The Lists that Govern my Life

Lumps So I'm a little lumpy weird bumps sticking out here and there not exactly misshapen but a little hunched still finding a shape don't yet want to go through the kilm need to decide  what lumps to keep for not all are usly They just give volume       So I'm a little lumpy. Parts of the Story Every time I think it's the story the story of us Everything shines and glitters but the gold doesn't stay the story ends the parts fade. Or try to be forgotten Because they don't belong to the story. Not that story. But deep down, I know. I know they'e still parts of the story the story of me My story. Glorified, simplified, worsened, or battered the memories are me. Parts of the story.  Recklessly Careful Recklessly Careful heart and mind collide delicately pulling the pin not too fast not too slow oops. explosions happen all the same messy regret for thoughtless overthinking ...

An Ode to the Ones The one does a lot.  Known or not.  Comforts, nurtures, shares Creates laughter, smiles, tears, thoughts and love. This is an ode to the ones the ones who do it all. Day by day, moment by moment. Those gone and still here. To the ones who laughed the ones who stood by        as I repeatedly tried to launch whip cream into my mouth the ones who teased       as I tried to put on a dress over a T-shirt and leggings the ones who empathetically smiled       as I drafted message after message              figuring out how to use the prison of language the ones who wore handmade neon tank tops to go skating             and always sought the spontaneous the ones who sung German songs with me the ones who read stories aloud to themselves  in various accents     ...

Sometimes I forget how habitual life becomes. Rocking the same old things. And sometimes I think, wow, I've tried a lot of new things in the past decade . And then life shows me I haven't tried nearly enough things. Especially things like buying food. Ordering food is pretty normal for your standard American. Like using a drive-through or calling someone to make you a pizza in exchange for money. Heck, I don't even know if drive-through should be spelled like that or drive-thru. Poor, sheltered Claire had never done those things though. Until circumstances in the past six months forced her out of habitual eating habits. Because there's got to be a first time for everything. I know, you're thinking I live under a rock. Let me assure you I am much too picky about places of dwelling to live under a rock. So I don't usually eat fast food. Because I like cooking and I can be somewhat of a health nut when it comes to eating out. But my dear brother ...

"So what are you doing with life?" a.) "Oh you know, just trucking along and trying to figure things out." b.) "uh....stuff." c.) "Well I have a ten year plan laid out with scores of contingency plans if those don't work out, so every day I go to class and work and add another contingency plan--just in case--which leaves my journal looking like a master spider web. Want to see?" d. "I think I need some space with life but I still want to be alive so I guess you could say things are complicated." That's kind of a weird question when you think about it, right? But that's what we ask people when we want to catch up and hear about their oh-so-exciting lives (which more often than not haven't changed significantly over a 23 day span, but sometimes they do so just in case you want to be in on everything). It's like we picture life as this lump of clay that everyone is given at birth and by the time we're ...

Maybe I should be writing this on my suitcase days blog section since I did indeed take a suitcase to Washington DC, but my trip also fit into the lists that govern my life. Not that you care about the url that you picked, but that forward was just in case you did. I somewhat randomly decided to go to DC because... a.) I have also wanted to go to DC b.) though I haven't spent much time on the East Coast, I feel like part of my soul lives there (the part that isn't already in Europe that is) c.) my mission friend Matt has been trying to convince me to move there since he moved there last summer. So I just bought a plane ticket for one of BYU's rare three day weekends and took off. And it was so great. Demonstrated by my overly numerous smiley selfies and abundant thoughts of "This is so cool!" #spotthetourist Anyways. I loved the houses. I loved the food. I loved the museums (x6). I loved the historical landmarks. I loved the mem...

There is no better way to start off the new year than with a rant on punctuation and grammar.  Because priorities.   I don't know how I got to be such a grammar nut (though my mother seems like a likely culprit), but it happened all the same; I'm one of those obnoxious people who is silently (and sometimes loudly) correcting your grammar and fixing your spelling mistakes. Always there to let you know that you missed a comma, a period, apostrophe, or forgot one altogether.  You're welcome. Now that I've admitted that, you will probably find a dozen or more typos in this blog. Though I care deeply about punctuation and spelling, I am unfortunately still a mere mortal who makes careless and perhaps unforgivable mistakes. But together , you and I can rid the world of grammatical ignorance and laziness,  the largest plague that afflicts those between the ages of 3 and 99.  There are many advantages to knowing how to correctly punctuate sentences and spel...

I've recently made a big decision in my life. One that defines me. One that empowers me. One that will finally give me confidence when people are trying to get to know me. I have decided on my favorite movie. Well, three movies to be exact. But I am ready to spout off all three at the moment of testing, no longer needing to search the caverns of my brain to try to remember the last movie I watched or actually any movie I've ever seen or even what the heck a movie is . Because the pressure of such a small talk question like "What is your favorite movie?" can cause film amnesia to even the strongest of souls. No more.  You might recall that I made this pie chart  earlier this year to answer the question, "What have you been up to?". This time I just made a handy-dandy list to whip out. So what are these movies then? Well dear reader, I shall tell you. Mona Lisa Smile (2003) Metropolis (1927) Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009) And n...