Trying to post from a phone...

Attractive? Maybe...

What is it that initially attracts us to eachother?

Now I'm not talking the little details of eachother's lives and the personality and all that stuff, I mean what is it about that boy you and your friends see while at the store or the park or McDonald's that makes you think "Oh, he's cute." (And don't pretend you've never done it. I've done it, and I'm about as anti-flirting, un-boy-crazy, as it gets. I don't mean thinking you're soul mates because you shop at the same shoe store or order the same thing off the dollar menu. We don't want stalking, just thinking that he's maybe possibly kind of good-looking.)

I know that society obviously affects what we as humans perceive to be attractive. Stereotypes, both good and bad, have a surprisingly large impact on our (mostly subconscious) first impressions of eachother. (My friend and I did our science fair project on this last year.) So as society's standards for physical attractiveness vary, so will ours (to some degree).

But is that all? If so, then why do some girls have much different opinions on what makes a guy attractive than others? What makes so many girls swoon at the sight of Justin Bieber or Taylor Lautner or the Jonas Brothers, when others of us are maybe more inclined to think that David Tennant is just about the cutest guy ever? Is it maturity levels? Friends and family? Does your own appearance impact what you find attractive in another?

Anyways, sorry for the slightly weird topic today. I just had similar conversations with some of my friends recently and the topic intrigued me. Thanks for reading! :)

Mi canción favorita

Well, one of them. So most everyone out there has probably heard "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban. It's a beautiful, inspiring song by an incredibly talented man. But there is a Spanish version (by Il Divo) that I also really really love called "Por ti seré". It's only one verse and then a much repeated chorus, but the lyrics --while not an exact translation of the English version-- are amazing (in my possibly slightly biased opinion).


(Sorry, the only video I could get an embed code for was this one -- random pictures of members of Il Divo, the group that sings it :P)


I'll try to roughly translate the lyrics here for you because Google Translate doesn't like me very much right now. Sorry about my not-so-fantastic Spanish. :) It doesn't always make exact sense because it's a translation, but you'll get the picture

Cuando me vi desnudo y sin aliento
When you saw me naked and breathless
("naked" in this case implying vulnerability--not a nudist on the loose)
Arando un mar desierto y sin amor
Laboring through a desert sea without love
Cuando pensé que mi alma había muerto
When I thought that my soul had died
llegaste tú como la luz del sol
You came to me like the sunlight

Por ti seré más fuerte que el destino
For you I will be stronger than fate
Por ti seré tu héroe ante el dolor
For you I will be a hero against the pain
Yo sin ti estaba tan perdido
Without you I was so lost
Por tí seré mejor de lo que soy
For you I will be better than I am
 
And just for kicks, here is the beautiful English version by Josh Groban.

Being the uncool sister

   "Don't you even care?" "Couldn't you just try?" Oh, and my personal favorite: "Stop it! You're embarassing me!"

   These are some of my younger sister's absolute favorite things to say to me. The first one referring to my appearance on most days, the second-- her pleading with me to not be so weird, and the third is her harshly whispered command that I not speak to her or about her or near her whenever she is in public or with her friends. Or with my friends, for that matter...yeah, pretty much in general. (My answers are usually "Umm... nope" , "Probably not" and "Oh goody!")

   It's not like I try to be embarassing. At least, it doesn't start out that way... I'm just sitting there, mostly minding my own business, and someone will ask me an innocent enough question like"What music do you like to listen to?" or "Where did you get that shirt?" or even  "What movies do you like to watch?". If I answer  "country music, 80's rock and the Backstreet Boys" , "the thrift store" or "science fiction and disaster... pretty much anything where where aliens come and people die"  I get an immediate eyeroll from her general direction and she starts trying to explain away or apologize for my general uncoolness.

   It's a wonder how she does it, really. Deal with such an uncool sister, that is. She is only 12 but she (and her seventh grader friends) are already so much smarter, more fashionable, more mature, and generally more awesome than I am, ever have been, and can ever hope to be. Unless she wants something from me. In that case I'm generally promoted to "acceptable" which means I only have to stand 10 feet away from her in public.

   I love my sister dearly and we do have some fun times together, it's just when I'm, you know, embarassing, that she can't let people know she's related to me. :D

The Most Wonderful Subject in the ENTIRE WORLD!

Which is ME! Try to contain yourself, please. I know you're excited, but let's attempt to keep the gushing to a minimum.
Since I'm starting this new blog and all I figured it's a great opportunity to talk about myself, which reallly never gets old. Yeah, I know, you could just click the little "About Me" link in the corner and poof there's a not-so-complete list of my favorite books, movies and music. But where's the fun in that? No, instead I will tell you all of the random, unimportant facts about myself that you never really wanted to know. (Well, maybe not all. 10 random things sounds good.) Here goes nothing.

 

1. I am hopelessy geeky about all things science fiction. I was raised on Star Wars and the original Stargate movie, I am a sucker for anything Star Trek (I'm a Next Gen kinda gal myself), and, of course, my all-time favorite show that I've been addicted to for the past three and a half years...Doctor Who! (Ten FOREVER)

2.I used to be rather good at playing the piano. (Key phrase being "used to be"). Thing is, I haven't taken lessons in several years and teaching myself is harder than one might think, but I'm trying. Hey, I even have the first page of "Fearless" down pat.

3. My favorite color is blue. My least favorite color is pink. No, just kidding, my least favorite color is mauve. It's like a wannabe pink that's trying to be purple but ends up being mostly gray. Yup, definitely don't like mauve.

4. I really honestly dislike the Twilight series. Quite a lot. I'm sorry, but those books are just stupid. They're about a 17 year old girl who really makes some of the most unintelligent decisions possible, lies to her family and friends, and runs off with a 100+ year old vampire because he supposedly "loves" her. Yeah, right. I didn't even make it through the first book.

5.I cannot for the life of me do a figure8 in reverse. It's impossible, I'm not kidding. Any guesses as to who'll be failing driver's ed range tomorrow?

6. If I ever do decide to try my hand at a life of crime, it'll be with the shameless hope of meeting myself a Neal Caffrey. I'm sorry but it's true. Not sure what's up with his pants being rolled up in this picture, but don't let it fool you. As far as bank robbers, con men and art forgers go, he's not bad. Not bad at all. See, this is what I really don't get about Twilight. Why fall for a pale sparkly vampire who perpetually looks like he's wearing lipstick of some sort, when there's a charming white-collar-criminal-turned-FBI-consultant with the most amazing blue eyes out there? It just doesn't fit...

7. I am a hopeless romantic. I love a good love story, real-life or good fiction. Not the raunchy, immoral stuff that Hollywood seems intent on making these days, but the beautiful, true love kind of thing i.e. Letters to Juliet, Love Comes Softly and Love's Enduring Promise(the books or the movies, I'm not too picky), Elizabeth and Darcy, Margaret and Thornton. What can I say? For all my boys-have-cooties talk (and trust me, there's a lot of that), I love me some love. :)

8. Gerald Lund is the best author EVER. The Alliance, Fire of the Covenant, The Kingdom and the Crown series. He writes the most amazing gospel-related historical fiction, intense thrillers, the occasional science fiction, and some darn good romance side-plots to boot.

9. I love a good bubble bath. I don't know why you need to know this, but you do. A nice, warm, relaxing bubble bath makes even a figure8 in reverse seem feasible. Every girl needs to know the joy that can come from scented suds and a good book by candelight.

10. and ten...I'm horrible at blogging. I may go months without posting, and then do two a day for a few weeks. Just don't expect the updates to be regular.

 

Well, I'd better sign out. Time to go do something much less productive than this. If you made it this far, thanks for sticking it out through my ramblings. You rock. I'll try to cut down on the randomness next time.

To Start...

    I have a confession to make. Don't worry, it's nothing awful. I haven't killed anyone and I have yet to rob a bank. No, it's just that this summer I have...dare I say it?...SLACKED OFF! There, it's out. I, who never, ever, ever procrastinate ever, (if you can't sense the sarcasm in those words, I'm not sure if there's any hope for you) have oficially taken it to a new level. I am now, as my grandfather would lovingly say, a lazy bum.

And since I can't drive myself anywhere, I've read all the interesting books we own, and my back currently isn't agreeing with Dad's suggestion that I mow the lawn, I figured the next best things were either (a. finally get around to robbing that bank or (b. start a blog. Being the lazy bum that I now apparently am I decided that sitting at my laptop would take less exertion than all the work involved with bank robbing (I'm starting slow, okay?) Plus there's, you know, the whole prison aspect of things...

    Anyways, here's to me trying to do something semi-productive. Let's hope it lasts. :P