I'm Too Tired To Think Of A Good Title

Me, tired after a long day of school and pit rehearsal: Hi.
Very nice guy at school who helps build sets, helped me in art and can jump over six people: Hi.
*Hug, which turns into long, spin-around hug*
Nice guy: You smell nice.
Me: Thank you. So do you.
Nice guy: You smell like (insert word I've never heard of here).
Me: What's that?
Nice guy: My favorite scent ever, which sounds like a pick-up line but it's totally not.
Me: Right. Thanks?
Nice guy: You're welcome.

I taught Tommy, one of the pit orchestra violinists about hip-checking.

I moderated a Socratic Seminar about the Irish Potato Famine in European History.

I cannot get songs from Jekyll and Hyde out of my head, which is bad, because the lyrics are as fake and cheesy as Cheez-Wiz. "Look in my eyes, who do you see there? Someone you know, or just a stranger? If you are wise, you will see me there. Love is the only danger. Love meaning me, love meaning you..." I have a difficult time not bursting out laughing backstage.

Fixed my shoelaces so that they're laced normally, and not backwards.

Do not understand Statistics.

My friend Olivia spends most of pit orchestra surrounded by either guys she likes flirting with or guys who like her, or some combination of the two. It's amusing.

I really like chocolate chip cookies. And white cheddar popcorn.

Stuff That's Happened This Week

Good Stuff:
- All the homework that I thought was due on Tuesday is actually due on Friday
- Made truffles with Tyler
- Got new running shoes
- Had lazy day at school because about half the school ditched, spent most of Euro playing MASH
- Touched my shoes while stretching
- Worked out rides home from Jekyll and Hyde rehearsal
- Wore a BYU snuggie
- Ate berries

Bad Stuff:
- Had a super painful blister on my foot
- Got a ton of snow and icy roads and yuckness, but no snow day
- Ran the mile in PE

Wierd Stuff:
- Had a dream that talking owls were fighting over who would rescue me from a tower and that my dad was starting an elementary school in Hawaii with the money my family won in ice skating competitions

Stuff-y Stuff:
- Helped Aladdin cram for a Spanish test
- Watched Master and Commander for the first time

Lists of Things

Things I Like
- Bach
- When I try a new hairstyle on Ariel and it looks good
- Going for walks with my dad (usually)
- Fudge
- Getting e-mails from Aladdin's 7th grade sister saying the fudge we made yesterday is good
- My fleece jacket
- Being able to talk to my mom about anything
- That there's no school tomorrow

Things I Don't Like
- Obvious lessons in church
- Wind
- That my only pair of running shoes is at school
- When the school website is down when I need it for my homework
- That I have to wait until February 26th to find out if I got into BYU or not

Things That Taste Really Good
- Fudge
- Hot Chocolate
- Brussell Sprouts
- Pomegrantes
- Wassail
- Apples

Things That Don't Taste So Good
- Eggs
- Broccoli
- Marshmallow Cream
- Cheese
- Strawberry Ice Cream

I Need A Nap

Today I spent most of the day with Aladdin. He took me on a tour of his neighborhood, which I actually ended up knowing almost as well as he did. Apparently his sense of direction isn't great. We walked around and talked for a while and explored the most lovely part of his town. It's called Old Town, and it's filled with small shops, resturaunts, pretty streets and everything that I'd picture being in the stereotypical picturesque fifties American small town.

We had pancakes for lunch, and then we walked over to the grocery store, where we ran into Aladdin's mom in the baking aisle. We helped her finish her shopping, and made fudge at his house. While we waited for it to cool, we played Scrabble and I started teaching him a swing dance that I know. I also got to see the photos that his dad has taken and put all over the house - they're really incredible.

Then I came home and took notes on European History and nationalism and stuff. It was boring.

I was quite happy when I walked into my kitchen to find my dad just finishing his wonderful guacamole, and so I spent some time eating that with my family.

We listened to an NPR story about Chinese parenting vs Western parenting. It was rather amusing to hear all the things that Chinese parents do, and remember all the times that my parents did the exact same thing.

Then I darted off to Macaroni Grill with my family for dessert to use up some gift cards that only last till February. We had some delicious cheesecake and sorbet and custard and stuff. Now I'm home and extremely tired. I need a nap. One of the ten-hour kind.

Pit, Scarves, School, Jay Chou

Pit orchestra rehearsal for my high school's production of Jekyll and Hyde started yesterday. I'm playing violin, along with my friend Olivia and a sophomore named Tommy. So far, it's actually been rather amusing. The lyrics to Jekyll and Hyde are so fake and cheesy that I'm surprised Cheez-Whiz hasn't sued. The song "This Is The Moment" definitely sounds like something from a Muppet movie. And Olivia's interpretation of the prostitute's song "Bring On The Men" is much too funny for Tommy and I to keep straight faces while we play.

I'm pretty sure one of the actor people singing at pit rehearsal was wearing the same scarf as me. It seems like everywhere, guys are wearing girl scarves. My friend Allyson was quite irritated today when a junior boy was wearing her exact same scarf as they both studied in the tutoring center. Boys are wierd.

Today in school, I:
- Sucked at kickball
- Was assigned to be the spiritual leader of Hamas in an upcoming debate
- Ate a bagel in the orchestra room, which is very against the rules. I'm so BA.
- Was reminded of how horrible midi files are
- Rocked some allusions in English class
- Signed Aladdin's life away to a National Honor Society project while he finished a math test
- Did statistics stuff in stats

After that, I had pit rehearsal again, and then it was off to a date with Merlin. We went to Subway (which was good, because I was starving, and then saw The Green Hornet. It was really strange to see Jay Chou speaking English, since I've seen him so much in Chinese movies and music.

Now I'm home, and I'm tired, and I'm off to listen to the CD Aladdin made for me while I fall asleep.

Modeling and Stalkers

One of my best friends is a photographer. This means that she sometimes asks me to model for photoshoots for her. I've been a flower child, a zombie girl, a Muslim woman and a woman from the 1800s for her. Tonight, I was a raccoon.

I'm not exactly sure what this theme was, but we played around with lamps in my family room and she dressed me up in her clothes and lacey-thing-that-goes-on-your-head. I always feel silly when I model for her, because I make the most ridiculous faces and have the most absurd poses.

Today I read a letter/essay that my friend Tim's stalker had given to him. His stalker is in eighth grade, is completely obsessed with him, and cannot take a hint. Tim is the nicest guy I know, and completely ignores her and makes it perfectly obvious how much he is not interested in  her. But she doesn't see it. The letter/essay detailed what he had worn on various occasions, his standardized test scores, which she memorized, and mannerisms that he only has when trying to send a "not interested" message to overly aggressive eighth graders. It was rather hilarious.

Pit orchestra rehearsals for Jekyll and Hyde start tomorrow, so I should probably at least look at the music. Yikes.

Also, I have a date with a boy on Friday. I'll call him Merlin. We'll see how that goes.

Gonna Be A Long Time

The days this year are some of the longest I've ever experienced. Everything seems to drag oh so slowly. And I'm very tired.

Interesting Things of Late
One of Aladdin's best friends is now dating a friend of mine.
I had a substitute in every core class today.
It's been so cold lately that I've been able to see my breath all day.
I got paired up with the most athletic guy in my PE class for Presidential Fitness testing. I am a weakling.

Things That I Don't Like
Mormon pop music
Broccoli
When I want to talk to someone, but they're not there
When people don't answer their phones
When I lose my phone
Cold Weather

Things That I Like
SmartWool socks
Hot Chocolate
The word "foxy"
Complicated rhythms in songs
People who share their mints/gum with me
That my friend Allyson always lets me eat half her Nutella sandwiches

Gryffindor

As I promised Tyler, I will explain why I am a Gryffindor.

It's not just because Gryffindor is Harry Potter's house. I am fully aware that Gryffindors are arrogant, hot-headed, impulsive, irrational and frequently irresponsible. So am I.

At first, all I knew was that I wasn't a Slytherin. I'm not cunning or cool enough. But Ravenclaw was a possibility, because I am a total nerd and I value knowledge.

But Ravenclaw was soon ruled out too, as my Hufflepuff and Gryffindor characteristics far outweighed my Ravenclaw ones. Also, nerds can be other houses - look at Hermione Granger!

So it was between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. I fit both houses pretty well. I'm passionate, like a Gryffindor, I want everyone to get along, like a Hufflepuff. I value Hufflepuff's hard work and Gryffindor's bravery. Both are noted for their loyalty to their friends.

In the end, it really came down to an evaluation of my faults. I have many more Gryffindor faults than Hufflepuff ones, so I'm a Gryffindor. I'm hot-headed and irrational. Sometimes I'm too daring.

But I'm a Gryffindor, and I want to be a Gryffindor. Since the Sorting Hat lets you choose, why wouldn't I be a Gryffindor?

So there you have it. I'm a Gryffindor.

Saturday Is A Special Day

I am so tired from this weekend. Not enough sleep, and lots of running around, but still fun.

On Saturday morning, Ariel and I went to an elementary school a couple blocks away from our high school to volunteer with the town's annual Oatmeal Festival. There's a 5K race, a health fair, a blood drive and a breakfast. My high school's National Honor Society always helps with the breakfast, which has muffins, pancakes, oatmeal and the world's largest topping bar. I kid you not.

I got put on directing people to pancakes duty, and must have said "There are muffins and pancakes on both tables" or some variant of that at least a thousand times. Then I loaded up my oatmeal with fresh fruit (my favorite part of the festival) and downed some soymilk (my other favorite part). After that, I handed out oatmeal to people with some city councilman, who gave me his entire life story.

After the Oatmeal Festival, my mom and I headed off to a coffee shop way far away to meet with a representative from Baylor University. We talked about scholarships and student life and programs, and he also informed me that I would be getting an acceptance letter in the mail. So apparently they were going to tell me that they accepted me. Now I just have to watch for the letter.

I hate coffee shops. The idea of food, drinks, lounging, wifi and socializing is a great one. But I cannot stand the smell of coffee. But the Baylor guy did buy me a hot chocolate, which was nice, and helped with the coffee smell.

After the meeting with the Baylor guy, I returned home and readied myself and Ariel for a church dance. We dressed up nicely and I curled our hair, which turned out very nicely. Then my GPS took me to the dance by way of Australia, I told Ariel that I kind of have a crush on Aladdin, and we finally arrived, and the boy drama commenced.

At the dance, we found Mr. Bingley. No, Mr. Bingley is not his real name, but I've decided that any boy that I have romantic history with will get a code name on here. My romantic history with Mr. Bingley is that we hated each other when he first moved into my ward at church, then he started liking me, but I didn't like him back until the fall of my junior year. We liked each other for a few months, but haven't since junior year. We're now good friends with nothing romantic between us (thank goodness).

Anyway, we ran into Mr. Bingley, and hung out with him for a while, but I was quite antsy for Aladdin to get there. Before he could, though, his sister came up to me and gave me very unexpected tight hug and hold me that she was so happy for me/us. I responded that I was too, trying not to show how startled I was.

Then I had to explain to my sister that Aladdin liked me back. I think I got indignantly whacked a couple of times, but I definitely deserved it. A swing dance came on, and Mr. Bingley and I, who are swing dancing partners, had an awesome time dancing to it. Afterwards, two girls I had never met before asked if Mr. Bingley was my boyfriend and when I told them that he wasn't, they informed me that we would make a cute couple. I thanked them and walked away.

Aladdin showed up to the dance, and I mostly hung out with him, Ariel and Mr. Bingley. This is where the mental chorus of "awkward baby!" started playing in my head. Mr. Bingley noticed that Aladdin and I like each other, since subtlety is definitely both of our strong points.

After that, the dance ended, and I fell asleep very quickly at home.

Stuff That Happened

Today was a good day.

In PE today, I nicknamed a sixth grader "Bieber" because he looks like a mini Justin Bieber. He protests about it quite loudly, since the teachers have adopted it as well. I enjoy this because this little kid needs an ego-check and to stop wearing stupid hats that are too big for his head.

In Roots, we had a fire drill, and then had to locate different conflicts on a world map, which was an interesting test of our geography knowledge.

In Orchestra, I practiced for upcoming chair auditions, and I wish I sounded better. My Schindler's list is especially choppy. :(

In Euro, we watched a movie about Napoleon's Lost Army. I've decided not to invade Russia this winter.

In English, I took a test on William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying and I think I did well on it, except for the two multiple choice questions where every answer was right.

I ate lunch with Aladdin today, and he told me about a treasure hunt clue he's recieved and intends to start looking for soon. He's completely mystified about it, since it was mailed to his house anonymously. Little does he know, I know who sent it to him, along with who gave him the mysterious cake last semester.

Stats class was long and confusing today, and I spent time thinking about non-statistical things, like if the girl who sits next to the guy who always falls asleep in class gets bored sitting next to him.

Study hall was extremely productive, but not really. I looked at my friend Allyson's new history book, which was rather interesting.

After school, I came home and ate several cookies, and then Aladdin called me to see if I could see Tangled with him. I did go, and we went to Noodles and Company first, which was fun. Then we saw Tangled, which is still hilarious.

Then came the fun part. I had forgotten to turn off my headlights and killed my car's battery, so Aladdin and I spent a while with the car manual figuring out how to jumpstart it and finally getting help from a nice huge guy in a huge truck.

Aladdin likes the Scarlet Pimpernel. I knew I liked that kid!

Religion and Conflict

In Roots of Contemporary Conflict today, we did an excercise where we divided into pairs and each pair came up with their top ten causes of conflict. We came up with lots of causes, from economic disparity to testosterone to power-hunger to the One Ring, but one of the causes we all had was religion.

I was thinking about why religion is such a cause of conflict. I've yet to encounter a religion that doesn't preach peace, kindness, charity and forgiveness, so why does religion cause such the opposite of what is preached? I guess it's partly human folly. I suppose religious people are so eager to preach their religion or save the world that they impose their religions on others with force that involves violence and conflict.

Today I learned that Napolean said that religion was the only thing keeping the poor from killing the rich. He was right. Religion, and the moral code represented in it, is an effective device for social control. It creates order and a reason for order rather than chaos. Religion and the passion that it inspires in people is powerful, and can be used for great good, as evidenced by countless religious charities and organizations that help people. When religious conflict occurs, religious zeal can turn to passion for the conflict, and many leaders have recognized this. Misled or malicious leaders lead their people into conflict with religion as the justification for a war fought not for God, but for men.

And that's what I thought about in Roots of Contemporary Conflict today.

Dating

I'm a Mormon girl. Which means many things, one of which is that my dating life is different from most. I don't date people steadily. I go on dates with different guys. I don't even have to be interested in them romantically. We just... date.

Why in the world do we Mormons do this? Well, dating a lot of different people has helped me figure out how to date guys and what I like and dislike in guys. I've gotten to know the guys I date and myself better. Also, not pairing off when we're still young helps us to grow emotionally by interacting with a lot of different people and spiritually. It's also a bit of a safeguard against temptation.

My dad is very protective of me when it comes to dating. Boys who want to date me have to first call him and ask his permission in what I'm told is a very terrifying interview. I also am not supposed to date the same guy twice in a row, which puts me on a sort of rotation deal.

Why is my mind on this? Well, my dad said that I should date more after I had a spell where I didn't date anyone for ages. And then I decided I liked dating, and wanted to do a little more. Now it seems like I'm finally going to be able to get to. One boy, who I will call Aladdin, just called my house to ask for my dad. I hope it's going well for Aladdin.

I did kind of accidentally go on a date with Aladdin already. But I didn't mean to. I just ended up being a date. Oops. But he's a very nice guy. Thus the name Aladdin. That's basically the only reason he's called Aladdin, since he's not Persian, not a thief, and if he as a magic carpet, he certainly hasn't told me about it.

New Semester

School started again today.

My PE class is a combined middle school and high school class, which means that I'll be very embarrassed when sixth graders are lapping me when we run the mile. Fortunately, there's another senior girl in the class whose athletic ability is comparable to mine and who I get along with well, so I'll have a friend in the class.

Roots of Contemporary Conflict looks like it'll be an interesting class. I've already gotten into a debate about human nature with the most outspoken pessimist in the class. I guess that won't be the first Moriah the Optimist vs Sam the Pessimist debate in the class, and I'm rather excited about it.

 In Orchestra, we're playing an arrangement of the theme from Schindler's List, which is heartbreakingly and tragically beautiful. It's also not too hard, which is very good for me.

AP European History, AP Lit and Comp and AP Stats all seem like they're going to be exactly the same as last semester.

I'm so ready to be done with high school. I'm ready to move on, to meet new people, to have a completely fresh start. I'm ready to live on my own on a big campus. How many days until graduation? Oh yeah. 137.

Also, I guess I should explain the name "The Mines of Moriah". The Mines of Moria, in the Lord of the Rings, are the series of caves, tunnels and underground cities dug by the dwarves through which the Fellowship of the Ring passes. They're dark, they're confusing, and they're teeming with danger, just like my life. Eventually, the Fellowship escapes the Mines, but they do so without Gandalf, who dies along the way as he saves the rest of the Fellowship. This blog chronicles the dark period of my life where I'm confused and life is teeming with danger and...

Okay, just kidding. I made all of that metaphor for my life stuff up. This blog is just called the Mines of Moriah because that's the best play on my name that I could think of. End of story.

Accepted

Today began on the couch, because that's where I fell asleep last night. I quite startled my mother, who thought I was in my room. Ariel and I worked out at the local rec center. It felt good to work out, although my throat and lungs felt like they were covered in paint. Whoopee remodeling.

When we got home, we rushed to meet my Dad for lunch near his work. We talked about moving to Louisiana and upcoming preparations while we ate, and I ended up ordering the pasta that came with a free second take-home pasta, which was cool.

Then I sped off to meet my friends Olivia, Kelly and Allyson to try Red Mango, which turned out to be a create-your-own thing with frozen yogurt. That was a lot of fun, and it was nice to spend some time with them. We played dress up in a Forever21 across the street from the Red Mango, and then decided to see Tangled at the next-door movie theater. Third time around, I still loved. And I definitely have a crush on Eugene Fitzherbert.

Upon returning home, I checked my email and found an e-mail from Baylor University. Thier representative told me "Congratulations again on your acceptance to Baylor!"
Wait a minute. What acceptance?
So I logged on to Baylor's website and found out that sure enough, they accepted me. So I just have one question: Were they going to let me know?

Sleeping, Pickles, School, Potter and Sister.

Today was the first day of an entire year of having church from 11-2 rather than 9-12, like I had last year. Sleeping in was quite nice. The only drawback to this schedule is that now I have to help take out trash and put chairs away. Still, I think it's worth the sleep.

I really want to make a music video to one of my favorite Relient K songs, Faking My Own Suicide. Only problem is, the only boys I can see pulling off the sweetness the song calls for have actually been suicidal. And I'd feel absolutely awful if I asked someone who had actually been suicidal to sing about faking their own suicide. That's just not a nice thing to do. But that leaves me with no actors, which is not a problem I ever anticipated having, as my school is full of them. What a pickle.

Second semester starts on Tuesday, and I really wish it wouldn't. It's not just that I'd rather not wake up at 4:30 every morning, or that I'd rather not pretend to find meaning in post-modernism. I'm going to have to take P.E. again. Curse these graduation requirements.

Last night, I watched Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets with my mom and sister. The trio was absolutely adorable, though the first signs of Emma Watson's eyebrow spasms did start showing. It was fun to point out all the things that ended up being really important later in the series. The "Dobby, never try and save my life again" line yielded quite a Oh-my-goggles moment.

My best, favorite, cutest, littlest, smartest, only sister, Ariel, has started her own blog (after a bit of pleading from me). It lives here.

A New Year

Welcome to 2011.

It's going to be the biggest year of changes I've ever experienced. This is the year that I'll graduate from high school. This is the year my family will move to Louisiana. This is the year I'll start living away from home, hopefully at college. This is the year Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 will come out. This is the year, that on July 24th, the government will start considering me an adult. This is the year that I'll leave almost everything I know behind.

So this year is kind of a big deal for me.

It hasn't started too interestingly, though. Last night, my sister and I made a paper chain to count down the days until she's finished with her freshman year. This year is the last one that either of us will spend at the school we've attended since 2nd grade for me and Kindergarten for her. I'm graduating in June. She won't spend anymore time there, since the family is moving to Louisiana. On each link, we wrote something we won't miss about the school. It was fun to write down all our gripes and staple them together. After that, I watched Inception with my family. We toasted the new year at midnight and then collapsed into bed.

Today, I've slept in a good deal, read TVTropes with my sister, and participated in the Hippen Holiday Tradition of remodeling. We've spent more holidays remodeling than not, and today, it's my parents' bedroom. We've been preparing to paint the trim, baseboards and crown molding all day. It'd be rather dull work alone, but with the company an iPod on shuffle playing through large speakers and family who spend a good time discussing how to best estimate lengths of tape (I still maintain that Subway sandwiches is a very valid measurement), it's been entertaining.

I'm excited for a new year. I'm excited for all the new starts this year in particular will bring. And I'm excited to keep track of them all here.