People watching

I love people watching. I always have.
Being a sociology major has enhanced this even more.

In high school I always loved just hopping on the train, putting in my headphones, and heading down town - I would just watch all of the fascinating people on the train and marvel about how cool humans are. I love looking at a person and trying to decide what their story is. Every person has a story and they are all so unique. Making up background stories for people and creating an idea in my head about how they ended up in that exact spot at that exact moment in their life - it seriously doesn't get much better than that.

And now that I'm a crazy social scientist, I think it's become even worse.

Not only do I love to observe people and try to figure out there lives, but now I try to figure out how they fit into a specific generalizable population. It's so interesting to see what aspects of a person fit perfectly with the description of a population and what aspects are completely different, because no one fits 100% into a defined social group, which is why social policy and research is so incredibly difficult. -- educational rant. my bad.

This kind of reminds me of the movie He's Just Not That Into You. Ever seen it? It's not one of my faves, but it was decently good. Anyway, in the movie it talks about how there are rules for dating (and for life) that are very generalizable and people try to say that they are the exception, but they are not the exception. But at some point in life, everyone is the exception. Their life doesn't fit perfectly into a little mold of how things are supposed work, and that's what makes life exciting. If everything always worked exactly like we expect it to, then life would be boring and there would be zero problems because life is predictable.
But alas... life is never predictable and people are all a little bit crazy and that is okay. This is why I study people and social groups. This is why I want to work with unstable populations and try to help them establish at least a sense of stability. This is why I am fascinated by people and will never stop people watching.

Speaking of fascinating: It has come to my attention that I am attracted to men that I find fascinating. When there is a person that I am interested in, it seems that I always end up describing him as fascinating. I love getting to know people that have different views of the world and have had different experiences and up-bringings because they widen my paradigm and give me a new way to look at the world. So... if you ever hear me say that I find someone fascinating, then you know that is the one of the best things I can possibly say about someone.

Quirks

Here's the deal. I'm quirky. We know this. Here is a Lecture on Quirks from my dear roommate.

I just find things that I love and I grasp on to them and obsess over them. And I am so proud of my quirks. I want to share them with everyone and I want everyone to share my passion for random things; if they don't share it then I at least want them to understand how much I love it.

Usually I am not successful in this. I just get looked at like I'm crazy. I can't help it, I just get so excited about life and some of it's more quirky aspects.

Like when I see a really cool new pez dispenser at the grocery store and try to convince my friends that it is legitimately the best thing they have seen all day. I don't usually get the reaction that I'm looking for. How can people not appreciate the amazingness of a Darth Maul pez dispenser?!?! Seriously, so cool.
Or when I try to explain how much I love Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings or Doctor Who or any one of the other incredible fantasy shows that I adore,

I don't understand how you can live life without passion for at least something. Granted, I realize that my passion may be excessive and it may be spread to many things, but at least I get excited about life. I think I realized exactly how quirky I am during Roommate Christmas this past December. My roommates all got me fabulous gifts that I absolutely adore - and they each are based on at least one of my many passions.
I got a Darth Vader hot chocolate mug, a Lil Wayne poster (this fulfills my love for Weezy PLUS my addiction to owning posters), a Doctor Who t-shirt that says "bow ties are cool", a mustache sandwich cutter, a One Direction 2013 calendar, and a pair of elephant earrings ("they just looked like you! They were such a Jennie thing!"). Now look back at that list... really? I love the weirdest things. Can everyone just appreciate how varied my interests are? Yeah, big fan.

I really do love my quirks and I love finding others with similar quirks.Who would I be if I wasn't a little weird and crazy and opinionated? Life is fun and it's even more fun if you're passionate about something.

And end quirky rantings.

There is sunshine in my soul today.

The sun is shining!
The tank is clean!
Ahhh, the tank is clean!

Oh but seriously, it is freaking gorgeous today and has been all week! I was outside in a t-shirt and flip-flops. Best news I've had in ages. Don't get me wrong, I love winter. I love snow and the cold and the winter clothing and the like. But there's something wonderful about when the sun comes out for the first time in the spring! Oh how I just adore being able to sit and enjoy the beauty of the world.
Campus is so funny to me when it starts getting warm. There are people everywhere and they are super loud and they are just fascinating. It is 55 degrees outside and there are people wearing shorts and t-shirts. Welcome to Utah, where anything above 50º is considered summer weather. And it really is! After the weeks of below 0º that we had back in January, this week is the most joyous thing I've ever been a part of!
Yesterday was so wonderful that I may have taken the day off from school and just hung out in the sun at a park. I possibly even hunted (unsuccessfully) for sasquatch. And climbed a huge tree. And took a nap in the sun and half of my face got sunburnt. It was great!

Oh and happy Pi Day!! That also made my day on campus entertaining, there were Pi Day activities all over the place. Don't you just love having a celebration about a mathematical constant? I know I do.

Cob

Do you see this kid?
This is a Cob. And he is an amazing human being.

He is my youngest brother and an avid lego builder. He loves Avatar and Dragon Ball Z and everything on Cartoon Network. He plays soccer, baseball, and loves to wrestle. He has a little attitude and thinks he is the bomb (which he is). His sense of humor is ridiculous and it never ceases to make me laugh until my abs are sore. He gets beat up on by older brothers and he knows how to dish it back out. He brings so much joy and happiness and excitement to life. But don't discount him, he's still the annoying little brother. He's adorable and he knows it. And he has diabetes. And recently found out that he also has Celiac disease.
He amazes me with his strength and his courage and his attitude. How many 8 year olds do you know that can just accept that for the rest of his life he has to constantly be checking his blood sugar and reading food labels? This boy is incredible. Yeah, I am so proud to call him my little munchkin of a youngest brother. And I am proud to be able to say that I look up to him more than he can know.
And if this picture doesn't make you die of laughter, I don't know what will. He is definitely on something, and it's not insulin: