dying to put their costumes on all day. They each asked the teacher about twenty times when they could go change. During lunch, while all the kids were at recess, my partner and I were standing in the hallway, outside our classroom while our mentor teacher changed into her costume. At the end of the hall, there was a door to the playground where about thirty kids were sitting on the steps, looking longingly inside. I bet recess never lasted longer.

And then, it was finally time for them to get dressed up. I helped out the kids who could just put on their costumes over their close. I also painted another kid's face white with black eyes. He went without the blood, though, because he wanted to save it for tomorrow.

In my class, there were 5 witches, 4 ninjas, 3 storm troopers, 2 vampires (the kids in the face paint), 2 Deaths, 1 Batman, 1 army guy, 1 vet, 1 tool girl, 1 devil, and 1 "sweetheart bat."

After everyone got their costumes on, we went out to join the parade. I went to seven different elementary schools as a child, and yet I have never experienced a Halloween costume parade. It was so great! We marched all over the school and into the gym where all the parents were waiting. I loved it so, so much. All the students looked amazing. My favorite part was the grumpy face on a 1st grade boy dressed as Spider-man next to the smiling face of a 1st grade girl also dressed as Spider-man, but a more muscular one.

Anyway, my point is, today was incredible. The whole day was a lot of fun, and I didn't want to leave when the time came. To be honest, though, that's what it's been like every day this week. When I first started at this school on Tuesday, I was really nervous. And then all the students showed up and I realized how much fun I am going to have as a teacher. Of course, I still haven't really taught anything yet... that's happening next week. We'll see how it goes.

In other news, I'm a winner! I went to an office supply fair last week and I entered a drawing for a kayak! I didn't win the kayak, but I did win a set of six super magnets! Of course, I haven't been able to pull them apart as of yet, but winning is still fun.

PS: I dressed up as Giselle from Enchanted today. I made the kids guess who I was and they were all really excited when they got it right because it was from a movie they've seen. I love how little kids get excited about little things. More people should be like that!

Motivation

Is it weird that one of the reasons I want to be a teacher is so I can eat school lunches? Maybe it's because it was so rare for my mom to give me lunch money instead of a packed lunch, but I LOVED eating school lunches. And I get to do that for the rest of my life. Seriously. Little cartons of chocolate milk that I never got the hang of opening properly, every day.

It's only elementary school lunches, really. Lunch at my high school tried to hard to be hip and give the people want they wanted, or what the Prince William County School District believed we wanted, anyway. What I actually wanted was frozen lasagna and fruit churros, not underbaked pizza, thankyouverymuch.

Also, the smell of baking bread in the morning at schools makes me happy. When I was doing my internship for MFHD at Farrer last winter, I would smell the bread baking in the hallways and my mind would be flooded with memories of happy times in elementary school. And then my mouth would water and my stomach would grumble and I'd get really bitter that I was only at Farrer in the mornings and had to go back to BYU before lunch. Lame-o.

Yeah, go 'head and said it. I already know I'm a nerd.

Thankful

I cannot begin to express how very thankful I am that I have such a diligent husband. He didn't listen to his friends who just said he should get them another day. He didn't give up and come back later when the server was overloaded and no one could get on the website. No... he hit refresh over and over and over until byutickets.com let him on to buy our All Sports Passes.

Without which we would be lost forever.

Because the tickets sold out in just three and a half hours.

And now there are loads of angry people stuck with the crappy nose-bleed tickets (better than nothing, though!).

And we'll have great seats at every stinkin' home football game this year. Florida State, TCU, freaking Utah... we'll be there.

I love you, Lewis.

Pimping My Crib

It started on Thursday night. It was late, and we were really tired, but instead of going to bed like normal people, Lewis and I decided to move around the furniture in our bedroom. As we shifted things around, we got to talking about how we could make our whole apartment more appealing. And that's how the chain reaction began.

We...

...went through many of our belongings and filled up several large boxes to take to DI

...reorganized our closets and second bedroom

...moved our dresser into our second bedroom

...bought a giant mirror to hang in our bedroom

...bought a 2x4 and cut it into 8 1x1s

...grabbed some oops paint from Home Depot and had one of Lew's co-workers change the colors to brown and green to match our bedroom colors

...painted the 1x1s brown and green

We will...

...switch around our living room so you see our super-sweet couch when you walk in, rather then the TV

...hang the 1x1s in a checkered pattern above our bed, so it kind of looks like a headboard

...hang the mirror up

...paint our kitchen chairs (maybe)

...keep on improving our apartment. Errybody will be jealous of it.

I would post some before and after pictures, but the before pictures will all be blank walls and messy areas, so that would be silly. I still might post some after photos, though. Who knows, really? Pretty much, though, it's going to be the hottest spot on the block. Well, the hottest spot at Wymount, anyway. If only they would let us paint our walls...

Post script: when we were cleaning off our nightstand, we found a crisp 20 dollar bill (quite crisp, really). Basically, it was the best feeling in the world, especially since we just paid a bunch o' bills.

A Scintillating Conversation

As she does most Sunday mornings, my mom called. After engaging in a pleasant conversation with her and then with my dad, I asked to talk to my little brother, Joseph. Joseph has his hands in a lot of cookie jars right now, including, but not limited to, piano, Taekwondo, choir, and art. I know what you're thinking. Joseph is awesome.

Anyway, as our conversation progressed, the topic turned to Taekwondo. Joseph twisted his ankle the day before his test to become a blue belt. But, like a real trooper, he pressed forward and passed the test with flying colors. I asked him if he was going to keep going to get his black belt, he said, "No. My mom said I could quit after I got my blue belt. I'm only doing it so I can beat the crap out of [insert name of Joseph's mortal enemy]."

Well, as long as his motives are pure.

I then asked if he was going to take on Lewis when he came out here for a visit. Our conversation went something like this (Lewis was beside me, telling me some of the things to say):

Me: So are you going to try and beat the crap out of Lewis when you come visit us?

Joseph: Yeah.

Me: Are you sure? Lewis is a black belt.

Joseph: Well I already beat a black belt.

Me: But Lewis is also a ninja. A black belt ninja.

Joseph: That's not true. Ninja's don't have belts.

Me: How do you know?

Joseph: I've seen a ninja in real life.

Me: Of course you did, at our wedding! It was Lewis.

Joseph: No, it wasn't Lewis! I saw a real ninja and he wasn't wearing a belt. I also played a ninja video game.

Me: Yeah! That game was based off of Lewis!

Joseph: No it's not. Lewis is not a turtle. Or a rat.

Me: Okay, that's true. Lewis is not a turtle or a rat.

Joseph: I wish he was a rat.

Me: Why?

Joseph: Then I could kill him.

In short, Lewis had better watch his back.

Teacher Teach

14 - number of credit hours I'm taking during spring and summer terms.
17.5 - number of credit hours I'm taking during fall semester.
3 - number of hours my art class lasts each Tuesday and Thursday.
8 - number of hours I spend each week in my math class.
10 - number of hours I spent on homework this weekend, after having spent only four days in classes so far this term.

Who knew learning how to teach little crumb grinders took so much time? And I just started!

The Rumors Are True!

Remember back a year or two ago when you got an email that said Bill Gates was going to start canceling Hotmail accounts, so you better forward this email on to let him know you were still alive and kicking? Well (apparently) that day has arrived.

The scene: my laptop

The crime: a missing inbox.

Tonight, after getting back home from Comedy Night Done Right (NBC on Thursdays) I pulled out my computer to complete my nightly perusal of the internet. The first site I elected to visit was Hotmail.com. You see, I desired to check my email (shocking, I know). Much to my surprise, however, was when I logged in to Hotmail, instead of taking me to my inbox, I was told I didn't have an inbox...yet:

Really, Hotmail? Huh. That's strange. Then what have I been checking all these years? Cause I thought my inbox was that place where all my received emails were stored until such a time as I elected to delete them.

Trying to solve this conundrum, I followed the link to "Sign up for Windows Live Hotmail." It took me to a screen where I could "Create [my] Windows Live ID" that looked like this:


You'll notice at the top it says, "Already using Hotmail, Messanger, or Xbox LIVE? Sign in now." Okay, I thought. Seems strange that I have to sign in twice, but whatevs. I clicked that link and it took me back to the original sign in page. Something was smelling fishy, but I kept the faith and typed in my password. Again. And you know where it took me? Right back to the "You don't have an inbox...yet" page. If you think I was starting to get annoyed, you would be correct.

After trying to sign in every possible way, and getting steadily angrier, I decided the best thing to do would be to alert Hotmail and MSN to let them know that they were having some issues. So I clicked on help, thinking there would be a simple place to leave some feedback or - even better - a customer service number to call. And wouldn't you know it? There wasn't! Instead, I got to a very user unfriendly help table of contents with topics such as "How do I monitor my child's account?" Numerous searches for a helpful link yielded zero results and their customer support website was down (probably overloaded).

I finally found a place to leave feedback, and although it was for msn.com, rather than Hotmail, I decided it would have to do. I let them know how I was feeling about whatever the heck was going on in a clear and concise manner. Essentially, I cyber yelled at them. Hey! Sometimes the best remedy for a bad situation is nothing more than a swift kick in the pants.

But you know what? You don't have to fix anything. It's all good. I didn't need those pictures of the time I spent working for the Department of Commerce in Romania. I can get by without the contact information for my mom's side of the family. And my tax return? Pffft. It's not like there's a chance the IRS might come audit me or something, right? (In the interest of avoiding an unnecessary comment, don't worry, Mom, I have a paper copy of the return. You may direct your comment to another item in this blog)

The truth is, Hotmail, you've been steadily declining for quite some time now. I don't know if you're trying to be the new black or something, but come on. You're an email provider. Not a social networking site. Stop trying to be one. Every few weeks, the all new Hotmail comes along and the changes bug me every time. I've been with you, Hotmail, since the beginning. Those were happier, simpler times.

So here's the deal: you give me back my emails, I'll collect the information I need from them, and then I'll be on my way. I've slowly been using Gmail more and more anyway. The changes they make are actually improvements and - even better - they're optional.

Don't freak out too much, MSNBC. I'll continue to partake in Comedy Night Done Right.

And to all my beloved blog readers out there, it's aluissa at gmail dot com.

A Few Words on Bicycles

For starters, let it be known that I am pro-bike. I love 'em. I wish I could ride one more often because, truly, they're awesome. What a great way to travel. You get exercise and a good feeling for not further polluting this good earth further, all in one. It's a twofer. Really. I mean it.

That being said, I feel the need to call all the bike riders of the world or perhaps just Provo to submit to them this formal request:

To the bike riders of the world or perhaps just Provo, hark. The time has come to choose. Are you a pedestrian or a car? You don't need to make one decision that everyone has to stick with. Rather, each of you can make the choice for him- or herself: pedestrian or car? But once you have made that decision, you gotta commit. None of this namby-pamby, I'm a car until there's a red light, then oh snap, JK, I'm a pedestrian, I'm a pedestrian! I don't care which one you each pick. Just one or the other. Cause, seriously? Your ticking me off. Like whoa. It's time to get off the fence.

That's all.

Whiskey Tango Hotel, Wake Forest? Whiskey Tango Hotel?

Really, Wake Forest? You lost to Cleveland State? Really? Why, why, why did you lose? That game shouldn't have even been close! Oh wait. It wasn't! You got stepped on by Cleveland State!

I don't think you realize what this does to me. I had you in the Final freaking Four. The Final Four! Pretty much, because of you, it's time to say good-bye to my bracket. It's ruined. Like whoa.

I don't even care any more. You broke me. As far as I'm concerned, March Madness is over and there's just a whole lot of basketball on TV that of course I'm going to watch. You're dead to me.

And YOU, Utah! I wasn't going to say anything about the other teams that pooped on my bracket last night, but I just hate you so much that I feel justified. The one time I give you any credit, what do you do? You lose. By a lot. Really, Utah? Never again.

To Cleveland and Arizona States, well done. You may have ruined my chances at anything and everything, but I know how to appreciate a good upset. And you both pulled fantastic upsets. And now you play each other - 13 and 12 seeds, respectively. One of you is going to make it to the sweet 16. Well done, indeed.

And a hearty pat on the back to Wisconsin. I picked you over Florida State, in a 12-5 seed upset. Thank you for looking out for me, even if those jerks over in the Midwest region screwed it up.

Braketology

To the men's basketball teams of Minnesota, Akron, Illinois, Tennessee, Utah State, and BYU:

What were you thinking? You lost in the first round. Did you not understand that you were supposed to win? I picked you all to win this round. And what did you do? You lost.

Minnesota: while I am still highly disappointed, I am most forgiving of your lost. 10-7 seedings are rife with upsets, but there's always at least one that goes to the 7 seed. I should have known.

Akron and Illinois: the winners of both of your games play each other. Do you know what that means? It means that I will definitely lose points in the next round too because you both lost. You freaking tools. Akron, I had you to upset Gonzaga. Sure, historically they are a fantastic tournament team, but they lost the last two years in the first round. It would have been so easy to get in their heads and pull an upset, but no. You choked.
As for you Illinois--seriously? You lost to Western Kentucky. Western Kentucky! How in the world could you let that happen? It's Western freaking Kentucky!

Tennessee: true, you only lost by two points. But I'm irrational and I don't care. I hate you for losing.

Utah State: you are one of the most underrated teams in the country. You had the chance to prove everyone wrong and you miffed it. The fact that you only lost by a point is not the point.

BYU: you know you will always have my loyalty. But this trend of losing in the first round every single NCAA tournament you make it to has got to stop. 1993 was a long time ago, boys. A very long time. It's time to win again. But not this year. You lost this year.

To Louisville, Ohio State, freaking Utah, Wake Forest, Dayton, USC, Michigan State, Missouri, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, Xavier, and Temple - you had better win. You had just better. All of you. I mean it.

Oh, and UCLA? I appreciate you pulling it out, but come on. VCU? Let's show a little more hustle in your game against Duke. After that, you may lose. But only after.

I'm Trusting You, AccuWeather.com!

I was all set to force my opinion of "lol" on all you devoted blog readers of mine, but then something more pressing happened: it started snowing.

Now, I'm okay with the seasons going where they belong: winter is supposed to last from December to March, I get that. In fact, I downright encourage it. But, Weather, once you start in one direction, you gotta commit. At this time last week, it was 60 freaking degrees outside. I know the old adage, "In like a lion, out like a lamb," but if that's what you're going to do, then that's what you need to do. None of this, in like a lamb, then maybe some more lion, and then I'll think about going back to a lamb or something. Maybe a camel. I mean, really! I do not need this stress!

As any concerned citizen would do, once it started snowing, I decided a check on the weather forecast was in order. AccuWeather.com told me that tomorrow I could expect "Plenty of clouds" with a high of 42. Wednesday should bring "Partly sunny" with a whopping 47 degrees of highness. And for the next fifteen days, it is only supposed to get better. Now, on Sunday, March 15th, there's the possibility of a rain and snow shower, but with a low of 32, I have hope that that won't be too big of a deal. On the 19th and 20th we're supposed to be all the way in the mid-60s. March 22nd has been labeled as a day of "Brilliant sunshine." Similarly, the 23rd has been forecasted to bring "Abundant sunshine" - abundant! Abundant! I want that abundance!

Now, I realize that weather forecasting is a very imprecise science, and that it would be completely irrational for me to be so thoroughly annoyed if it doesn't pan out the way AccuWeather.com says it's supposed to. But I don't care. AccuWeather.com, you will face my wrath if Weather does not deliver. You've been warned.

A Lifetime of Fatigue

It was hard to get up this morning. I (sort of) woke up at 4 AM, checked my alarm, and decided in my half-awakened state that 6:30 was a completely irrational time for me to get up. This sort of thing has happened in the past - usually resulting in me setting my alarm for 9ish AM, or possibly later. Most fortunately, this did not occur this morning (especially since Lewis didn't set his alarm at all), and the more reasonable time I settled upon was just 1/2 hour earlier - 6.

I use the term "fortunately" very lightly here. Truth be told, when my alarm went off a full forty-five minutes before I was ready to even consider getting up (6:30 with a 15 minute snooze) I was mad as all get out. Sure, it meant that I was able to get up in time to be where I needed to be when I needed to be there. But, shoot. It sucked.

It was mostly so miserable because of the realization I came to this morning, after this horror of the alarm occurred: this is never going to end! I get up and go to school every morning with graduation at the back of my mind - after which I can sleep in again, right? Wrong!

This pattern of waking up super early is never going to end.

You see, I am going to be a teacher. As you may know, I am currently doing an internship at an Elementary school (unrelated to the teaching thing). I arrive at the school sometime between 7:30 and 8 every morning. By the time I get there, most of the teachers have already been there for at least a half an hour. Which means that when I'm (finally) done with college, I will start a job which requires me to be out and about even earlier than now!

Well, what if I decide to spend a few years at home to raise my kids? Will I get to sleep in then? Not if my kids take after me, I won't. I remember getting up as a wee one and participating in my mother's early morning seminary class. What the heck was wrong with me? I mean, really! I had the chance - for just the short period of time that was my childhood - to sleep in. To enjoy my bed and the comfort found there. And I miffed it. Odds are good that my children will miff it too. Dummies.

Now I understand why my parents tried to get us to go to bed at 9 every night.

I thrive on weekends. Weekends are when we can sleep in and relax in bed and get up at our leisure. Nothing is dictated by a blaring alarm. Even after we wake up, we can just chill underneath the covers and maybe surf the introwebs, all from the comfort of our own bed (thank goodness for laptops!) I love it. It's the best thing in the world. Until Lewis decides it's time to get up and takes all the covers with him. Jerk.

The Double Lux

It is highly unlikely that I will ever be famous. I know that, you know that, we all now that. It is equally unlikely that I will ever be particularly wealthy. And I'm perfectly okay with that. My fulfillment will come from my family and our relationships and yadda yadda yadda. However, there are a few items that could be considered -ahem- material that I've pretty much decided I can't live without. When I have these items, these luxuries if you will, I'll know I am a financial success.

1. A washer and dryer of my very own, that reside in the same house as me
I hate laundromats. Oh, so much. Especially when it's cold and snowy and you have more than one basket to take over and the only time you have to do the laundry is when your husband is at work so he can't help you. And sometimes - especially when it's cold and snowy - people don't come back to get their clothes right after they're done so they sit in the dryer until they're stone cold and someone named me has to take them out of the dryer and dump them somewhere so she can use a freaking dryer cause they're all full! Not to mention the fact that the Police Beat recently featured a bit about a family whose clothes all got stolen from the laundromat I currently patronize. Not only does that make me afraid that my clothes will get stolen too, but it makes me feel slightly guilty cause what if the perps took the clothes I dumped out of a dryer so I could use it? And then I remember how very cold those clothes were and the only way they could get that cold is if they had been sitting in the dryer for at least an hour after it turned off so maybe those people deserved what they got. And then I feel guilty again.

My point is, I can't wait until I can just walk down the hall with a basket of clothes and turn the machines on and off at my leisure and not have to worry about my clothes getting stolen. Cause, seriously. If you manage to break into someone's house, are you really going to go for the clothes in the washing machine? More than likely, you'll probably snag whatever's in sight that looks valuable like our laptops or Wii.

I'm also looking forward to the time when I can put a stinky washcloth straight into the washer. Having a smelly washcloth that you can't do anything about cause laundry day's not til Saturday is the worst. It totally kills my mojo.

2. The History Channel
I swear - I swear! - that when I lived in the freshman dorms way back when, we had the History Channel. I swear it! And now I'm back to living on campus, with the same cable as back then, and the History Channel is no where it be found. I love this channel. History is one of my favorite topics, but I never did any good in the classes, so I haven't taken very many while I've been at school. The History Channel is the perfect compromise! I can learn to my heart's content about the most random things and then I'm able to spout off boring trivia like a party trick. And there's no exam! And it's presented in a much more appealing way on the History Channel than in any of my classes. AND, if I get bored with it, I can just change the channel or turn it off, or walk out of the room. It didn't go over so well when I tried that in History 201.

So, when we have the money to a afford a cable package that includes the History Channel, I know we will be a financial success. I cannot wait for this. I need my History's Mysteries. At least I have the Discovery Channel. If BYU cut both of those out of their cable, I'd be out of Wymount in a flash. Or in 60 days, as per the contract release agreement.

3. More than two counters in my kitchen
I know, right?! That's all we have. One of them used to be exclusively for the dish drain (no dishwasher either), but we moved that to sit inside the sink (made a world of difference). The other counter usually has all the dirty dishes stacked on it - which, true, does give us the motivation to keep them clean, so we can use that space. For the most part, however, we tend to do our food preparation on the kitchen table - which means it's always covered with junk too. My dream is to have an island in my kitchen for counter space, and also which has a range right on it. Then maybe I could also have two ovens, one on top of the other. And a place to put a microwave. But I digress. At this point, I'd be plenty satisfied with just a third counter.

So that's what's up, G. I imagine that this post might get an encore as I think of more stuff I can't live without. In the meantime, does anyone want to let me come over to watch Modern Marvels?