THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY

See this movie. It's based on the memoirs of Jean-Dominique Bauby, a french journalist and former editor of french Elle who suffers a debilitating stroke but goes on to write about his experience by learning to communicate with only his left eye. For a proper review you can go here.
The cinematography, the story, and the acting were all wondrous. But be prepared to crave a croissant after. Oh and why do foreign films have all the genuine looking actors and we have to put up with Julia Roberts in film after film?

List of my Current Obsessions

1. Checking craigslist for apartments that I've no intention of renting.
2. Checking craigslist for shabby chic furniture.
3. Craigslist.
4. Making sure all the blinds in my room are either angled up or angled down.
5. Keeping my nails filed.
6. Puffs tissues.
7. Stretching after each workout.
8. 'Superstar' by Lupe Fiasco.
9. Green beans - delicious.
10. Looking for plane tix to places I can't afford to go.

Too bad I can't be obsessed with 'scripture study' or 'putting money in savings'. So that's that. In other news Pamchenko confessed she had no idea what my blog was called - and could I email her the name of it? Which proves that my mother doesn't read my blog, so get ready for some scandalous posts about my fabulous Dallas nightlife......and some sweary-ness.........and...........a tattoo perhaps?

Y-M-C-Heeeeeey Baby!

I used to workout at Gold's Gym in Utah. The reason I chose Gold's becomes an increasing mystery to me. Before my mission they tried to scam me out of around 90 bucks and then finagled me into sitting on the phone for over three hours to sort it out. Because I'm a sucker I turned around and bought another membership after my mission. I was seduced by all of their classes that fit into my kickboxing fantasies.
Now I work out at the YMCA. There is no YMCA in Utah. Why is that? It seems that the mormon community would embrace the tenets of the YMCA. Christian brotherhood, family fitness etc., and we pray and "thank the Good Lord for our bodies" after every class.
It has been quite the adjustment going from classes where the conversations were about "like, how many calories have you burned in this class before?" to "girl, I be workin' hard in this class, got Satan all up on my back."
Figure 1

Figure 2

Pretty Poison

For reasons unbeknownst to me I cannae find this song on itunes. So it must suffice to post the video. I heard it on the freeway the other day and I COULD NOT HELP MYSELF. Had to do a little car dancy.

Parting is such sweet sorrow...unless you make it Ugly

The ability to make an ugly face is important to me. This makes me somewhat of a critic when taking pictures. Of course, I can smile normally but that's not entertaining. So after the first picture has been taken and it's time for the 'make a face' picture, I really shine. Not only have I a mastered my facial muscles to the point that I have names for my different funny faces ( Dry Heave, Goblin Child, Botox, etc..) but I really respect other people who aren't afraid to be hideous.
That said, this is what I really wanted to write about - The end of my career at WIA. *sniffle* The above picture portrays the best 'funny face' my beloved coworkers could produce. Some are awesome (which raises my esteem for said person) others are, well, lacking. However! That does not mean that each person that I have shared the last two years with at WIA has not impacted me.
In fact, I would like to address each one in this public forum.
Paris,
You will always be taller than me, and perhaps you don't have to work so hard at destructive behaviors to get the public attention but you've always been a proper frenemy. Thanks for all the diet coke, celery sticks and dove to counteract the celery sticks. Oh, and the awesome time on your boat...I mean yacht.

Dear Samoan Princess,
You are the best world's best boss, and I mean that in a non Michael Scott kind of way. I'll miss trying to take you down in the hallway and your wealth of random fitness tidbits. Picture me on a treadmill somewhere in Texas, pounding out one last mile because the monitor hasn't reached all even numbers yet.

Dear Prego,
Thanks for setting me up when I was too lazy to socialize but too lonely to refrain from complaining about it. You know I'll help you paint your house, watch your kids, take a kickboxing class with you ANYTIME. May we continue as Buddha's Feast sisters many long years.

Dear Commuter,
Anytime 'I earned it' I will fondly think of you. As well as anytime I order a fancy drink. You are one of the most thoughtful and sincere people I know. Thanks for always letting me mooch flavor and stain stick from you. I'll keep you posted on any triathalons that we could meet in the middle at.

Dear Karl Marx,
Why doesn't anybody listen to you? At least I do. It's a good thing too because otherwise I wouldn't have a clue about tracking one's temp, grad school, Uworks, and good hair. Also, I passed statistics with the help of your husband. You guys should apply in Texas...just sayin.

Dear Token Male,
Really I can sum up what I have to say to you in one word - sorry. For all of the mistakes I made in Case Managing that you surely don't know about yet. May you continue to provide balance. Oh, and watch out for posting non-authorized flyers in the building. Seems that doesn't go over too well.

Dear Miko,
I apologize to you as well. For all the mistakes I made that you will have to fix. Whatever, I know you won't judge me, and if you do I'll think smugly about you walking around in sweat shop clothes. I hope you love the job. Keep spinning.

And so I lovingly dedicate this post to the staff at WIA. They are saving the world one GED at a time.

Updates...

WASATCH BACK RELAY
The official team name has been decided: Run More, Eat More. It's more of a mantra I'd say. But I voted for it too so I'm not complaining. La Dolcezza did suggest we name the team Bringin' Wasatch Back, which made me laugh. Clever, clever girl. The registration has been paid in a lump sum and so if you want to secure your place you need to get your money to Pamchenko (Team CAPTAIN!) as soon as possible. For those of you who have not researched the website as previously suggested, you will want to know that if you want to pay and then have to drop out at a later date substitutions are allowed until April.

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MOVING TO DALLAS
Yes I will be moving to the Lone Star state at the beginning of October. I can't tell you the excitement I feel when I picture myself packing all my worldly belongings into my Civic and heading out...which reminds me, I am in need of some sweet new road trip tunes. Suggestions? Oh, and I copied this from Bexy's blog. HILARIOUS!



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GRE VOCAB WORD OF THE DAY
Mendacious - adj. Lying; habitually dishonest.

Want to Know Where to PARTY?

The above heading I copied from the Wasatch Back cross country relay website. For those of you who have not been recruited by Pamchenko or myself - The Wasatch Back is a 176 mile run on backroads from Logan to Park City. Naturally, the feat is accomplished in teams.
And we, my friends, are compiling our team of Running Lunatics.




Like any successful team we need to unify ourselves by choosing a stellar team name. Various emails have been circulating several good suggestions. Unlike other races, you register as a team instead of individually and you cannot register without a team name. If you are planning on running you need to email Pamchenko your vote by this Sunday ( if you need that address leave me a comment) and then she will register the team once the votes are collected. Check out the website. There is extensive information on how much each person runs, elevations, training schedules etc. This race is gonna be crazy! If you aren't sure you can commit (the race isn't until next June) we would still love your input. If you don't vote you can't complain when we decide to call ourselves Team Super Fudge Chunk.

There have been some rumors of appointing a team captian. Indeed, I received a ridiculously long voice mail from Sue expressing concerns over whether she was cut out for the job. Of course Sue would be an ideal captain and I think she should shoulder this resposibility as well as start wearing a viking helmet with horns and braids BUT i don't want her to feel pressure. Besides, Toad insists that they will be in Hawaii during June. Funsucker.

Therefore, I suggest we appoint Pamchenko as team captain - she's a running veteran, benevolent dictator, and most importantly she's committed to bagging this race.