Guess who got herself a job interview??

Just got a phone call from a lad who is responding to my resume! Happy day!!! I was starting to doubt all of my previous job experience and the loads of crap on my resume that say why I'm a worthwhile individual and why you should hire me. Well I got a bite!

Drumroll please....it's an office manager job at....one more drumroll because you'll never believe it...a karate studio! haha Not even joking. I think he likes me because I have an interview with him tomorrow.

I learned my lesson from previous job interviews. Have you ever been asked: How much would you like to get paid? I do not like that question because years ago I had this mental game of, "What do I say? If I say a number that's too high, he'll think he can't afford me. If I say a number that's too low, he'll think I don't value myself or I'm not a good employee or something." Well undervaluing myself is not something that I will be doing! I told him what I'd like to get paid after our conversation and he said, "That's probably doable. Especially considering your experience." Yeah baby!!

Down side: it's only 15-20 hours a week. However, it's all evening hours so I could probably find a second job for the daytime which...is one of my favorite things. I love working two jobs at once.

Also welcome to a conversation with my roommate and I this evening:
Roommate: You're only serious like 10 percent of the time.
Me: PLUS 92 percent of the time.
Roommate: Wow. I'm so glad you're in statistics.
Me: haha Yeah. Me too.

Life, love, and Valden

Today is the day when our Storytellers club goes to read to the residents of a nursing home here in Blowgan. I've been in charge of organizing it and picking people up, finding books to read, etc. So needless to say, there are days when I selfishly want it to be over because I have lots to do. But every time I go, I feel better. Today I got to visit with a dear old guy that I've spoken with once before. His name's Valden.

As I was listening to the things that he was telling me about, it was clear that these were the most important things in his life. He talked to me several times about his mission president and what a great man he was. He over and over told me how wonderful and sweet his wife was. He adores his children--he kept saying how he hoped I could meet them someday because they were such wonderful people. Isn't that the sweetest thing? As I listened to these things, I just started to adore this man and felt so happy for him. He talks about his life and the people in it with such love. I want to talk about my life and the people in it like that. It was lovely.

One thing that really hit me was his infinite patience. It seems that some old people can be short on patience and grumpy. Valden is the exact opposite. Every word he spoke was drenched in kindness. If he couldn't hear something that I asked him, with genuine sweetness and interest he'd say, "I'm sorry dear, I didn't quite catch that." In a world that's so fast paced, it was nothing short of a pleasure being around someone so kind and patient.

Some of my favorite moments:

I asked him about his wife. They had 5 children together and, from what I understand, she died really young--leaving him all the little kids to raise. He met her at college. He said, "I knew the moment I saw her that she was someone I'd like to love." I loved that. He didn't claim that he loved her from the beginning. But he knew he wanted to. He said, "eventually I saw what she was and there was love there."

One of his eyes was really red and puffy. It looked like it hurt really bad. He'd rub it every now and then but never mentioned it or complained. As I was about to leave he said, "You be careful of all the wolves out there." I looked at him a little puzzled and said, "Wolves?" He smiled and said, "Yeah. A pretty girl like you needs to be careful of wolves. You need to only keep company with good men." haha What a dear right? He then told me that you only need to spend a week with someone to know if they're going to be good for you or not--male or female. What do you think about that?

What a sweet sweet man. I love the way he talks. I love his faith. I love his obvious love for his family. I love that after talking to him for only an hour, he was giving me advice about who to "keep company" with. It made me wonder what things I'll be talking to people about when I'm old. I want to talk to people like he does. I want to talk about the people in my life with that amount of love. Mmm...it was just lovely to be able to talk with someone that is so good. It made me think about a lot of things. Just thought I'd share.

Somebody's come down with a little Bieber fever

Home for the weekend. Went to the grocery store with my little sister and here's a wee clip of our conversation. Made me laugh.

Sister: Mal, you've got to watch the Justin Bieber movie with me. It's SOO good.
Me: How come? What's so good about it?
Sister: Justin Bieber is soo hot.
Me: Oh yeah? Is he a good person?
Sister: Oh yeah, totally. He's like the nicest, best person I know.
Me: But...you don't actually know him.
Sister: Fine. Well he's the nicest, best person I've ever heard of.
Me: Well...what about Jesus?
Sister: Oh...besides him.

Laf-tur

Busy week. Papers, group presentations, quizzes, blah blah blah. My roommate, her sister, and I all went to listen to the real date doctor. Aka the guy that Hitch is based off of. His name's David Coleman. It was funny, surprisingly informative and...at times perhaps a little tmi for a predominantly lds audience. He really did have some good advice and sometimes I found myself completely amused that any male could actually....get it. He really is good at what he does. Good times.

Maybe it's just been a long week or maybe I'm just tired, but here's a wee vid that my friend showed me that I found laugh worthy. "Boys will be girls"

Keeping the Sabbath Day Strolly

So I think I've previously mentioned my love for Sabbath walks. My friend Kori and I are two of the few people I know (at least here in Blowgan) that don't take naps Sunday afternoon. Instead, we go for walks and take pictures. It has become one of my favorite things. I love being outside, discovering new places, and...maybe jumping the fence to the football stadium in the name of photography. :) We're not actually serious or trying to be models or anything. In fact, when we come home and look at the pictures on our computers we usually just die laughing because we realize how ridiculous we are.

Mrs. Hamm you might ask??

Miss Kor is homeward bound this summer and I have a feeling that doing Sabbath walks/pictures 100% hans solo will be oober lame. But let's be honest, I'll probably still do it. Especially since (cross your fingers) it should actually be WARM this summer. My poor elmers glue/baby powder colored skin has completely forgotten what it's like to feel sunlight. If for no other reason than soaking in the vitamin D, Sabbath walks must go on! Well, there is much homework to be done, but these were some recent goods to be shared. Happy Tuesday!

Appreciating the wonder that is Jake Gyllenhaal

What a loverly weekend. We started it off with some good times in the male department. Don't get too excited...well scratch that...DO get too excited because we celebrated Jake Appreciation Day. Does this day exist outside of a group of 4 friends? Negative. But it was a brilliant. Take a wee glance and...any further explanation will be rendered unnecessary.

He has a film out--The Source Code--and we wanted to make an evening dedicated to appreciating this mans existence. (All in good fun...we're not actually insane or anything. I just find home-brewed themed days/parties to be just the ticket.) We wanted to make Jake cake and go to the movie dressed up as references to previous movies that he has made....but the only thing I could think of was to throw Kori in a back brace...you know...brokeback mountain...but we didn't. I enjoyed the Source Code to the max there is nothing disconcerting about having to look at this chap for a couple of hours...Nope, didn't hate zat....though I still don't really get the ending. So if you go, call me and explain it to me k?

Next themed party on the horizon: Nacho Libre party. We're going to have chips and salsa, some salad, and watch the movie in our sweats (said in jack blacks accent that unfortunately cannot be typed with the same effect)...or stretchy pants respectively.

You know you don't go to a church school when...

Your stats equation (I will just summarize) wants you to figure out this:

Which group of prostitutes has a lower chance of getting HIV?

Not joking. There was a control and treatment group--that was using spermicide. haha Unbelievable. I wanted to laugh and yet couldn't believe it was actually happening. One of the many moments when I realize I'm obviously no longer a student at BYU-Idaho.

Things I love to love

Things that I L-O-V-E:

• Getting 101/100 on my Work and Organization test. I think I was smiling like a git-iot all day after I got my score back


• Imagine Dragons. I cannot stop listening to them. At first, it was taking me a bit to get used to them, but the more I listen and get familiar with their songs, the more I cannot stop! Soo good. Curse, America, Hear Me, and Selene are some current song favs.


• Jogs. Wow. Some jogs I can't believe I ran 13.1 miles in October, but they consistently bring me a satisfaction that is Mmm Mmm good.


• Going to the Temple. I went today and loved um...every second of it. It's so nice and you can't NOT feel good there. I am soo lucky to have one a few blocks away and am stoked out-of-my-mind that my dear ones in Rome are going to have one of their very own.


• When runners stop at stoplights and jog in place. I don't know why, but it makes me smile every time.


• The lad that was trying to ride his unicycle to the library and fell 5 times after getting on but wouldn't quit. I kept expecting him to just throw in the towel and walk, but nope. He wanted to ride that unicycle. His determination was fascinating. Loved it.


• Instrumental music. Wow I cannot get enough. I've been into instrumental soundtracks lately. Loving composers: Thomas Newman, John Barry, Michael Kamen and Hans Zimmer--obviously.


• Jillian Michaels ability to make me awkwardly sore after a measley 20 minute workout DVD. Seriously, I'm kind of embarassed that standing up, sitting down, and going uphill causes me to wince. She's good. She's a wee bit scary...but she's good.


• Fierce Strawberry flavored Gatorade. Oh dear me does it rub me the right way.


• The nonsensical photoshoots that Kori and I do on Sundays. I have some hilarious pics that I'll probably have to post in the future because it's one of my favorite sunday traditions. We're both anti-nap on sundays so we go for a walk instead and take pictures. It's hilarious and a joy every time.


• My institute class. My teacher is actually great this semester. I'm learning a lot about the Savior and His life. In a school schedule where none of my teachers are members, and everything is very berry liberal, it's nice to go to a class where the whole thing feels good.


• Reading my friends blogs.


• When strangers smile and say "hello". Can't we all do that? I love it. Talking to strangers is one of my all-time favorite things.


• My spinach smoothie that I have every morning for breakfast. My sister introduced me to them and now I can't imagine breakfast without it. Cereal, which was my breakfast go-to, now seems nothing but inferior.


• The Kevin Costner version of Robin Hood. I was watching a bit of it today and I love that movie so so much. The music, the clothes, the action, Maid Marian's hair, the romantic fluff, the mullety goodness of Mr. Costner, etc.

Hmm...I think I'll stop there today. I just wanted to write down some details of my recent couple of days that have been smile worthy.

Pearls of Wisdom

One of the many perks of being housed in the Provo MTC, mid-calf skirted, ALL day classes for 9 weeks, is that some in-cre-dible speakers paid us visits. Personal favorites include: Elder Jeffrey R. Holland--who is a HUGE favorite of mine, and one I'd never heard of til he came is Elder F. Enzio Busche.

I can't even tell you all of the details about his talk but I took notes and remember having a lasting impression about the importance of knowing we're children of God and what our relationship with Him can and should be. I also know he has written a book which, in my limited knowledge of this man, will be something I'll invest in because there is sure to be no shortage of wisdom.

Well thanks to a dear friend, I have stumbled upon a talk of his that is AMAZING. I was having a crappy day a couple of weeks ago--just feeling really blah--and randomly thought, "I should google F. Enzio Busche and see what pearls of wisdom he has." So this talk came up called, "Unleashing the dormant spirit" and wow. I kid you not, I carried it around all week reading it on my walk between classes, on the way home from school, everywhere! I have a ton of notes written on it, things underlined, references to periods in my life where I can relate with what he's saying/teaching. It's so-o good. I just wanted to share it with you in case any of you are/have been feeling how I was a couple of weeks ago and need something good to read.

It mainly talks about the importance of living worthy of and recognizing the influence of the Holy Ghost. He just says a lot of things that I'd never thought of, or that I know and have seen are true--but needed to read them to realize it. Hmm...make sense? Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

"Embrace this day with an enthusiastic welcome, no matter how it looks. The covenant with God to which you are true enables you to become enlightened by him, and nothing is impossible for you. " Puts a little somethin' in your step.

"In your life there have to be challenges. They will either bring you closer to God and therefore make you stronger, or they can destroy you. But you make the decision of which road you take." The truest of the true! Love that!

"First and foremost, you are a spirit child of God. If you neglect to feed your spirit, you will reap unhappiness. Don't permit anything to detract you from this awareness. "

"Put all frustrations, hurt feelings, and grumblings into the perspective of your eternal hope. Light will flow into your soul." Mmmm...

If you do read it, you need to read the whole thing. There's a goldmine of bullet points at the end which kind of made my mind explode with their inspiredness. haha Hmmm...Anywho, I just thought I'd share something that brings me joy.

http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=7908

Fergalicious definition

When I was little, I loved having my mom tell me the story of how I got my name. It wasn't a very long story at all. Pretty much the highlights are that my dad named all of the other children, and my mom named me. I thought it was SO cool that I was the only one that my mom named. I've always liked my name too. Not overused, but not weird and obviously made up.

I've always found it slightly humorous when people tell you what their name means--like when you first meet them. I dunno, like it's going to change what you think of them or make you think they're so much cooler.

"My name's Matthew. It means Gift from God." Okay. Rad.

"My parent's named me Aiden--meaning little fire." Good one. Props.

Perhaps my amusement-or lack thereof-has made its origin apparent because...I looked up what my name means. Aaannnddd I probably won't be dropping it in a meet cute for cool points. Drumroll.........

Mallory: Unfortunate; ill-omened; ill-fated

I love this man

I rented a foreign film tonight. Sometimes it's just nice to be able to go somewhere else...even if it's only in film. Well it's an italian one with Roberto Benigni. It's called the Tiger and the Snow.

I find him so so funny. He's just...unreal. I love how much he talks with his hands. I love that he's passionate and excited about everything. He's funny in italian but it even translates into english. Take a wee gander:




And I LOVE listening to the way he expresses himself. He finds such funny ways to say what he wants to say. I love that. I sometimes wonder if I sound like this when I speak foreign languages. You just reach for any word that can help you express what you want to say. They know what you want to say but...a native wouldn't ever say it like that. But...I almost think it's better. haha


"Bounces...rebounded..."

Last one and then I'm stopping. This is my all-time favorite Roberto interview--partially because I think Conan is hilarious too. Anywho, if you haven't gotten enough of my italian friend yet, here's a classic:


"My favorite commandment: Love and do what do you want."

Anyway, I just got a little taste of Italy tonight and wanted to give you the translated version. He's a delight. If you get the chance to watch one of his films, it'd be worth your while.

Dating disaster...

Dating "break up". Awkward. Hilarious. Just had to share because I can't believe this is actually my life.

So a little over a week ago, I...called it quits with this dear boy that we'll call Daniel. He is such a nice guy and so it was sad to tell him that I wasn't feeling it. It was nice that he was trying hard, but it was also really clear that there wasn't anything there for me...even though I tried to let him talk me into it. He really likes me and wanted it to go somewhere so...I felt like I should at least try--for his sake. I guess I just enjoyed that he was really persistent and assertive. Lots of males over the last couple of months have been lazy, playing games, and dropping hints. I was just sick of guys wanting me to ask them out, show up to their place and call them all the time. So someone like "Daniel" who was doing well at pursuing, was worth giving a shot I thought. Wow. rhyming wizard!

We went out to a restaurant which was a good time. He's been trying to make things happen for months (LOTS of texting...the poor boy is shy. But I officially think texting is really really not my favorite form of communication. I just feel that the majority of your contact with people you care about shouln't be typing/texting unless there's actual distance involved...and even still--call.) but we've only been on a couple of dates. At one point during dinner he said, "You know what happens on the third date." Hmm...I give him a quizzical look. This can't be good. Apparently he was referencing a t.v. show episode that I hadn't seen. I said, "I haven't seen that show. " And he said, "Well it's kinda crude." I laughed, "Well then I can assure you we won't be doing what it said happens on the third date." haha but seriously.

We were driving to get a red box flick. Somehow I was talking about how strange it is that I ended up here in Blowgan. I mentioned that I was, at one point, going to go to Texas for fall semester and work for an airline. He said, "Well I'm glad you didn't go." Oh darling awkward flirtiness.

We watched Scott Pilgrim vs. the World in his parents basement. It was wildly apparent that he wanted to hold hands. We had a blanket on us but he sat closer than the last time we'd watched a movie together and I'm pretty sure he was strategically placing his hand in places where I could grab it if I wanted but, let's be serious, I'm stubborn and I don't make things like this easy for men. I make them work for it. Because it's their job...and because I kinda think it's funny.

I feel like there was one point in the movie when the girl kisses...slash starts making out with the guy on the first date or something and I said, "Oh wow, that was fast." (she wasn't the classiest of lasses, you see...a bit of a hussikins even.) and he said, "You're not like that?" With clarity I said, "Nope."

The movie had some funny parts. It got to the end and he put on the deleted scenes. Strange, because he didn't really seem to want to watch the deleted scenes. He turned to look at me on the couch and asked me if I was ticklish. Oh geez. Seriously, it would make me feel nothing but awkward and creeped out if you tried to tickle me. I said 'no' and I think he thought that was code for "she's being playful and I need to not take 'no' for an answer...ever." He was slowly moving closer--his hands taking the unfortunate lead--and he kept saying, "Oh you're not? I think you are." ugh. I said, "Don't try it." "Why not?" he asked. "Because I don't like it." I was trying to be polite in turning the kind boy down on a sales pitch that repulsed me, but he genuinely thought that 'no' meant 'yes'. Red flag? Well he kept inching closer with a grin on his face--like this was a game that all parties were enjoying--and I thought I was being clear! So for a lack of other clever ideas and kind of amazed that I had to resort to this, I reached under the blanket, grabbed both of his hands, and restrained them to his lap--like a rambuxious kid in sacrament meeting. I said in a patient, yet serious tone, "Please don't. Let's just watch the deleted scenes k?" Un-believable.

Apparently the restrained lad thinks that me holding his hands firm in his lap is a twisted version of me holding hands with him. Not joking. The little movement that he can muster starts to rub and caress my hands. Awkward. Just a finger tip here and there. He totally thought it was darling but I honestly just tried to focus on the deleted scenes and I'd deal with this in a minute. So the scenes were over, I placed his hand properly in mine--with our fingers intertwined--like the normal way of holding hands. I said, "So...what is going on here? I thought we were doing casual. THIS wasn't casual just now."

We had a couple hour talk that went fairly well. I'm terrible at the "this isn't working for me" talks because something about guys fighting to keep me is adorable. Those are the moments when they pull out all of the darling things to say and I just think, "Hmm...why is it that I like you most when I'm breaking up with you?" Not like I was officially "dating" this kid or anything, though that's where he was headed. I just can't pretend with people. It's blatently clear for me when I'm not into someone. Sometimes I'll try to like them...just because they're nice but...I can't fake it. Just as I'm rethinking it, the idea of him moving in on me in tickle position with a grin on his face pops into my head, I cringe, and realize I need not second guess anything and just tell him he's great but I can't. haha

Things are definitely over now but OH MY DEAR were there epic moments of awkwardness during this adventure with this chap. Dear me. What a hilarious, awkward, uncomfortable, unbelievable evening. And my roommate wonders why I prefer falling in love with countries and not males.

De-stressifying...

I've read and heard many things about how to handle stress. Go for a jog, punch a pillow, fill-in-the-blank with any number of things. Well I was feeling stressed out yesterday. A lot of stuff going wrong, and just a little bothered by, you know, the "why can't things work out the way I think they should" attitude. Well, I was talking to my friend Kori, and on our way to the gym we had an idea---punch dancing out our rage in a wooded glenn. Yes, we drove up the canyon, pulled over in a secluded area, rolled down the windows of my car, pumped up the music, got out of the car, and let it all out. We were dying laughing and yet were slightly serious. haha Stress=relieved and something to fall asleep laughing about after a long day. Thank you Footloose and Hot Rod for helping me relieve stress because it was so much more satisfying then punching a pillow...aaannnddd my shoulders are kinda sore today. haha

The act of tickling...

I had never really pondered much on the idea, but this week I learned my true feelings on tickling. The opportunity for tickling arose this week and I found myself blatently uninterested in the idea. I don't necessarily even think it was the person. I think it's the thing itself. I'm convinced that even if Channing Tatum or Josh Hartnett gave it a go, I would find myself creeped out and bothered. Tickling is what you do to little babies to hear what their laugh sounds like. If you want to know what my laugh sounds like, say something funny or let's watch a funny film. No need to poke me in the side or armpit. Maybe I'm crazy. Perhaps tickling is right up some peoples alley, but I can't even humor the idea enough to let someone have a go. Seriously, give me a hilarious flick of your choosing and I'll laugh for you. But don't tickle me. Does anyone else feel this way?

A Pop of Color

The Festival of Colors was this last weekend and I've been wanting to go for a mighty long time. Lucky for me, my dear sister Aubry has felt the exact same way. One babysitter later, and we had ourselves a hot date filled with chalk, dancing, and loads of laughter. Have a look! We were so excited for our before and after pictures, but before we could take our before pic, some chalk covered people ran at us and yelled, "Clean people!!" and doused us with chalk. hilarious.

We bought different packets of chalk. We started with 6 colors. You'd think it'd be sufficient but nay. This was all too fun and we ended up heading back for 2 more...just to prolong this day of hilarious bliss.

The temple place is actually a pretty sweet looking building. I was kinda surprised they wanted us hooligans out throwing colored goods about when their temple is nearby and white.

So once every 2 hours, everyone there throws a bunch of chalk in the air. I'm pretty sure Aubs and I were laughing the whole time. And in between the 2 hour chalk throwings, we danced, listened to some preaching, threw chalk at random people, watched the people sliding down the muddy hill on their stomachs, etc. Really if you were bored at this place, you are very difficult to impress. ha

Aubs had the coolest coloring. The yellow patch that's on her nose/eye was a result of me saying, "hey let me get some yellow by your chin." Hmm...hand eye coordination is obviously not impeccable. This is why I don't play sports with competitive people who expect me to perform well and not just enjoy myself to the max. haha

Oh so funny. As we meandered around from place to place, we'd just grab some chalk and throw it at people. They were usually quite appreciative. haha But mostly we would just laugh because it's just something so out of our norm. Walking around, covered in powdered color, and we're secretly throwing it at people behind their backs. You just can't get away with this behavior every day of the week.

This was at the end of our journey. Like I said, covered. Most of the color came out of my hair quite nicely. Though I got several comments at our home ward the next day saying they didn't know I was a strawberry blond. Nope, it's just chalk. haha

The crowd behind us is where you go for the dancing, body surfing, throwing of chalk, etc. The things we learned!! Let me just share the wealth of knowledge:

"God is a person! He loves variety. He doesn't want everybody to have to be the same race as us, as cool as us, the same religion as us, etc. He loves variety so much that He created sixty-five thousand kinds of beatles! He didn't have to do that. He could have stopped at twenty thousand. We can't even compute sixty-five thousand. He made 21 million different kinds of snowflakes! Now everybody, hug 20 people--that you don't know!" So we did. And it was great.

We got a little lost on our way home but I'm glad we did. More time for Aub and I to chat and we got to see one of the big throwings from afar. What a cool celebration eh? Definitely attending next year.

Here is a little clip of when everybody throws chalk at the same time-once every 2 hours. So great. As one of the 20 people that I have to hug, I would like to embrace the person who came up with this celebration. pleasing. All of it.