A Letter to My Lover-- Netflix.

Oh Netflix. My dear. I remember when you first came about...I was in Junior High, and my friends got their movies off of the internet and mailed to their front door. It was hip and trendy but then you released a new service-- on-demand TV. And I was hooked.

Before I met you, when I wanted to watch a tv show, I would go find it on the guide and record it to the DVR. Then wait for it to premier, let it record, and enjoy after it airs. It was nice, but I wanted more. If you felt like binge-watching an entire series, you had to track down a channel that showed re-runs and then wait for all of them record. And even then you have to skip through pesky commercials. That's no way to live. 

And here you come, Netflix, with your reasonable 8-dollar-a-month-fee and a plethora of episodes- no, not just episodes, but entire seasons, heck, entire SERIES available at the click of a button. And no commercials. TV-lovers rejoice!!

But, as magical as this new breed of TV watching has been, you don't exactly support effective time management. If I have to choose between homework or Netflix, I'm going to be honest...I will choose Netflix everytime. And not just one or two episodes....more like one or two entire seasons. I have spent many a night awake till the wee hours of the morning, clicking the "next episode" option over and over again for "just one last episode" of New Girl or Breaking Bad or Mad Men or whatever I'm currently obsessing over. 

And you can't really blame me- the On-Demand TV craze has revolutionized the way we watch TV by making basically anything we want to watch totally accessible and affordable. Netflix is a household name. And, understandably so. On-Demand TV is as addictive as it is innovative. So much accesibility and so little time. Which means I need to clear my schedule of pesky responsibilities like work and school so I'll have more Netflix time to catch up on the newest, coolest TV shows. As a high school graduate about to enter college in January, I am grateful for the potential movie nights and study-breaks that will be filled with Netflix. But, I am also concerned about my total lack of self control. Which means a 30 minute study break will turn into something closer to 30 HOURS of tv watching. 

So, Netflix, as much as I love you, and as innovative and life-changing as you have been, I'm afraid we might need to take some space and date other people. I'm gonna try going out with college in January and see how it goes...and for now I'm going to get more serious with work. I know it hurts, but this is for the best. It's not you, it's me. Okay, maybe it is a little bit you.

philosophical thoughts while waiting to get the tires replaced on my car (alternate title: idaho is cold.)

Well, it's been a while since I've written, hasn't it? I mean, I'm so busy doing nothing that I can't seem to get around to writing. That, and my life is crazy boring right now so there is really nothing to write about. I mean, I'm sitting in a Tire Pros place in the middle of nowhere trying to get my mini cooper's tires replaced. Nothing entertaining about that. AND THERE IS NO WIFI so I'm writing this now and will post it later, if I can even write something coherent and not-boring. Hm... now seems like the appropriate time for a thoughtful rant about college.

Time is passing and now I only have 5 months until I leave for school.... FIVE. And I'm pretty freaking terrified. 

I'm born and raised in Arizona. I am a native. I was born in Phoenix and I've survived, like, 18 hellish Arizona summers. I am used to the feeling of being all sweaty and nasty all the time for 4 months of every year. I am used to never having to bother with rain. Like, the windshield wipers on my car have kind of melted off and are peeling and little pieces of plastic are hanging on for dear life to the wipers but its all good cuz I literally only use them a few times a year. I am used to seeing cacti and lizards and desert-y mountains around me. 

I am not used to seasons. Real winters scare me. The fact that leaves can change colors freaks me out. The idea of having to suit up in winter wear before leaving the house is no bueno. I am freezing in any weather colder than 50 degrees. I'm like a reptile-- snow=panic...

AND IN FIVE MONTHS I WILL BE LIVING IN IDAHO. 

What the. Why am I doing this? I keep having this recurring nightmare of just going for a leisurely stroll after class one day and then falling into a snowdrift were no one can see me and I'm not capable of getting myself out and I slowly, painfully freeze to death. I also have nightmares about going to do baptisms at the Rexburg temple (which is on campus, beeteedubs. Score!) and then I leave with my hair wet and it freezes up and breaks off and then I have a stupid-Arizonan-who-froze-her-hair-off hairstyle. And they will all mercilessly mock me and boys will be like 'omg dudes, nobody go on dates or marry her cuz she's totes stupid. must be from Arizona. Lulz.' 

Okay, so those would be extreme incidences. Maybe some more mild things will happen... Like, I can guarantee I will slip on ice and fall at least 200 times. Two hundred is me rounding down. Basically, that'll probably happen everyday. I'll probably totally end up buying the wrong gear, too, so I'll just be cold all the time and be perpetually shiver-y like a chihuahua. Those little guys get me, they originate from Mexico so they know the struggle, obviously. 

I think  this is pretty reasonable, being afraid of the cold. Idaho has some pretty brutal winters, from what I've heard. Lots of snow. Lots of ice. Lots of wind. Coldcoldcoldcold. When I was visiting up there it was November and I walked to church with my friend Sami and I had a cotton church skirt with no tights on and I literally did not remove any of my winter gear for the entire 3 hour block of church because I was so damn cold. I could barely even see straight I was so cold. And, they had 9 am church and it was LITERALLY TEN DEGREES OUTSIDE when we walked over. So I was basically like 'what fresh hell is this' and tried to keep my cool (no pun intended) and I probably looked really dumb.  Now that I think about it, I'm guessing most of my college experience will be summed up by that last sentence. 

I mean, I appreciate BYUI. Because of BYUI and the subsidized tuition, I can afford to not only attend a university all 4 years of college, but pay it off because of their track system-- as opposed to a traditional 2 semester, August to May schedule, I will have enough time to work and pay it off in between. Which is good, because I'm just gonna go out on a limb and say that I won't be makin' bank as a teacher. And, ill be at a school that is literally 100 percent mormon, so my chances of finding an awesome, extremely hawt (this is a requirement, if he's ugly it's a no-go) LDS husband while up there are pretty good. All I have to do is brave a few months of cold weather and try to not freeze to death in the process. And try to emotionally, mentally, and physically make it through moving to Idaho the first week of January when it'll be freezing. I'm shivering just writing about it, and it's a bajillion degrees outside right now. 

Okay, so I just read over this blog post. It sounds kind of stupid, but not idiot-Arizona-girl-who-froze-her-hair-OFF stupid, so I think this one's a winner.