Communication is Key

I recently came across a website called Formal Notices from the Bureau of Communication.  It is this really great site that was created to help people better communicate by introducing a fill in the blank letter for all kinds of things.  There is a formal apology, a statement of gratitude, a declaration of romantic intent, a marriage proposal, and even a universal non-disclosure agreement.

Obviously I found this absolutely brilliant and hysterical.  So I made this Declaration of Romantic Intent and I sent it to Josh.

As you will notice in the Please Reply portion I have checked Immediately, In Writing, and With Enthusiasm.  And this is how he chose to reply:

I got home from MacBeth rehearsal last night completely exhausted.  I have to wake up early for work every morning and stay up late for rehearsals so I'm usually super tired when I get home and I crawl right into bed.  When I laid down I felt a paper beneath my pillow, which was weird because my bed is my happy place and I refuse to bring homework into my happy place, so the likelihood of it being something of mine was very slim.  When I pulled it out it was a square piece of paper that said "#17  Because I'd still love you if you turned into a 'mole girl'."

My curiosity was peeked and I immediately started ripping apart my bedroom to find more of these wonderful little papers.  I have so far found numbers 15, 7, 9, 13, 4, and 5.  When I asked Josh about these delightful papers that were making my stomach do a number of gymnastic flips he sent me a text that said "Reasons why I lo... you're awesome.  #1 you will be taking the time to find all 35 reasons."

Clearly I have the coolest boyfriend in the world.  Well, he'd be even cooler if he would just tell me where he's hid the rest of these smile inducing papers, but he refuses.  Therefore I have drafted this official complaint:

The end.

Dear Young Man,

I have never talked to you, met you, or even seen you, I only know your name and what an amazing person you must be.  I want to take this time to thank you for reaching out to someone who is usually ignored by most of the teenagers her age.

My little sister is one of the most inspirational and amazing people I know.  She has been through her fair share of serious trials and probably about 15 more added onto that.  And even after all that she has been through, all that she deals with daily, and everything else in her life that I can guarantee she goes through when the rest of us don't see, she is the most loving and happy person I know.  She is constantly trying to make people smile, laugh, and just feel good about life.  She is the most loving person I know, but people don't seem to see that.

The only thing they see is a short, red-headed, socially awkward 16 year old who looks more like a 13 year old.  She may have some mental and physical differences, but no she is not in fact mentally disabled.  She may be slower than most when it comes to learning, she may not be as coordinated as most girls her age, and no she still doesn't eat solid foods and instead gets all her nutrition from a nutritionally enhanced drink, but she is an amazing person!  And when you take the time to get to know her you'll realize that and fall in love with her adorable personality.

You took the time to get to know her and saw how wonderful she was, and because of that you wanted to make her happy the same way she tries to make others happy.  I am so glad that you asked my sister to Homecoming!  No she probably didn't enjoy the day activity as much as everyone else (she can't actually golf, and she doesn't eat ice cream), and yes she will most likely cringe at how loud the music is (her ears are very sensitive and she hates loud noises), and yes she will get tired during the dance (probably before the dance is even half over), and no she probably won't have much to talk about with you (unless you talk about Pokemon or Avatar: the Last Airbender), but she is so excited to go the the dance with you.  And because you asked her she gets to experience something that we were never sure she would get to experience.

Thank you for being an amazing and caring young man, and asking my little sister to a High School dance.  It was incredibly thoughtful of you and I'm sure that as the schools star basketball player you could have asked anyone you wanted, but you asked her.  Thank you for that!  I appreciate everything you've done.  I'm impressed that you met my parents to ask about her likes and dislikes, and I'm impressed that you have taken one of your own fun High School nights and made it about someone else.

You are an amazing young man, and you will grow up to be an equally amazing man!  Thank you again for not only making my sister incredibly happy, but my whole family as well.

A Letter

Dear Old Man on a Horse,

You probably don't remember me, but I just want to take the time to thank you.  About 4 years ago I was having a really bad day, I can't remember why, but what I remember is that it was bad enough that I drove up into the mountains alone so I could cry where no one would see.  Unfortunately I didn't take into consideration people traveling on horseback which is why you stumbled upon me.  You knew nothing about me, but as soon as you saw a teenage girl crying on the hood of her car you got off your horse and attempted to comfort me.

Without saying anything you approached me and put your hand on my shoulder.  You kept your hand there until I looked up into you face and you smiled at me.  You told me you wouldn't leave until you saw a smile on my 'pretty' face.  Through my tears I managed to smile at you and when I did you laughed.  It was such a cute old man laugh that I couldn't help smiling more.  You then picked up two stones off the ground and showed me one.  It was jagged and rough and you proceeded to tell me that life can be hard sometimes but if you keep smiling through the pain and anger things will get better.

You smiled at me one last time, dropped the rough stone, and handed me a very smooth rock.  

"You'll be alright." 

You waited for me to smile again, and then you turned around, got back on your horse, and rode away.

I've never forgotten the kindness you showed me that day.  And I still have that smooth stone you gave me.

Only adorable old men can get away with cheesy sayings that go along with stones picked up off the ground.  So thank you for taking the time to make a crying girl smile.  I wish you the best in life and know that you will be greatly rewarded in the afterlife for your kindness to a complete stranger.

Sincerely Amanda Dayton.

Doctor Who

. . . is dumb.

Yes, I know a ton of people are going to be really upset at me saying this, but it's the truth.  I do not like Doctor Who.

Yes, I've actually watched it.
Yes, I've given it a fair chance and watched multiple episodes.
Yes, I understand it.
No, I still do not like it.

Yes, David Tennant is attractive.
No, that is absolutely no reason to suffer through watching the show.
Yes, I've watched the old classic episodes as well.
No, I still don't enjoy the show.


My reasoning behind not liking Doctor Who: One of my all time favorite TV shows is Community, and on Community they created a TV parallel to Doctor Who called Inspector Spacetime that Troy and Abed are obsessed with.  The way they explain Inspector Spacetime is just so incredible that now Doctor Who can't possibly live up to my expectations of Inspector Spacetime.  Yes, you may think that is a dumb reason but I also don't care what you think because you are an annoying 'Whovian' and I am not.

Doctor Who is simply a boring television show that has not been capable of holding my interest.
The end.

The Truth

You know that feeling when you have a wonderful friend that you can rant to about the most random things who you know will never judge you no matter what you say?

Well I don't.

Hence this blog!

Ha! Hence. What a fun word!

Anyway...

I'm not entirely sure what I want to talk about, all I know is I want to blog about something because my stress level is at an all time high.

Amanda's Stress Level
On a scale from 1 to I'm Currently Craving Mashed Potatoes and Gravy I'm probably at a stress level of Let's Go Back To Thanksgiving Break because of the Mashed Potatoes, No School, and Lots and Lots of Pie!

Okay now onto a rant: Puppies are adorable and perfect and make people incredibly happy despite how stressed or mad or upset they might be.  Puppies make the world a better place and everyone should have a puppy at some point in their life.  Now cats on the other hand are evil and conniving and don't help people in any way, shape, or form.  Every cat in the entire world should be put on a spaceship and blasted off to Pluto.  We can keep the kittens around, but as soon as they become actual cats we have to ship them to Pluto.  The great thing about puppies is that they become dogs and dogs are still just as great as puppies!  They may not be as cute and small, but they are still loving and fun and awesome.  Kittens are evil, but at least their small adorableness makes up for their evilness, but when they become ugly cats there is nothing that can make up for the fact that the cats are plotting to take over the world!

Next: Lately I've been in the mood for chocolate eclair cake which is this delicious desert that I learned how to make when I took a cooking class in elementary school with my best friend Makayla Peterson.  Now that I think back on that cooking class I'm concerned for humanity.  Why were they letting small children use ovens and stoves and sharp knives with only one adult supervisor.  I could have potentially killed any one of those other kids at any point in time and probably would have even had time to plant evidence onto one of the other kids before the teacher ever even found the body.  Also, why did I take a cooking class?  I mean yes, I like food.  No, I don't mean that in a feminist "cook your own food" way.  I just really don't know why I was in that cooking class...

Next: Remember April 27th of 1994?  Yeah... me neither...

Next: Apparently the world is going to end in about a week and a half-ish. Or to be more specific; exactly 11 days if you don't count today but you do count the day the world is supposed to end.  I'm not sure how I feel about that...
I don't actually believe that the world is going to end, but I'm also not convinced that I will wake up alive that day.  I believe in the stupidity of mankind and honestly would not be surprised if someone ends up starting a nuclear war that day just because they believe everyone is going to die anyway.  Last time the world was allegedly going to end a huge group of people splurged on renting a mansion and committed a massive group suicide.  Moral of the story: some humans are just really dumb.

Next: Today is the very first day of finals week.  Monday December 10, 2012.  Guess when my only final is.  Friday December 14, 2012.  I get to stay here in Cedar City instead of going home for an entire week simply because I couldn't take my Modern final early.  Thank you the universe!  Sometimes your kindness shocks even me.

Nest:  I'm testing you.  Did you notice anything different about the beginning of this rant? No? Look again!

Next:  I want to play a game (said in the voice of Tobin Bell) with all of the Theatre Majors here at SUU.  It's called the Let's Not Spread Rumors game (and yes, that is italicized because I'm working on getting this game patented) and if you fail we will handcuff your left hand to the Adam's stage and leave you there overnight in a snowstorm with an electric blanket fifteen feet away from you and and a saw next to your left foot.  You must make a decision.  Try and survive the snowstorm and if you do suffer the humiliation of having everyone walk past you the next morning on their way to class or do something with the saw... I'm not sure what you would do yet.  The logistics of the game aren't completely worked out yet.  I'm still working on it...

Next: Pineapple's are delicious.  'Nuff said.

Next:

 I want an Abed.

Next: I have a disease.  It's called the Amanda is Awesome disease.  There is no cure.  This will only end in death.

Next: This blog post is named The Truth.  "Why?" you might ask.  And my response is, "Well that is a great question.  When you find out, please let me know."

Next: This is the end of my blog.

Love

Let's talk about love for a moment.

Love.

Now the moment is over.  Moving on.

Next topic is my relationship with literature:  I fell in love with books at a very young age...

Wait!  There's that word again.  Love.  Weird.

Moving on!

New topic:  Theatre!  That should be easy to talk about, right?  Because I love it so much...

Love!  What?  *awkward chuckle* No...

MOVING ON!

Topic number 3:  Love.

WOW!  This is just getting ridiculous now.

And no!  I'm not in love!

That's crazy talk.

Okay, but really, let's talk about love.

None of this love is patient, or love is kind crap either!  And don't get me started on this love is blind business.

Now lets take a moment and list all of the things that love isn't:  patient, kind, blind, easy, stupid, hard, worth it, wonderful, giddy, tiring, confusing, compassionate, freedom, truth, or any other random words you can think of.

Now onto the real purpose of this blog post, where I tell you exactly what love is:

Love is an absolutely terrifying creature from a place so dark and scary that even the depths of Edgar Allen Poe's mind cannot compare.  It is an invisible creature that can control our minds into thinking crazy thoughts of caring and compassion towards someone other than ourselves.  It is a sick sick beast who enjoys watching us pine over people we "care deeply" about when we should really just be focusing on our own happiness and satisfaction in life.  Love is a manipulative freak who also enjoys putting thoughts of joy and happiness into our heads when we are with certain people that we "love."

The worst thing that Love can do to you is have that one person you are pining over start "loving" you back.  It's absolutely disgusting!  Feelings get involved, people become mushy, marriage happens, and suddenly you have someone you must care about constantly as well as yourself.  That's just ridiculous!  We are selfish creatures, meant to only care about ourselves.  Love is messing with the very fabric of reality and that is why I propose we stop Love in his tracks!

We must form an anti-love campaign and ruin all of Love's plans.  I propose we start with kidnapping Love from his home in Amsterdam so he can't manipulate people anymore.  Then we hang him on a flagpole by his underwear and because he is invisible no one will ever know he's up there so he will never be rescued.  Therefore Love will forever be hanging from that flagpole by his underwear.  I believe that a permanent wedgie like that is exactly what Love deserves for what he has done to all these poor helpless people!

After putting Love on a pole we must save all the poor innocent people who have already fallen to Love's keen arrow.  We will snap everyone out of their love dazed minds and back into reality where we all use each other to get what we want without really caring for anyone else's feelings.  Then the world will be right again!

New Level of Nerd

Warning:  if you believe that I am a really cool person and have no nerdy tendencies at all you shouldn't read the rest of this blog post.  I would hate to let the few people down who actually think I'm awesome.  
Also if you value our friendship you will swear on the life of Scott Pilgrim that you will not judge me too harshly for the things you learn from this post.

I've always known that I am a little more nerdy than the rest of my family, and I've come to completely accept that in my life.  I love and enjoy my nerdiness, even if it may embarrass my jock brother.  But recently I have hit a new level of nerd that I never imagined possible!

Throughout the years I've noticed that there are many different kinds of nerds: gamer nerds, book nerds, computer nerds, anime nerds, comic nerds, art nerds, band nerds, theatre nerds, the role-playing nerd etc.

Side note: The more I keep typing the

word nerd it's starting to look less and

less like an actual word.

Nerd nerd nerd nerd nerd nerd nerd...

Being a nerd doesn't mean that you wear the stereotypical nerd glasses and that you can't associate with other people, especially the opposite sex.  Being a nerd simply means that you genuinely like stuff.  My favorite author John Green has a quote about being a nerd that I absolutely love: "Nerds like us are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff. . . Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-the-chair-can't-control-yourself love it.  When people call people nerds, mostly what they're saying is 'you like stuff.'  Which is just not a good insult at all.  Like, 'you are too enthusiastic about the miracle of human consciousness'."

I believe in this 100%

Nerds like things, it's what we do!

I've always known that I'm a book nerd.  I learned about my love for reading at a very young age while discovering the wonders of Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, Amanda Pig, and A Series of Unfortunate Events, and I have continued to read as many books as I can possibly devour throughout my life.  

During my teenage years I learned that I was also a closet gamer nerd.  I love playing video games! The only problem is that I don't have money for them which is why that nerd side has always been less apparent.  And even though I have a younger brother we still don't have many video games at our house.  My brother has always been the sporty type who would rather go out and play catch than stay inside and play video games.

Eventually I found my overall passion in life when I discovered the theatre world!  Ever since then I have been a die-hard theatre nerd.  I audition for everything I possibly can, be involved in any way, and I'm currently working on getting my BFA in Musical Theatre.

I've also dabbled in comics, anime, and art, but the one thing I promised myself I would never do is the weird role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons or LARPing.  They were just so beyond nerdy that I honestly couldn't bring myself to even imagine participating in them.  My high school had a LARPing club that would meet after school once a week and they would fight in the common area with foam swords and axes.  After watching them a couple times I couldn't help but making fun of them with my group of friends.  They looked so completely ridiculous and it was just too easy to jab at what they were doing.  That was when I promised myself I would never become one of those people!

I eventually went on my merry way to college and found myself surrounded by wonderful theatre friends.  I never realized that when I picked my major it brought me one step closer to role-playing games. Theatre is role-playing.  That is what we are paid to do.  We pretend to be other people in front of an audience for the sole purpose of entertainment. . . obviously it was only a matter of time. . .

This school year I had the opportunity of becoming friends with an absolutely wonderful guy named Tony who happens to be very into D&D.  When I first learned this information I must admit that I laughed out of pure shock.  One thing you need to know about Tony is that he is absolutely gorgeous!  He practically has women throwing themselves on him left and right.  And I don't mean that in a rude way!  He's not a jerk about his good looks, and he doesn't take advantage of them either.  He's just a genuinely nice guy with a wonderful personality who happens to be very handsome as well.  So when I found out that Tony was one of those people I was surprised.  I had indulged the stereotype for too long that I couldn't imagine someone attractive and social actually participating in a role-playing game.

Then began my decent into the world of D&D.  It first started with Tony asking me if I would be interested in playing, then me being a little curious and saying maybe, and then actually following through with it, getting into a group, making a character, and proceeding to have the most awesome campaign of D&D that I could possibly imagine!  Tony is a complete genius when it comes to story telling and I have to admit that I loved every second of that game.  Even when I had my arm bit off by a dire wolf, or when we were tricked into killing the royal family, or when I found out that I had been unknowingly helping the bad guy throughout the entire campaign.  And even though I went on a horrific emotional roller coaster from being banished, to falling in love, to watching that love murdered, to being falsely accused, having my family be sentenced to death for those false accusations, to losing my only friend, eventually gaining him back, finding the survivors of my family, miraculously bringing my love back to life, and in the end finally realizing that the one bad guy that I had been chasing and planning revenge towards for all he had done to me was in fact not bad at all and instead just completely misunderstood and emotionally irrational just as I was, I can't imagine playing a better game!

So yes, I have become one of those people and I have to admit that it is absolutely wonderful!  D&D is a perfect game for theatre people because it's all about creating and embodying a character.  In fact I loved it so much and our group is so tight that we've already started working on getting our characters for the next campaign.

In conclusion:  I have in fact hit a new level of nerd.