Asig/Zeta Formal

Kusz-kusz & Flower 4eva.

I know, I know...lazy blogger syndrome again. I let someone borrow my SD card, and it has all the good pictures. I'll put them on the facebook eventually. 

Can't stop listening to...

I just really, really love movie soundtrack collections. I know that this is news to no one, but seriously. Kudos to the people that have that job. 

Anyway, this is from the Veronica Mars movie, which maybe I'll write about another time. But when I'm not listening to this, I'm singing it, and when I'm not doing either of those things it's in my head anyway. Isn't he just the most cheerful, straight-edge criminal you've ever seen? It is unapologetically campy, and I love it.

Appreciation Post #1

I keep not posting these, because I intended on doing full groups per post... so instead, I'll just do lots of short ones and figure it out as I go along. It's about the journey, people.

My first lenten appreciation goes to my cousin, Thomas! There are lots of things I could say about him; he was the first person to threaten any of my boyfriends (good call on that one), he's awesome about keeping in touch, he's incredibly brave, and he has some pretty awesome dreams he's following. In high school, he managed to find me in 6th period and convinced my whole Spanish class to sing Happy Birthday to me. He's good at making people feel important that way. 

But, I wan't to focus on the two most important things Thomas did for me:

Thomas is the one that got me into theater! When I was 6 years old, I did my first show, and I was just a little indian extra while he was the big bad long John Silver. He never, ever, ever made me feel like I was any less important. He hung out with his little cousin and kept his eye on her, and because of that, I think it was the first activity I ever participated in where I didn't cry the whole time because I wanted to go home. 

After he introduced me to theater, he introduced me to stage crew-- the best time I ever had at the Barrow was when I did lights with him for I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change. He introduced me to all sorts of theater people, and again, never made me feel like I was the dippy little cousin following him around. Even though theater Paige disappeared in college, the foundation he created made some pretty awesome experiences that I still think of as being a part of my identity (except for when I was an MC for broadcast, because we were just not that funny. everything else though: learning to improv, going through youth theater, doing school plays. all that was good.). 

The second, real reason I wanted to do Thomas first was because he's the one that taught me to demand respect for myself, as a woman. Everyone knows I adore my cousin Barbara and have been following her around since I was able to keep up-- but my being a feminist has a lot less to do with what I learned from her, and a lot more to do with Thomas teaching me an important lesson.

Barbara is the one that taught me "when a girl says no, she means no" probably before I even made it to middle school, but it didn't sound real to me. It's like in health class, when they give you a script for saying no to drugs that would never actually pan out in a real scenario. But one day, Thomas was tickling me and I told him to stop. Barbara reminded him that when a girl said no, she meant no, and that was that. It actually worked. I wasn't being mean. He wasn't mad. All I had to do was say no, and I was allowed to expect a boy to listen to me. Thomas respected the magic word. I wasn't a bitch for asking him to stop, and he set the example for every other boy in my life. If they got mad I said no, then there was something wrong with them, not me.

It seems like a really basic lesson to learn, but it made an impression on 10-year-old Paige. So thanks, Thomas. For all the boys you scared away, and for teaching me how to do it myself. You rock, cousin.

Chivalry

I keep seeing posts on my facebook about chivalry; what women wished men knew, what men wished women knew, what women wished men knew woman wished... I read some of it, ignore others. Maybe one of them is hiding a big secret that I've missed out on, so I will admit to that.

My first issue is the obsession with recognition, which I'm not going to talk about. It goes back to "28 things introverts wished you knew," "15 things left handed people struggle with daily" "10 common problems for hot dog addicts..." Buzzfeed, you are the bane of my existence. Everything is created to make you feel special, and recognized, and read it and think it is SO relevant to you. Congratulations, you are the same as the 500 other people that reposted the link. I'm just going to drop that issue now, because I could do a whole week of blogs on it, but that would be boring. Does every man everywhere wish the same thing for women? Am I wrong to not care about some of the things ALL women wish men knew? Could we all maybe just be unique individuals without gendering certain desires?

So. Chivalry. My take on it.

I was spoiled in the past. My first boyfriend was big on the rule about me not standing on the street side; my last boyfriend insisted I never open a door for myself. I will admit that I like to be treated like a princess, and anyone that has seen girlfriend-Paige knows this. But obviously, none of those relationships lasted, and I'm here to tell you I have a few more important concerns than whether my date calls or texts me our plans.

I don't want pandered to. I'm not going to ask you to open the door for me, or take my coat. I'm not going to demand you get me a drink. It's just a nice gesture if you do. Chivalry is a bonus point, but as long as you're polite, I don't noticed it when it isn't there. I like the nod to tradition with a lot of these things, and that it often comes with a story about how someone's father and grandfather taught them the value in holding a door for a lady.

It's usually not even about the lady; it's a reflection on the guy and how he treats women in general. As much as I like having the door opened for me, I don't want to date a guy that ONLY opens the door for me, and ignores any other damsels in doorknob distress. I think that's what it all comes down to-- is your guy respectful towards all women? Well, then ok. The chivalry part is just an extension of that, not a requirement.

I think maybe, what I would eventually say if I ever got to the point, would be that it's between you and your partner. Maybe what has me so grouchy is that most of the people posting the link are in a relationship, and if you really want your boyfriend to open the door for you I would suggest telling him rather than passively aggressively posting about it online. If your boyfriend already does it... then what are you doing? Some kind of public service announcement for all us single ladies out here? Just don't.

Just... don't.

I believe chivalry is alive and well, and I don't need anyone advocating it on my behalf.

5 Things: Traveling

1) Tall People- I haven't flown with Harrison in over 10 years, since we last went to Florida. I was 11, he was 9, and it was probably the last time I was taller than my brother. Today we sat together on our flight to Orlando, and it was hilarious. My brother is comically oversized, and simply does not fit in a plane. I couldn't even be mad he was taking up so much of my space, because it was clear he needed it more than I did. It was like putting an accordion in a microwave; he just had no business being there, and the whole scene was ridiculous.

2) Make-a-Wish Kids- There was a little girl sitting behind me that was SO excited to be meeting Mickey Mouse. The whole family had make-a-wish pins, and the mom was explaining to the flight attendant about how the little girl picked the trip. I saw their ambassador pick them up in the airport and the whole family was being treated like royalty. I noticed there were a lot of make-a-wish families (they have people holding signs for them, and a lot of them are wearing tshirts or pins), and I had never thought of it before, but Orlando does seem like a pretty hopping place for that. I think being an ambassador to one of those families would be the best job ever, and I could totally just sit in the airport and watch them all get picked up. Like Love, Actually, but better.

3) Small Worlds- While we were waiting for our luggage, I ran into one of my sisters that had graduated last year. Also totally unplanned, I called Becca to tell her about the Make-a-Wish kids, and found out she was also in the Orlando Airport. How is that even possible? I guess it's spring break, but it still seems like a remarkable coincidence.

4) Loyal Customers- On September 11th, Dad was in Milwaukee for work. It's still my clearest memory of the day-- I had a hard time understanding everything going on nationally, but I understood that Dad couldn't be on a plane and didn't have a way to get home to us. He had a car rented from Budget, and they let him drive it back to PA instead of returning it like he was supposed to. I'm sure lots of other car rental places did similar things that day, but ever since we've always rented from Budget. I just like that story, and when there's a stupid long line to get our car, it makes me appreciate them a little more.

5) Condos, Grocery Stores, and The Ocean- I am really really lucky to have such generous parents. They flew us to Florida, we're staying in the nicest Condo, and the ocean is our backyard. I've never stayed anywhere that I could just sit on my porch and see the ocean, and it will be a long time (if ever) that I will be able to afford it myself, so I'm so thankful that we're having this family trip. Also, is there anything better than staying somewhere with a grocery store close by? We are now stocked up in goldfish and dinosaur chicken nuggets and ho-hos, so I'm ready to read on the beach and snack for the rest of the week!

Holy Unblogged Books, Batman!

I used to be so good at this.

I've read a chunk of books that I never found time to blog over, so instead of doing them individually, I'm just going to make a list for myself and call it a night. I'm excited to be reading for fun over spring break (!!) so I wanted to get these out of the way in time to make real posts for the ones I read next week.

1) Sense and Sensibility- This is my first Jane Austen (if you've been keeping up with this blog, you know I've spent the last three years trying to read P&P. Don't worry, it finally happened too).

     “I will be calm. I will be mistress of myself.”

     “But remember that the pain of parting from friends will be felt by everybody at times, whatever be their education or state. Know your own happiness. You want nothing but patience; or give it a more fascinating name: call it hope.”

2) Wise Blood- Basic Premise: Man creates the Church of Christ without Christ. Professes that he never asked Jesus to dies for his sins, and he never needed him to anyway. Pretty heavy on the nihilism, although Flannery O'Connor was devoutly catholic.

       “Where you come from is gone, where you thought you were going to never was there, and where you are is no good unless you can get away from it.”

3) Pride and Prejudice- I did it!! In my opinion, super overrated, and I can think of lots of characters I find way dreamier than Mr. Darcy, but still Austen at her sassiest. No quotes for this one, since I'm the last person on earth that hadn't read it.

4) Child of God- I first read Cormac McCarthy in high school, and loved him, but I remember The Road putting me in a really weird mood so I never reread it. That's how I feel about Child of God-- I love it, and it was bizarre in all the ways I love, but you can only do so much incest and necrophilia in one decade.

     "All the trouble I ever was in, said Ballard, was caused by whiskey or women or both. He'd often heard men say as much.
All the trouble I ever was in was caused by gettin caught, said the black."

5) Pride and Prejudice and Zombies- I just finished this one tonight. If you've read P&P, you need to read this. It's so tongue-in-cheek, and worth the price of the book just to see the illustrations of Elizabeth disregarding modesty to deliver a swift roundhouse kick.

Lent Plans

It's been a stellar day of Mardi Gras festivities, but I'm always a little nostalgic for St. John's Pancake Supper. I spent all my teenage years either flipping or serving breakfast for my church, so having a smoothie for dinner was a little disappointing. My professor is VERY southern though, so we had king cake and watched parades and celebrated like it wasn't snowing outside. 

But the day is almost over, and it's time to plan my Lent. I'm a big believer that you should take on things as well as give them up, so I have two plans:

1) I'm giving up vending machines- not the food, but the convenience. If I want a candybar, I'll need to go buy one from a real person. Most of the time, what I really want is a meal, but I'm too lazy to go get one. Since the candy bars are sold where the meals are, I'll have to at least put myself in the position to give food a chance. Mostly, I want to break the habit of eating whatever is convenient, regardless of the value.

2) I'm going to make a point to publicly recognize/appreciate the people in my life. I intended to do this at the beginning of the semester, but I just kept putting it off. During lent, I'm going to do one post of a week of people that have helped shape me who I am today. It will be deliciously sappy and beautifully nostalgic, and a perfect exercise in my verbalizing my feelings. When I started this blog, one of my first posts was that I believed in letting people know they were appreciated. That needs to happen again.

Whether your plan on giving something up for Lent, taking something on, or ignoring it completely, I hope you had a lovely Mardi Gras. If you're in Franklin, have a pancake for me!

I believe in self-discipline. 

Carpe DM 2014

I have at least three or four blog posts backed up that I'm going to try to finish up, so keep checking back because there might be three more by tomorrow. I don't know, it could get crazy. So apologies that this took a few days to sort out, but here are the pictures from Dance Marathon 2014!

I'll start with the most important:

We made the most per dancer than any other year! 

There were LOTS of Zetas involved, which made me proud, and the ones that weren't dancing came to visit. I don't think there were more than 2 hours that went by when we didn't have at least once zeta visitor to support us (and usually bring us food).

I was mostly upstairs doing food things, so I got a lot of really cool shots of everyone dancing. I'll also post a video of one of our dances, when I get a chance to upload it (at each DM, there are 10ish dances that everyone learns so at the end of the night we have one big choreographed dance party. It's like being in an 80s musical).

Of course, my favorite person came to visit me :) He even helped me carry heavy stuff from the union to the SAC, because he is a Manly Man. 

I spent a lot of time serving food to hungry people, and have lots of pictures of that, but it isn't all that exciting to see. But the girl in the tie-dye is my great-grandlittle, who joined Dance Marathon before she was a member of my family, and that's pretty exciting. It's nice to know that there will be sisters involved and passionate about DM after I leave.

Decorations. At the end of the 12 hours, all the streamers get cut and balloons are released on top of the dancers. 

This kids a champion. Kody (who is Kusz's little, and refers to me as his Aunt-- Greek life is weird) celebrated his 21st birthday the night before, and still came and danced with a great attitude for all 12 hours. 

Now it's all over! I feel really great about the whole experience, and I'm really thankful to everyone that helped make it happen. All of this was For the Kids, and as much as I love DM I can't wait to get to a generation that doesn't need it.

I believe that together, we can end pediatric AIDS!

Quote of the Day

"I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life. And I've never let it keep me from doing a single think I wanted to do." - Georgia O'Keeffe

5 Promises about my Potential Wedding

I will eventually write a post on Dance Marathon, but right now I'm watching TLC and doing my best to avoid getting out of bed, so that's where we are this morning.

I have now been to a few weddings, and been in one-- enough of them all different enough that I can get some ideas of where mine would be, if I ever do that marriage thing.

1. I will not insist my bridesmaids be ugly-- I can think of nothing more insecure and petty than a bride that insist their bridesmaids don't get to look good on their wedding day, for fear they will upstage her. On your wedding day, you're important because you're getting married, not because you look beautiful. I don't much care if my bridesmaids are prettier.

2. I want both parents to give me away-- Haven't thought too hard on the details, but no way is mom just going to sit in the aisle and watch me get married.

3. I will not be mad over money people don't spend on me-- In the episode I'm watching, this girl is upset because her mom won't pay for a second dress. I don't expect my parents to pay for anything, nor do I expect my groom's parents to pay for anything. It's my wedding, and I don't feel entitled to just have nice things with no cost to me. They paid for half of college and my trip to Europe. I'm looking forward to their support emotionally, not financially.

4. I want to take it seriously-- I went to a wedding where no one stood up while the bride walked through. I've seen proposals looked over because it was more of "in a few years do you want to get married?" than "Will you marry me?" I don't want to be a bridezilla in the sense that everything has to be perfect, but I do want everything to be intentional. I want people to know that the whole event has been taken seriously and should be taken seriously. This isn't just a little girl wearning a white prom dress.

5. I will look forward to more-- I don't want my wedding to be "the most important day of my life," and if something goes wrong, I don't want it to be something "that I will regret forever." I want it to be important and a milestone and the beginning of something great. I don't want it to be the pivotal moment of my life that nothing else will ever compare to. This is more of a promise to myself than to anyone else, but it still needs to be said.

Dance marathon pictures to come!