How many (almost) college graduates does it take to find a Starbucks?

This is the story of a girl on a mission.  Her small sister had not been dreaming of sugar plums over the yule-tide season, she had been dreaming of figure skates and graceful feats of athleticism  on a sheet of ice.  The loving mother of these two girls, being a kind hearted soul, decided to promise the smaller one that, at some point before she returned to school, the family would embark on an ice skating adventure of fun and joy.  

This would have been much more easily accomplished if everyone else was as excited about said adventure as the small one was.  Older brother managed to get out of it by flying home early.  The rest of the family seemed doomed to the journey, however begrudgingly. 

On the day of the trip, Mother, older sister, small sister and small sister's friend drove in one car with Father and (no longer that small) younger brother drove in the other car to meet at the indoor ice-arena at approximately 2:00 PM (1400 Hours.)  This plan went swimmingly (if a little late) until the female vehicle realized that the arena, which had been open for a similar trip the previous New Year was closed.  Mother and older sister were ready to go home.  Small sister and friend were very disappointed.  Small sister was close to tears until Mother decided to suggest an even colder idea: the outdoor ice arena down town!  Brilliant! cried the younger passengers.  Wonderful! Smashing!  Please, lets!

This is the part where the boys get out of the adventure in favor of watching bowl games.  Older sister begins to see the benefit of competitive sports.  

So older sister drove the car down town and eventually (an hour later) found said over-crowded very small ice arena playing loud rock music and containing a plethora of people including two Mennonite girls, teenaged boys and girls attempting to flirt, skating students attempting to skate, and men dragged in by their wives away from their respective bowl games wearing jackets and hats to support their teams instead.  

To compensate for the cold and the fact that older sister had only dressed for indoor skating, she decided to go in search of a Starbucks to buy a warm drink of the chocolate variety.  Surely there would be one!  Or three!  Or twelve!  Within four city blocks alone!  It could not be so very difficult!

Older sister drove up and down a plethora of city streets in an attempt to find Starbucks.  Mother had told her that there was one near where her father worked but she could not see it.  She determined that either 1) she needed glasses; 2) she needed to be a wizard to see it; or 3) Mother was crazy.  After driving around without success down nearly every street in the down town area that seemed remotely safe, older sister decided to go to another coffee place a little farther away.  Other coffee place had, as she recalled, a nice variety of sandwiches and quiches and other snacks as well, since she had not eaten her noon meal yet.  This pleasant thought in mind, older sister found that the delightful coffee shop that had held all her hopes and dreams was closed.  Not just for today, but for every day.  Hopes and dreams were shattered.  There was (very nearly) weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. 

Older sister decided that she was tired of driving around and that she should stop wasting gas in Mother's car.  As she was driving back, through the hazy waves of the hot drink-free desert, an oasis was seen on the corner - a Starbucks!  At last!  Older sister had found some luck!  She parked by a meter and went in.  There was no line.  She ordered one grande and one tall beverage for herself and for her mother.  The cashier said "Mayhaps may I interest you in something else?"  Older sister wished she had interest in another drink simply because he used the word "mayhaps".  Roughly $6.37 later, older sister is back in the car and on her way back to the outdoor ice block.  Things are looking up.  Especially when small sister's friend announces that her feet hurt and she is almost ready to go.  

Thank you, Starbucks.  Thank you.

Lessons I've learned

This last week has been kind of a whirlwind. There is so much to say that I've decided it's time for another list post. Aren't we excited? Wahoo!

1. There is 100% chance that if you walk into a Junior High in Orem right now, you will hear someone singing High School Musical. How do I know this? Because for the last week I have been doing my pre-English teaching program for half days at Canyon View. It's been an experience, I can tell you. Six in the morning does not agree with me. This rotten combination of being a teacher and a student and an employee every day from six until eleven at night is horrid. The teaching experience itself is fun enough, though (minus the continual references to Zac Efron). It reminds me of a line in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix during the first DA meeting. There's a line in the narration that says something to the effect of "it was strange to be issuing orders, but even more strange to be seeing them followed". Yup. That's about right.

2. Romeo and Juliet is the most irritating play in the world. For six hours of the last week in CVJH I watched Romeo and Juliet pop their clogs six times. Ugh. It's so irritating. What on earth does that play solve? I have never understood why people think it's so romantic. I prefer the end to the parody play Romeo, you Idiot. In the end of that play everyone dies. It's wonderful! Just kill them off! Get rid of them! It's convenient, isn't it? The end of that show? It ends like a Jane Austen novel. You don't ever find out what happens in the end. Does the friar get away with it? Do the Capulets and Montegues ever send each other Christmas cards? It's so lame. If and when I end up teaching Shakespeare in High School, I will not teach Romeo and Juliet if I can get away with it. At least not to hormonal, emotionally driven 14 year olds. Midsummer Night's Dream it is for me. I will say though, the best part about all of it was in the modern version (from 1996) when Juliet shoots herself. One of the girls jumped about five feet in the air, I'm not kidding. And then going around and looking at all the venn diagrams they've made comparing the two versions and seeing things like "This Juliet is HOTT!" and "Romeo looks like Zac Efron" (I'm telling you, those girls have an Efron radar).

3. I have a new-found appreciation for sisterhood. Sometimes (being the liberal arts/humanities student I am), I get into a mode of independence that seems kind of popular for college girls to take. But there really is something unique and wonderful about being a woman. We have the ability to pull together in a time of crisis that is rather remarkable. This last weekend I received a rather frantic phone call from a friend half desperate for someone to just be there for her. I rushed home and spent the next eight or so hours trying to help her out - turns out her fiance had broken up with her. Over a text message no less. Within minutes we had reinforcements called in and a whole group of girls asking what they could do to help. Chocolate and cookies and Kleenex were pulled out of the woodwork. Somewhere among the tears and tragedy I took a few moments to really appreciate how good girls are at pulling together and dropping everything to help out during an emotional crisis. Girls can be pretty irritating and petty, but when it comes down to it, we don't like to watch other people hurt.

4. I also have wonderful parents. I'm lucky enough to be friends with my parents. I don't know how they managed to foster that kind of relationship between us, but I'm glad they did. There is a really healthy balance between friend and parent that they both manage to switch through at the right moments. They take care of me and let me fall on my face and make sure I have what I need (and don't need, sometimes).

5. I'm still mad about the end of Robin Hood. For different ways now. The annoying thing about the BBC is that they don't handle things in the same way as most American networks. When something happens in American television that's a bit drastic, within the next three days there will be huge press releases and interviews with the stars and plenty of information given to the public about the hows and whys of whatever happened. It's wonderful. Unlike the BBC. They have been resolutely silent on all things finale. The only thing they've said at all has come in the form of a quietly circulated email responding to a random selection of people who sent letters of annoyance. The letter more or less says four things: a. We're sorry you don't like it. Robin loves Marian, we know. So we had to do something drastic. (non sequitor much?); b. Don't worry. Guy will feel very badly for what he has done (as if I care. If they killed Marian off because of GUY's character arch that's the worst excuse in the world. The show isn't about him, morons.); c. We killed her off to make room for other characters and storylines (because Marian has been so intrusive on those extra characters and storylines before. Oh. Wait. She's usually been at the center of the introduction of those new storylines and characters.); and d. We hope you'll still watch season three and many more years of Robin Hood (yes. They said years. In the plural. Obviously they haven't noticed that they've already successfully massacred their own story. They really are that oblivious). In brighter news, I finally managed to get a friend of mine to return my season one on DVD. I've decided something: season one is the only real season. Season two is fine until episode seven. At this point, Marian is in the woods, people are happy. The rest of the season is like fan fiction. I'll skip to the parts that are good and worth watching, and assume that the last two episodes are a bunch of (insert appropriate expletive here). I've actually given the last episode a name. It is now fondly known as "the Scottish Apocrypha that shall not be named". Work that one out for yourself.

6. I started writing this about five hours ago. I stopped to do laundry and shower and eat something that might be called lunch and do nothing at all productive. I've been in sweats all day. I spent three hours watching television and I really hate most television. So much for being productive on the holiday.

7. I saw Juno this weekend. I highly recommend it. My favorite line was "Because doctors are sadists who think they're God and like to watch lesser people suffer". (or something like that). It's the first time in a long time I've been to a movie that genuinely took me by surprise with the humor.

8. I'm still working on that piece from England with all the journal entries that I posted on here earlier. It's getting better. I have no idea what I'm going to do with it, though. I mean, I'm enjoying writing it. It's been a long time since I've written something that consumed me so much. But there is absolutely zero market for young-adult travel writing, and who the heck would want to read about my trip anyway? I mean, I don't think I'm a horrible writer. I find myself semi-entertaining most of the time (it's because I don't sleep and everything is funnier when you haven't slept). But who would want to waste that much time reading something I've done? I don't know. But I don't feel like giving up on it yet, so I'm going to keep forging ahead. If you hear of anyone who is interested in starting a market for travel writing, let me know. Then maybe when I'm famous people will pay to send me around the world so I can write about it! Gah. That would be the coolest job EVER.