"Room"

School and work have been so hectic lately! I have barely had time to study and write quality papers for my four classes with all of the drama I have had at work, but after much frustration, midterms ended, and I flew to Hawaii. However, the night before I flew to Hawaii I read the most amazing book that I have come across in years (it is that good.)

Please read Emma Donoghue’s, "Room."

Synopsis: Ma and Jack live in Room. Room is an eleven foot by eleven foot shed in the backyard of their captor's house. The shed that is "Room" to Jack is soundproofed, and hidden by hedges; the door to Room is steel and has a digital code that is only known to "Old Nick," the nasty rapist that captured Ma when she was nineteen.

The book is narrated by Jack, the lovable and intelligent five year old that has been raised by his doting mother under the false pretense that they are the only people on Earth that are real, and everything Outside is outer space. The narration from start to finish is in the words of Jack, everything that he experiences is filtered through the mind of a five year old, and he expresses the events as such. Everything he has ever known becomes important, a rug is Rug, proper nouns throughout the book convey the importance attached to the things in our lives that we know and love, though they may be inanimate. Some of us name our cars (mine is Warren Sapp,) Jack names and loves everything surrounding him. They have T.V., Rug, Plant, Egg Snake, and Wardrobe. They brush their teeth, play games, and exercise. One day, Ma tells Jack that Outside is real, and that Old Nick is a bad man who stole her, and they must escape.

After their harrowing escape (which had me breathlessly turning the pages) Jack is faced with a whole new world. He is faced with vast choices, new sounds, and an overwhelming fear that his mother will leave him. Was Jack better off in Room? Is ignorance bliss? After all, he was safe in room, bees didn't sting him, people didn't yell, and the sun didn't burn, maybe Room wasn't so bad- maybe Jack wants to go back?

This book left me wondering where Jack and Ma were after I closed the cover, and I still find myself thinking about them as if they are real people. The book calls into question many great subjects, such as, how much choice is a good thing?

For me, "Room" made me question my own materialism, and contemplate how important the things around me actually are. I have realized that what makes my car, "Warren" is the memories that I have had in "him." My car isn't a person, it is a car, and I need to pay more attention to the people inside of it, and the places it takes me, because if they were gone, Warren would just be another Toyota Yaris. I highly recommend this book, and if any of my friends want to borrow it, just let me know!

On another note, later I will be posting quite the lengthy account of my trip to Maui, and posting tons of pictures!

Cardboard City

The Alex Pardee print that I have had my eye on forever popped up in a store in SLC, and I happened upon it while walking to my favorite Indian restaurant (The Himalayan Kitchen.) The "Tonight, To Knight" print is available at Blonde Grizzly, it is print 3/45. I was convinced that the print was mine, because I was totally willing to drop at least two hundred dollars on it; you see, the print was originally only $80.00 online, but was sold out when I went to purchase it. I emailed the artist and he said that the prints were limited and no more would be sold. I have scoured ebay countless times to no avail, until the day that I walked by the fucking thing hanging on the store wall downtown! The store was closed, and I contemplated putting a rock through the window to steal the painting, which I decided was counterproductive (and there were too many witnesses.) I called and talked to the owner the second I was at work the next day, he thanked me for not vandalizing his store. The print is not $200, the print is $400! Needless to say, I cried (which is pretty pathetic,) and I've since been daydreaming about someone surprising me with the print.



Anyway, I follow the artist's blog at eyesuckink.blogspot.com and he has recently started a really cool horror-movie night at his newest retail store in SF. The movie night is limited to people who purchase one of twenty prints that are sold for $10 every Monday at noon. The print is your ticket, which is totally worth the money (why don't I live in San Francisco again?) I was reading the re-cap of the night, and looking at pictures, and none other than Aesop Rock showed up to the first movie night (he also lives in SF.) It was here that I read about Aesop's new website, 900bats.com. The website is awesome, which is to be expected from Mister Rock. Check it out:

Cupcakes and Wine

One of my best friends in the whole world turned thirty this week, and to celebrate he put together a party at Divas Cupcakes and Coffee in Salt Lake. There was a spread of cupcakes and wine, which was absolutely adorable; the cupcakes were delicious! I was able to taste the red velvet, and s'mores cupcakes, and they were both to die for! I overheard a few people raving about the tomato basil soup as well. They have a beautiful patio, and greenhouse, I will definitely be going there to study.
Tons of wonderful people came out to celebrate in honor of Steve. It was a great time, and I'm so thankful to have friends like Steve in my life. Travy was also there and he drove with me to the event, it was really nice to catch up.

Aloha

Ben left for Hawaii on Monday, and it was quite the emotional event.
I cried all the way to the airport, it couldn't be helped.
It hit us like a ton of bricks on Sunday night; we won't be able to touch each other for a month. A pause has been put on movies, dinners, snuggling, jiu-jitsu, and naps. Hawaii is a bitch.
I'm going to Maui October 9-17th for a visit (it will be fall break.) If I wasn't going to Maui, I'm pretty sure we'd both explode.

We went on our long awaited "fancy" date to Spencer's and ate some delicious food as a final hoorah before he took off. Ben was given a much appreciated gift certificate from our friend/instructor Pedro, and the $104 tab only took $25.00 out of our pockets. The food was great, and it was nice to get all dressed up (Ben looked so handsome in his slacks and button-down maroon shirt.)

I can't wait for him to come home, I miss him very much. People say, "time makes the heart grow fonder," but what if you are already fond to the millionth power?

Flood

Ben's house flooded. The hose to his ice maker came undone and the water was running for an unknown amount of time, my personal estimate is eight hours. The carpets are completely ruined, a printer was drowned, and the place smells vaguely of mildew. The catastrophe wasn't really catastrophic considering the fact that nothing of much importance was ruined other than the general aesthetics of the apartment. Hopefully the cabinets don't need to be replaced, that would be expensive. Out of all that has happened, I mostly just feel bad for Ben. He has been so stressed working to finish three gates, work on the Chevelle, and a fuel tank/tow package, all before he leaves for Hawaii for two months (which is on Monday.) I can't wait for him to be out of debt, he deserves it more than anyone I know.

(The flooded living room)

Show Me The Money

There is a really cool website where you can track stimulus spending, check it out: http://www.recovery.gov/Pages/home.aspx.

You can check projects by zip code, and even read a list of non-compliant recipients that is being tracked to make people accountable for the money. I think this site is a great tool, and it was a lot of fun to research and play around on. I checked out some of the money received for higher education, and the numbers were staggering:

The University of Utah received $120,165,409! Go Utes and Federal Government!
UVU received $19,114,616, Utah State received $41,790,992, SLCC received $10,623,731, and Weber State $9,498,066 (all numbers are approximations from my cursory glances.) As a student I'm pretty partial to this type of funding!

Drew and Justin

This weekend Ben and I went to see "Going The Distance" at Megaplex 20. (POSSIBLE SPOILERS!)
The movie tells the story of Erin, an aspiring journalist, and Garrett a record label scout that meet in New York while Erin is visiting from San Fran for an internship. The two experience a wonderful summer romance, and at the end of the time decide that they can't live without each other and should try a long distance relationship. Garrett (Justin Long) is absolutely lovable and his two friends Box (Jason Sudeikis) and Dan (Charlie Day) are a hilarious support system that stole the show. Erin (Drew Barrymore) receives advice from her cynical and blunt sister Corinne (Christina Applegate) and Corinne's husband Phil (Jim Gaffigan,) who lends to the duo with impeccable comedic timing. The whole show centers on their relationship and the real issue at hand, can a long-distance relationship work? (The answer, by the way, is yes.)
The movie was absolutely hilarious and I highly recommend it. It wasn't typical in the sense that the girl pines for the guy the whole movie, takes all of the initiative, and ends up heartbroken; the movie was hilarious, heart-wrenching, and sentimental . It had humor that appealed to a broad spectrum of people and the casual dialogue was hilarious. The trio of male friends discuss "low man crying" and how it looks like one of the characters is "sucking his own dick," The day it is released to DVD, I will be purchasing it, and you should too.

The whole movie I was also transfixed on Drew Barrymore's clothes; her style is unique and absolutely adorable! I wish I had her wardrobe! The fact that Ben loved the movie says something about the content, he is a tough critic (who usually hates the movies I choose,) and he laughed the whole time.

By the Grace of Giants

My Professor Tim Chambless touched upon a story in class that I felt the need to retell. We had just finished watching Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech (August 28, 1963) on the projector, when he began to speak of President Kennedy's assassination (November 22, 1963.) He recounted a story involving his friend David. David met and briefly talked with (then) Senator Kennedy in 1960 when he made a campaign stop to the State of Utah. David described Kennedy in all of the typical ways that people did after meeting the famous politician, he was polite and charismatic.
It was three years later on September 29th, 1963 when President Kennedy came to Utah to flip the switch activating generators at Flaming Gorge that David met the President again. David was on the fringes of the crowd, and as the President walked by, he hesitated, gave a look of recognition to David and walked over to him, shaking his hand he politely said, "Hi, how are you doing, Dave, right?"
Sometimes there are simple moments when you realize you love someone. There are moments when what was once a fantasy becomes a reality. There are stories like this that leave me breathless, stories that make my heroes seem real. It is my sincere belief that there are politicians who care, politicians that will remember your name, and sometimes it is nice to be reminded that the possibility is real.

Presidential candidate Sen. John F. Kennedy
speaks inside the Mormon Tabernacle on Sept. 23, 1960.
(Deseret News archives)

10:45 A.M.

The University of Utah campus is absolutely gorgeous! This little view is what I see every day as I leave the parking lot, and it isn't even close to spectacular relative to the other views on campus. The diversity on campus is fantastic, and you never know what you are going to see. Today, one of the noteworthy sights at The U was two boys, both fashionable and fairly good looking, riding together on a skateboard. I heard one exclaim (as his friend tucked his head under his armpit, with his arms around his waist,) "Fuck, we're going to die. You do the brakes, your shoes are better." Regardless of fear, they sailed beyond my view; way to commit boys, way to commit

Turn Your Faces Inside Out

We had another AMAZING road trip! This time, we followed Aesop Rock to Reno for a show at The Knitting Factory. To be quite frank, I thought that the level of awesome achieved in Boulder, CO at the first Aesop show that I saw was going to be a fluke, it wasn't. The sound in the venue was great, we were close to the stage, it wasn't too rowdy, and we arrived on-time. Essentially, it was the perfect concert.

I love Aesop, Big Wiz, and Rob Sonic more every time I hear, watch, or experience something new that they put out. My admiration grew leaps and bounds after Reno. This time after the show I was able to meet all three members of Hail Mary Mallon, and take pictures with each member individually. Rob and Wiz signed my ticket!! Rob Sonic is one relaxed dude, and Wiz is super nice. I love that while Aesop is signing autographs, the other two members are taking down sound equipment and projectors. They aren't relegated to stage crew work because they have to, rather, their fans have dissipated and they want to let Aes do his thing. Aesop was really great, he grew his hair out, and he looks absolutely fantastic! He signed my copy of "Daylight" that Ben bought for me after the show, and I have another picture of us together (which I'll post later!!!) My boyfriend is the best, that CD was one of the best gifts ever!! This time Ben was able to get pictures with all of the artists as well, and he had Aesop sign a "Fast Cars" CD and his ticket.

The road trip itself was fantastic, we listened to the Max Brooks audiobook, "World War Z" on the way to Reno. The book is extremely well written and the audibook is read by a full cast (including Alan Alda!) On the way home we stopped at one of our favorite places, Wingers!! MMMMMMMMMMM, we sure do love some wings! After Wingers we stopped in Wendover where we shamefully threw away $120.00!!!! The ride home was VERY fun, we ate tons of junk food, talked A LOT, and did other things to keep us busy. By the time we reached SLC we were pooped, it was the perfect end to my summer! School started on Monday, and the transition sucked a little less because of the weekend that preceded it!

Our list of places traveled to may not be impressive to most, but I'm loving making additions!

• Boulder, CO
• Arvada, CO
• San Francisco, CA
• Wendover, NV
• Reno, NV
• Irvine, CA

Next to the list we'll add Hawaii, Thailand and New York!