Page 84

"David walked in.  He had a bag over his shoulder, two tickets to Rome in his hand.  Shall we? he said.  He was sweating, plotting, a turtleneck under his jacket, anxious about my answer."


This is at the very top of page 84 in The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach.  Do I wish this would happen to me?  Yes, I wish it very much actually!


So here is my fantasy that stems from page 84:  I am in my apartment in Cedar City lazily packing for spring break.  I'm leaving for Kaysville the next morning and am excited to go home and visit my family for a while.  I finish packing and turn to go spend the rest of the night with my roommates.  *Cue gorgeous man who I am currently seriously dating*


He sweeps into my room with a look of confidence on his face.  I notice he has a bag slung over his shoulder and an envelope in his hand.  "Hey beautiful," he says in his wonderfully perfect voice, "Have you finished packing?"
I nod.  Then curious I ask,"What's with the duffel?"
In reply he hands me the envelope and flashes me that beautiful eye crinkling smile he uses when he's genuinely and ecstatically happy about something.  I take the envelope in my hands and begin to open it.  Before I have time to find out what's inside he pulls me close and kisses me quickly: almost like he can't seem to contain his excitement.  I laugh and he just smiles goofily at me while I finish opening the envelope.  I pull out two airline tickets.  At first I don't notice the destination I just stare blankly at them wondering what their meaning is.  I again look into the envelope to see if I've missed something.  When it turns out to be empty I look back at my man questioningly.  His smile falters for a moment; I can tell he's nervous about my reaction.  I look back at the tickets and finally realize that they are two plane tickets to Rome departing that very night.


My eyes widen in shock and my mouth drops open.  "Rome?" I ask in a mixture of disbelief and excitement.  For I've always wanted to go to Rome.  He's heard me talk of it a million times.  How I dream to see the Pantheon, how I know that if I ever do get to walk through that building I'd probably just cry from joy.  How I want to see all the beautiful things in the Roman Forum, how I want to visit the catacombs, and walk through St. Peters.  I look up into his beautiful eyes that are shining with excitement.
"Yes," he laughs at my bafflement, "You and me for spring break.  It's all set up."
I continue to stare at him in disbelief.
"Don't worry, I've already talked to your parents." he tells me, somehow knowing exactly what was going on in my head.
"Really?" I ask still trying to connect everything in my head.
"Yes!" he laughs again, now more at ease.  "Now grab that bag of yours, add whatever you think you'll need for Rome, and lets get going."  As he says all this he pulls out a manila folder and hands it to me.  I look inside to see my passport and visa along with a letter from my parents.  "I had your mom mail them to me a week ago."  He answers my unasked question.


Still in shock I read the letter.  
We love you so much Amanda!  Sad that your not coming home over the break, but we hope you have a blast in Rome!  Call us when you're on your way to the airport.  
Love your Mom and Dad
After reading the letter that is clearly in my mom's handwriting I finally realize that this is actually happening.  I screech in excitement and jump onto my boyfriend hugging him as tightly as I possibly can to try and say all the things that my brain is too muddled to say.  He's not prepared for this and we both tumble to the floor in a heap of limbs, bags, papers, and laughter.  I jump up and instantly start throwing things out of my bag and adding other things.  My mouth has finally caught up with my brain and I'm rambling on and on about how incredible this is, how amazing he is, how unbelievable this whole situation is.


I finish packing, sling the bag over my shoulder and look over and the most incredible and handsome boyfriend in the world.  "Shall we?" he asks with a suave smile as he offers me his elbow.
"Thank you good sir." I reply as I take his arm.
We then proceed to run out the door in the childlike manner we behave that our hearts will never get rid of.  And shove everything into his car.  While driving to the airport I call my parents like I've been instructed to.  They say all the things that parents do: Be careful, keep us updated, and my personal favorite remember who you are and what you stand for.  I assure them that everything will be just fine and when I get off the phone my man fills me in on what we'll be doing in Rome.


He tells me he's booked us each a separate room in a very nice hotel (because of course both of us being LDS we couldn't possibly share one.)  He goes on and on about all the things he's planned for our trip as I sit in the passenger seat trying to contain my sheer giddiness.  We arrive at the airport and board our flight.  We sleep most of the time, and when we're not asleep we spend the flight talking in our usual ease mixed with a sense of something new and exciting.


When we arrive in Rome we take a taxi to our hotel.  He obtains our room keys and proceeds to carry both his and my stuff to our rooms.  After leaving me with my suitcase to settle in I hear a light knock at the door.  I open it to find a beautiful dress with a note attached to it.
You have one hour to shower, put this on, and get ready for our dinner date at Armando al Pantheon.
Love (insert name of my amazingly attractive boyfriend)
My stomach comes alive with butterflies as I close the door and start to get ready.  When my hour is up I open the door to find my boyfriend in a  suit and tie.


"Wow, you clean up nice." he teases, referring to my normal dress of sweats and a t-shirt.
I simply smile and stand up on tiptoe to kiss him.  My butterflies are still bouncing around my stomach and I can't seem to control them.  We head to the restaurant which is across from the Pantheon.  As soon as we are out of the taxi I instantly make a beeline for the one building I so badly want to visit.  He cuts me off though, and with a gentle smile he leads me into the restaurant. 
"As soon as we're finished eating, I promise." he says to keep me from pouting.


Dinner is superb.  Either it was the food, or the fact that I am in Rome with the most amazing man I could ever dream of.  After dinner we obviously splurge on dessert which is also magnificently delicious.  After the bill is paid, he takes my hand and we slowly walk to my favorite building on the whole planet.  I can barely contain my joy as we walk up the small staircase and past the corinthian columns and under the pediment.  When we walk into the building I look up into the vast dome and tears spring to my eyes and a huge smile cracks onto my face.
"I'm finally seeing it!  I'm actually here!" I say to no one in particular.


My boyfriend lets me take my time walking around and taking it all in.  I look at everything, all of it so beautiful and majestic.  When I've finally gotten over the shock of actually being there I run up to him and hug him tightly.  "Thank you so much."  I whisper to him, for there is nothing else to say that can express how I feel in that moment.


He pulls away from me with a brilliant smile on his face, takes my hands in one of his then reaches into his pocket with the other.  After he's extracted something from that pocket he looks into my eyes and says: "Amanda, I have a very important question to ask you."
Then he proceeds to get onto one knee.  My heart starts to race, my mind begins to whir, and those butterflies that have been with me all day start fluttering faster than ever.  My mind is screaming the one word that I am dying to say right in that moment.  YES!  I think in my head, but I wait until he asks.
"Will you marry me?" he says producing the most beautiful ring I've ever seen.  But I'm not even looking at the ring.  I'm looking at the man that I love.
"Yes!" I say as the silent happy tears begin to stream down my face, "Of course I will!"
I pull him up by his tie and kiss him long and hard.  He pulls me into his arms, lifts me up, and twirls me around.  We begin to laugh together and notice people applauding around us.  Apparently we've drawn a crowd.  He lets me down and we proceed to bow and curtsy to the audience that has formed around us.  People we don't know are congratulating us and I'm dizzy with the sheer magnitude of it all.  Being in Rome, seeing the Pantheon, saying yes to the most important question the man I love could ever ask.  This is true fairytale happiness.  I think to myself.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Once upon a time in a land of magical fairy dust and adventure there was a place called Gardener Village.  In this magical land named Gardener Village there was a wonderful group of people, one of whom was named Amanda.  Now Amanda was a very happy person, but she was also a very unsatisfied person.  There was something that her heart desired very much!  And that something was called fried green tomatoes.  Luckily she had a fantastic friend in this group of people named Madison who told her where she could find the desires of her heart.  And so Amanda finally partook of the delicious wonder that is called fried green tomatoes.  They were everything she could ever dream of and more!  The taste was so overpoweringly delicious that she almost burst into tears at the first bite.  So now she is currently writing this blog post to formally thank Madison for introducing her to the magical land of Gardener Village.  She would also like to thank Niki, Kyra, and Andy for joining their adventure and sharing that special day with her. 


Now if you will click on the BUCKET LiST page of my blog you will see that I have finally been able to cross something off.  It is my very first cross off on my bucket list so obviously this is a momentous occasion for me.  THANK YOU SO MUCH MADISON!

This is the first bite!  (P.S. I really did almost cry, that wasn't a joke)

The adventure group at Gardener Village.  Pretty sure we almost broke this swing...

When I said land of magical fairy dust I wasn't kidding!  We went into a store and the lady in there gave us fairy dust stars on our cheeks.  It's hard to tell in this picture but I promise they are there!  (also Andy got a wizard star on his forehead, but he was the one taking the picture)

I also found my dream bike.  So overall I'd say it was a very successful day trip!


Madison thank you again for being probably the best person in the existence of the universe!  Also, this trip must happen again soon so I can partake of the delectable fried green tomatoes again.

Excerpt from Amanda's Diary

I am in love!


I met this guy and he is absolutely wonderful in every way possible.  He's nice, and charming, and very dedicated, and on top of all that he's a great listener.  There's is just so much about this guy that has made me fall in love with him.  


I fell in love like you fall asleep: slowly, then all at once.  First I got to know him.  At first there didn't seem to be anything special about him.  He was just like all the other guys out there, but after a while I started noticing that he was something special.  He has a way of making me feel needed even though he doesn't even realize he's doing it.


After getting to know him I started noticing all the things I like about him.  He's different and alright with that fact.  He makes me smile without even trying.  He's there when I need him.  He's caring and kind.  He is even willing to battle monsters with me while using our hands as weapons.


Perfect right?  Wrong!


There is a slight problem.  And that problem is that he doesn't love me back.  He has someone else.  And guess why he has this someone else?  Yep, that's right!  ME!  I set the whole thing up!  And in all honesty even if he didn't have that girl he could have his choice of at least three others as well.  Granted two of those choices probably wouldn't work out too well because I'm not even sure if they are the same species.  But still why would he choose me when he has all these other choices.


So here I am confessing my love in a blog post that he will most likely never read.  So I might as well just get it out in the open...


Link I love you!


I know you're only a video game character and that you're in love with Princess Zelda and you would do anything for her, but without me you two wouldn't even be together!  You NEED me!  I'm the one who controls your every move.  My hands control all your weapons so that you can fight your way through every monster Ganondorf throws our way.  We make the perfect team!  Why can't you see that?


I know it would be complicated but we could make it work!  At least we're both humans so I would definitely be a better choice than Navi or Princess Ruto.  And in all honesty I think I'm a better choice than Princess Zelda too!  Because I actually stuck with you throughout your whole quest when she only showed up occasionally to help you out.  Plus she's a cross dresser so half the time she was helping you out she was pretending to be a man.  That's just weird!  Do you really want to be with a cross dresser who obviously doesn't love you as much as I do?  (Don't answer that!)


Anyway, I just figured I would confess my love... food for thought I suppose.

Boyfriend Application

I am currently single.  Shocking, right?


Anyway, as I was saying, I am single.  And as much fun as I am having being single, I would very much enjoy not being single as well.  So I am now accepting applications to fill the position of my new boyfriend.  To apply click this link and follow the instructions given:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1h3zFtqGXifet4ZK7QZ2bnB6WRioo0obDSHvKQs4cFeY/edit

While I am making my decision and going through the many applications that I am sure I will receive here are a couple things you should become familiar with in case you are chosen.
Youtube videos: "Llama's with hats" (1,2,3, and 4)

"Don't Hug me I'm Scared" music video

Anything done by Julian Smith ("Eat Randy" is a must!)

Every single Kid History episode!  (here is episode 1 to start you off)

Television Shows: Pushing Daisies

How I Met Your Mother

Psych

Avatar: the Last Airbender

The Legend of Korra

So You Think You Can Dance

Community

Movies:  Everything Disney!

Fried Green Tomatoes

Benny & Joon

Scoot Pilgrim vs. The World

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Pee-wee's Big Adventure

The Little Rascals

Books:  At least one of John Green's books (preferably The Fault in Our Stars or Looking for Alaska), Tuesday's with Morrie by Mitch Albom, all the Harry Potter books, The Hunger Games Trilogy, and Grace by Richard Paul Evans.


Music:  Must at least be able to put up with country music if you don't already like it, and you must love show tunes!


And last, but not least, you must be able to play pretend!  If you have lost this capability then don't even apply.


Thank you for your interest in the position.

Hobo Chic

I will be the first to admit that I dress frumpy.  I know that!  But it's just so comfy to wear sweats or yoga pants instead of nice clothes.  Also, I have these boots that I have a slight obsession with.  They are some snow boots that I found at the D.I. and I just love them!  They are probably the best things that have ever graced my feet, so naturally I wear them all the time.  Even in the summer.  Luckily right now I have dance rehearsals for All Shook Up as an excuse to dress like this (even though I would still probably dress exactly the same even if I didn't have that excuse.)


So anyway, I am a cat lover and I love to run! . . . sorry that just had to follow my 'so anyway'. Sorry.  Back to what I was actually saying.
So anyway, lots of my new friends in the cast have expressed how much they love that I can pull off the frumpy look.  I've gotten the phrases; "I love your style," "You can pull off anything," "I hate how you can wear whatever you want and still look amazing," and "It's like Hobo Chic!"  Although last night my friend Austin said the best thing ever!  After our dance rehearsal we decided that a group of us were going to Andy's to watch So You Think You Can Dance but before that I suggested we go to In N' Out.  I was standing in line to get my vanilla shake when Austin turned to me and said "You look so hot right now!"  


So how did I respond?  I immediately began laughing.  I couldn't help it!  I instinctively start laughing every time someone pays me a compliment like that.  Obviously because of my laughter Austin felt the need to explain himself after that random escape of words.  So he went on to explain that he didn't think anyone else could get away just standing there, wearing what I was wearing, and still look so awesome.  Now I should probably explain what I was wearing.  I was wearing my black and white striped button up shirt with my black sweats and my snow boots.  I also had one pant leg rolled up (the other had fallen down while walking to In N' Out and I was just too lazy to fix it), my hair was an afro because I was too lazy to tame it that morning, and I was all sweaty and gross from our dance rehearsal.  So yeah, I definitely looked hot, a hot mess!  Anyway, now that I am not overcome with flattery and giggles I would like to formally say thank you Austin for the very kind compliment you gave me!


Basically all these compliments I've been getting on my frumpy clothes isn't doing anything to help motivate me to actually dress cute.  But as most of you will know I'm not a big girly-girl so I hardly dress up anyway.  I've just decided that from now on I will wear my Hobo Chic clothes most of the time to lower people's standards, and that way whenever I do dress up it'll be a big deal and everyone will think I look better than I really do!


To add to my Hobo effect I have recently learned how to play the spoons.  Yes, the spoons.  Here is a good example of spoons playing for those of you who have never heard of this awesome instrument: (p.s. you have to go about a minute in before she actually starts playing so you are completely welcome to skip her speech while she is feeding baby kangaroo's if you desire)

Spoons!  Who would've guessed?

I Work Out (nerd edition)

I am a really unmotivated person.  I enjoy working out but mostly I'm just too lazy to exercise.  During school it was easy to stay in shape because I just took dance classes.  That way good grades were my motivation to exercise.  Plus those classes are just really fun when you have the right people in your classes.  Anyway, this summer I decided my motivation would be Chicago.  


So far that one word has done wonders!  I actually have been running on the elliptical almost everyday, which is so much more than I have ever done over the summer before.  But alas the elliptical is boring, and I am starting to slack.  So what did I do?  I joined a gym.  That's right folks I have jumped on the band wagon, and now that I am paying for my exercise I'm even more motivated to work out.  Plus, the gym I joined has a bunch of classes like yoga, cycling, zumba, and a bunch of other stuff.  I love work out classes because then I have other people telling me what to do and watching me so it becomes a sort of pride thing where I push myself harder than I normally would if I was by myself doing a work out video.  I am a very competitive person, which can be a bad thing at times, but when it motivates me to exercise harder then it's great!


But back to Chicago:  For those of you in Theatre at SUU you will understand how this one word can make you want to exercise until you start sobbing uncontrollably, or puke.  Either outcome works.  Sadly, even while having this as my motivation I'm still bored with my exercise routine.  So I have come up with a nerdy workout that keeps me happy while exercising.


First: obviously is cardio, because rule #1 in the event of a zombie apocalypse is cardio.  So as I'm running on the treadmill or elliptical I just imagine a horde of zombie's chasing me.  You have to imagine it in detail though!  Usually I imagine this behind me.

For those of you who don't watch The Walking Dead this picture won't make any sense to you.  So I will explain it.  This is a barn burning down with zombie's in front of it.  There's not much else to explain if you haven't actually seen this show, but it was a really intense episode!  


So as I was saying I usually imagine this behind me as I'm running and I pretend I'm getting chased by the zombie's.  It's even better if you imagine yourself running through different terrains.  Sometimes I decide I'm being chased through the streets of New York and other times I weaving through trees in the redwood forest.


Second: weight training.  I really dislike this part of working out.  "Why?" you ask.  The reason is simply because I am a weakling.  The saddest thing is that when I flex absolutely nothing changes.  It's really quite pathetic.  So when I do weights at the gym I pick a number and then I go to that number, which is what a lot of people do.  But then when I get to that number I imagine myself leveling up!  It's actually really satisfying.

Third (and last): work out classes.  While doing these classes I pretend I'm on a quest (like in Zelda) and I have to do everything exactly right to move on to the next level.  And the final workout is like the final boss that I'm attempting to get to and defeat.  Each exercise done correctly earns rupees (which is the monetary unit in Zelda for those of you who aren't cool enough to know that) which I can then use later on that day to buy myself treats.

And that is how I keep myself entertained at the gym.  The end.