Friday, February 23, 2007

ah, the tangled web we weave...

The internet is driving me insane! I've been changing all my pages around so the domain names are in the right place and I started a Google Apps account which is, granted, really cool...but because you can't combine Google accounts, I have my pages divided between two accounts, my email on another...well, actually I have three emails which forward to that account...I'm not even sure which one my blog is on (not to mention that it's been down all day since I decided to switch my more professional looking page to caliseacree.com and my blog to blog.caliseacree.com (you can update your bookmarks if you like, but you should be able to use the old ones to get to the site anyway) but now you probably won't be able to read this for a day and a half because my stupid domain host is taking "usually up to 72 hours" to switch over!
This is crazy! I mean the reason I use Google in the first place is to have all my online apps together but now I'm juggling three and that's worse because I can't be signed in to more than one at a time! AURG!!
This doesn't mean, however, that Google will not take over the world as I previously theoriezed, it just means I'm an idiot for not getting one stinkin' account in the first place. Maybe eventually I'll move all my emails, documents, blog posts, pictures, bookmarks, rss feeds, calendar and googlepages over to one account...yeah, like that's going to happen any time soon :P

happy week

Just something quick tonight since I really need to cram for my midterm tomorrow and I've been using my blog and facebook to procrastinate writing all week! *Sigh* Procrastination is really a curse.
So here is my top ten good news of the week:
1) My new favorite song, for now anyway, is "Boys Don't Cry" by the Cure. I also love "Embers and Envelopes" by Mae and "I'll Follow You into the Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie, but I've liked those for a while.
2) I was able to buy said songs from iTunes this week! Yay! Plus a ton more '80s songs, more Death Cab, Angels and Airwaves and the Fray!
3) There was no school on Monday so the week was incredibly short!
4) I got to hear my one-year-old niece say, "Tick, Tock" on the phone when talking about a clock. Pretty much the cutest thing in the world!
5) I did reasonably well on my Monologues in Acting class this morning.
6) I taught a lesson on Physical Fitness for our church activity and it went really well!
7) My Empty-Water-Bottle Drawer is full! (Although I don't know if that's necessarily good news)
8) I have Tropical Starbusts and Sour Mentos that came in a pretty swirly mug I bought for myself! That brings my kitchen items up to two!
9)I aerobicized my butt off tonight! (I don't care that aerobicized is not a word. It should be!)
10) And, best of all, I'VE LOST 6 LBS SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you and goodnight.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

name that tune--calise style

This is just a fun little thing I used to do on my profile back in the old days when AIM was huge. ;) It's a song made from random lines from lots of different songs. If you have the time, patience and music savvy, you could try and figure out what all the songs are. If not, it sounds cool when you read it anyway.

The dawn is breaking, a light shining through
Just an ordinary day, like when I met you

Your smile is gone, I noticed it bad
I stayed up with you all night
I saw a black-flag sticker on a Cadillac
but at least I spelled your name right

The world ends at your window tree
We live in a world of familiar strangers
I was born to love her and I will never be free
When I'm with you, baby, I go out of my head

I want your symphony singing in all that I am
And here we go, life's waiting to begin
Well, I've never prayed but tonight I'm on my knees
Every chance that you get is a chance you seize

But we are two worlds apart
Tuesday, Wednesday, break my heart
Why am I so obviously insane?
Show me a garden that's bursting into life

Hope dangles on a string like slow-spinning redemption
The epitome of perfection
Just remember the telephones work in both ways
I'm tripping on words

Only can play the cards the dealer dealt us
We've been inside the circus
Where they're far more suited than here
But I guess it's no big deal

We write to patch things up
Say what you're thinking right now
I hold you in my hands, like a little animal
And I'm pins and I'm needles

He's got your picture in his mind
And that, frankly, will not fly
Oh, why did I rely on fashions and small fry?
My heart is bursting in your perfect eyes

For a lonely soul you're having such a nice time
Well, love is just a lyric in a children's rhyme
It's obvious you hate me, though I've done nothing wrong
You can't find nothing at all, if there was nothing there all along

I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier

Now, when I become rich and famous, people will analyze this song to discover the true meaning. They will come up with beautiful theories, but no one will come close. Think about it.

The truth is, there is no deep meaning. I tried to make it rhyme at first but that was taking me too long and didn't work anyway, so I mixed most of it up. Don't tell Them that,though!

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

i ♥ nerds

*Sigh* I was reminded tonight about just how much I love nerd boys. I spent the evening playing *cool* games like Cleopatra--where you get to build fun temples--and some really long-named game where you're in a haunted house--I found the Mystic Elevator...it was pretty exciting. When I first went over to ask if I could play, I thought I was doing it for observational purposes--a fantasy novelist should know what her target audience is doing--but it ended up being really fun. Plus, I felt like I could relax and be myself because I was really not trying to be cool. That says something about me on a regular basis, I know, but it's hard to not try and prove yourself normal among people who are apt to think you strange.
So now there is a battle raging in my mind:
In the long run, do I go for guys that are "nerds" and don't think it's weird that I'm weird and can be pretty cute if you get the right mixture of charm and social ineptness, or do I go for "normal" boys that can balance my odd tendencies with some semblance of normality and appreciate me because I'm different?
There are debates for both. If I married a strange guy I'm afraid our children might have problems...not serious problems, but life might be easier if they didn't have two very strange parents. I've got to watch myself as it is not to name them anything too far out there (although I think Storm is the coolest, manliest name I could think of. There are some who disagree with me. All I know is that if I ever met a guy named Storm, I would be instantly enamored).
Boys are so cute when they go off on random nerdy tangents or when they get really wrapped up in something *besides* sports. Plus, glasses can be so darn attractive (especially with a large nose, but I believe I went over this in another post).
Okay, now I'm gushing. I really need to stop that. I'm going to lose any readership I had...if there was any. I'm seventeen and have far too much estrogen for my own good! Give me a break!
You know what really gets me giddy though? Of course you don't. It would be a tad scary if you did. I'll tell you so you can go, "Calise, would you please shut-up!"
It's either boys who seem really masculine and tough having a vulnerable, even embarrassing side *or* nerdy, even socially inept, boys who have a strong, protective side. Believe me, when you write this stuff you have to make extensive case studies (well, you don't have to, but it's fun). I have limitless examples.
One of the best is blushing. Blushing is, for me, one of the cutest things a guy can do. Other good examples are superheros (Peter Parker/Spiderman is my favorite),
self-consciousness (although I should probably not wish that upon anyone), phobias, and lots of the male protagonists I write, of course.
This single element is what makes most romantic books and movies exciting to me. I love that the frog is actually a prince or the masked man is really just a farm boy who learned how to play with a sword. You want to write a story that will make Calise Acree grin until her face is about to burst and hear her make odd noises in the back of her throat, write romances where people have secrets--not nasty, ugly secrets, but "oh, gosh, she'd laugh at me," secrets. Strip your characters naked for the world to see--*not literally* I just mean expose them. Perhaps that's why I like YA so much. Teenagers are so unsure of themselves (myself included) and I love to read about people who feel just as gawky in the world as I do, and I love them for it.
Dang, this is long, again...and about my love life, again. I'm sorry I have such a limited focus in life. I talk to boys, I write, I think about boys, I write, I write about boys...

Monday, February 19, 2007

life, the universe and everything

Do you have any idea how insanely exciting it is to go to a writing symposium, meet your favorite author and have him tell you he likes the concept for your novel? I bet you don't! But let me tell you from experience that it is one of the most amazing feelings in the world. Yes, this happened to me this past weekend.
I attended Life, the Universe and Everything, the science fiction and fantasy symposium at the Wilkinson Center (hereafter called "the Wilk" as it is termed) which was really neat to begin with. The classes and panels were excellent. I wish I could have spent more time at the symposium, but I had this pesky little thing called college going on. Who invented that?
I learned about everything from collaboration with editors to the science of magic. I also went to an internet advertising class that is making me question every thing I write down here.
It might interest you to know that I spent the better part of an hour writing the beautiful tale of what happened in the first paragraph, but read it back over and realized, "Calise, no one cares." If you do care, I feel loved and you can comment or email me for the whole story.
The good news is, I've gotten my second wind...or eighth breeze, really, and I have a great determination to press onward now. I'm going to get published. I'm going to be a novelist and be a great influence for good in the world. This is my dearest ambition.
Oh, I should tell you, I've come up with my own personal mission statement of why I am supposed to write. Are you ready?
In writing I desire to illuminate life, to help people come to the wonderful knowledge I've been blessed with--that we can be happy here on earth despite the nasty things that happen. I truly believe that. I also want to find beauty in unexpected places.
That sounds pretty good, huh? sstm Well, it makes me happy anyway. Do you like the word "illuminate?" I worked a long time trying to put my finger on that one.
So, once again, life is good. I'm going to write and do what I love and go to school so I can make book to movie adaptions better than Eragon and life will still be good. Although I did get rejected by a guy this weekend. *Ouch*

Friday, February 16, 2007

Facebook is Like Marijuana

Calise's deep thought of the week:

Facebook is like Marijuana.

Wait, there's more. This is an extended metaphor. Facebook quite addictive like marijuana, but this is not my main reason for comparing the two. You see, a very cool teacher of mine told our class that marijuana doesn't do that much to you on its own. I mean, sure, it's bad for you and perhaps not very smart, but it doesn't have nearly the lasting effects that other drugs have on your body. What it does do, however is open you up to taking other drugs because, after all, if you've done marijuana what difference does it make if you do other drugs? This is the reasoning, anyway (according to my teacher--I take his word for it). So, my teacher said he could always tell when his "friends" started doing pot because they would suddenly stop hanging out with him because when they were with him, he reminded them that they were doing something wrong. He spoiled their fun. So, they pressured him to do pot too, so that they could forget their own compunction.
This is where my Facebook/Marijuana Metaphor kicks in! You see we are pressured into getting a Facebook by our friends. Weak in the face of our peers, anxious to please and have fun, we do it. We reason that we'll only post a few pictures and update our status once a week and maybe talk to that long lost friend who moved to Zimbabwe back in '96. An hour a week, tops! But then, one thing leads to another and before we know it, we're poking with the best of them and starting our own groups for Nose Connoisseurs and practically spamming people's Walls. Spending far more time online than we should, we begin to feel guilty. When we spend time with our non-Facebooking friends, we marvel at the time and energy they seem to have and vaguely remember days before we knew how to state our emotions in third-person or racked our brains to remember how we met a person randomly and if it was them we traveled to the grocery store with, back in '03. We don't like that the non-Facebookers remind us of those times, so there's only one thing left to do...sign them up immediately.

Okay, so this was a little out there...one of those things you analyze in the shower. Am I the only one who thinks better in the shower? Or interviews herself on Oprah? "Yes. Yes, Calise, you are. You are now officially a loser." Thanks, guys.

Did you know that every awkward silence, someone thinks of Abraham Lincoln?

Saturday, February 10, 2007

50 bonuses to being single (or never having a boyfriend, for that matter)

The title speaks for it self (believe me, I'm not anti-relationships, I'm just trying to make myself feel better ;-D (nor am I really this desperate, I swear))
  1. Virgin Lips ;-* --Nobody's touched these babies
  2. Low Temptation--This one's self-explanatory
  3. More free time--I can sit here and blog for hours without anyone calling and bugging me
  4. Low pressure to look good all the time...okay, maybe not
  5. I'm not wasting anyone else's time--What's the point in being serious if it'll all come to naught anyway?
  6. I'm not wasting someone else's money--at this point I could be anyone else's future wife...that didn't come out right...
  7. I'm not wasting my money
  8. I don't have to be bummed that I have class until 6:30 on Wednesdays, not to mention a presentation due this week
  9. I don't have to be bummed that I have a midterm to study for
  10. I don't have to buy anyone else a valentine's day present
  11. I am free to look at almost anyone...after I check their left hands...you never know at BYU...
  12. I can be cute and flirty with one guy, then go talk to another and not feel guilty
  13. I can go gaga over boys in movies and not feel a bit of shame...though making "love-eyes" at Daniel Radcliffe on my first date was probably *not* a good idea
  14. Ditto with books and singers
  15. I can be completely and utterly naive in my own right
  16. I can make back up with Steve, my invisible boyfriend from High School, whenever I want and *sigh* man, can he kiss
  17. I can write blogs about the benefits of not having a boyfriend
  18. I can commiserate with other girls who don't have boyfriends
  19. No one back home can go "Ooooh, Calise, are you engaged yet?"...actually they can, it's just more depressing (jk)
  20. I can still rock out to Nick Carter and Jesse McCartney without feeling too stupid...*cough* did I say that out loud? (Technically I didn't, I wrote it so there!)
  21. I can effectively write what it feels like to want somebody to hold
  22. I still have an un-jaded view of the world, romance and boys still have a dreamy glow about them--most boys, anyway
  23. I've never had to break up with anyone
  24. I've never been dumped
  25. I've never had my heart broken when a missionary left
  26. I never had to go to prom and waste my money (although, if you have read my blog before you know I went to homecoming stag ='P)
  27. I only have a few songs I can't listen to anymore (just because you've never had a boyfriend doesn't mean you don't have memories associated with the male species)
  28. I have very little emotional baggage
  29. I can be un-showered right now
  30. I've never fallen off a tandem bicycle
  31. I don't dread the end of hall visiting hours
  32. I don't have anyone to fight with
  33. I'm not forced to watch football (though maybe with a boyfriend it would be half bad)
  34. Or play ultimate frisbee
  35. I don't have anyone else's DNA in my mouth
  36. I don't have to worry about having sweaty hands...not that my hands sweat that much on a regular basis, but at least I don't have to worry if they do
  37. I can still imagine the way it will be, when there is someone
  38. I can wear the same jeans for a week straight and no one notices
  39. I don't have to worry about "Where the relationship is going"
  40. I don't have to be jealous of other girls looking at my buy
  41. "Everything's chill," as my suitemate says
  42. My schedule and life revolves around no one
  43. I can give every guy (well almost) at least one chance
  44. There's no fear of getting married...that's for sure
  45. I don't have to save a seat for anyone
  46. I can meet new people all the time
  47. I don't have to share my food
  48. I can go to a sci-fi and fantasy convention (geek fest) this weekend and no one cares where I am all day or can make fun of me for it...except my blog readers and facebook friends...which is pretty much everyone
  49. I can lipsync and dance around my room on Valentine's night
  50. I'll be able to pass my astronomy test tomorrow...is that worth it? No!

A depressing thing to note is that this list was going to be "101 bonuses to being single (or never having a boyfriend, for that matter)" but at 31 I drew a blank and had to push myself to even get to 50. So much for the ups on being single...
But I'm going to be optimistic! I dare to defy the gloomy view of Single Awareness Day (SAD). You know, I'm glad to be a girl today! So now it'll be Gender Lovers Awareness Day (GLAD) for those who are just happy that there are males and females in this world and that they move in very different ways. Although "gender lovers" could have a bad connotation, so let's not call it that. What about Interesting Nerds, Single and Never Engaged (INSANE)? Maybe not. Well, anyway I had a good day today. I got a
very cute boy's phone number and was someone else's valentine for five very long seconds (it was more like ten minutes, but maybe his watch was wrong) and he put a heart sticker on my hand. Not too shabby for my first Valentine's day at BYU. Life is good and I'm glad to be single...for at least another week.

Friday, February 09, 2007

it's that time again

This week I am craving chocolate and boys like never before. It's a bad combination, especially with next week being Valentine's Day and I am highly unlikely to see much of either. Actually, a correction to that statement, I will be seeing far too much chocolate for my own good. *Sigh* When did eating healthy become so difficult? Or dating? sstm. Dating isn't really that hard, just slow-going.
On a better note, writing is going strong...relatively. It would be going a lot better if I didn't have to stay up until 3am working on monologues for a 2 credit hour acting class and spending the rest of my time on a 2 credit missionary preparation class and a 2 credit scripture class. Who comes up with the credit hours anyway? I would like to give him a very small kick in the...shin. But as soon as I stop procrastinating by blogging, writing should recommence, at least for a little while. If you haven't looked at my website for a while, please look at it because I've updated it and it looks beautiful, if I do say so myself. The pictures look really cool. I look a lot better in stylized black and white then I do in color. Figures, huh?
Anyway, if someone else is going to be alone and desperate--*cough*--I mean available on Wednesday, I'm taking applications now.
Nevermind. I'll just go listen to Hellogoodbye alone and envision the man of my dreams sweeping me off my feet and being "Here (In [his] Arms)"...or maybe "Only the Lonely" would be more appropriate...

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