My creative streak

Remember a month ago when I was really down on myself for having no creativity? Well, I've found something that will be a great creative project for me for the next year or so.  I'm going to write a book.

Self-publish if I must, but publish it I will. It's going to be an LDS dating how-to book for men.  I feel like I am perfectly qualified to write about this subject. As a woman, I've got the inside scoop on what they're doing right, and what they're doing wrong. I'm a communication major, so that means I know a lot about body language, interpersonal relationships, and persuasion. I've also had plenty of personal experience in the dating field and those are some of the reasons I feel confident about this.

I'm really excited to have a creative project like this. Also, how cool would it be to write a book? Pretty cool I'm thinking.

Plus, these guys need all the help they can get.

Packing anxiety

Imagine this (all too familiar scenario):

You're going away next week for a vacation. Or maybe it's just a weekend trip. Either way, you are packing bags. Toothbrush, socks, clean underwear, deodorant (very important)...it looks like you've got everything. Maybe even more than you will need for just a couple days.

Here's what happens next. About ten minutes after you finish packing, the anxiety kicks in. What did I forget? I really feel like I'm forgetting something! You open your bag again, circle your apartment and look for anything that you might be leaving out. I just know I'm going to leave something and then remember it two hours down the road... You run through your weekend mentally, the whole time mentally checking off the things you packed. And yet... Ah! What the heck am I forgetting?

This happens to me whenever I travel.  I just have the nagging feeling that I will arrive at my destination and remember that I left something very important behind. Something that can't be borrowed from a friend, or easily replaced at Wal-green's. Making lists doesn't help.

This weekend I'm leaving town. I'm all packed. I've got everything. I think...

Am I the only one? Leave a comment.

Fail Spectacularly

Dear non-existent reader,

Yes. I have changed the name of my blog as well as the URL. Don't panic! Change is good. Let me take this time to answer some questions you may have.

Why?! Why did you change the title?! While Extraordinarily Ordinary was a clever title, I feel like Fail Spectacularly is a much more accurate description of my life. It is not only the way I would describe my life, but the way I would describe my aspirations for my life?

Are you saying that you aspire to fail? No. I am saying that I aspire to fail SPECTACULARLY.

What does that even mean, Brenna? Well, anyone can fail. Not everyone fails spectacularly.

You keep on using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means. Also, you didn't even answer the previous question. By spectacularly I don't mean that you are necessarily "going out with a bang." What I mean is that you can either fail and then grab the Ben and Jerry's, tweet about your problems, and essentially learn nothing, or you can shake it off. Look at the experience more like just that, an experience, rather than a failure. It isn't a failure if you learn something, or if it becomes a great story to tell at parties. This is what it means to fail spectacularly. Dwelling on something is the quickest way to make your awesome failure fizzle out and become a wasted opportunity. It's not a failure. It's an opportunity. (Ooo that's good.) Remember that.

So what does this mean for the future of the blog? Not a lot. It might direct my thinking a little differently, but for the most part things will stay the same. ALTHOUGH, as I re-read my first post on this blog I noticed that I promised a lot more variety in topics and multi-media embedded in my blog which hasn't really happened, so I will try to incorporate a little more of that.

One last thing, you do realize you're talking to yourself right? Yes. I don't mind. Talking to myself is the most intelligent conversation I get all day.

Well thank you! I'm flattered.

It's one of those days

Ever wish you could just crawl back into bed and restart with a smile on your face...but you don't?
Ever know that you're going to be grumpy all day and there's no amount of ice cream that change that?
Do you ever feel irritated by every little thing that happens to you? I do. Today in fact.

The real question is, how do I get myself out of this funk? I know that my mom hates listening to me complain and yet I do it anyway. Even now as I'm writing this, I know that this isn't anything anybody would actually want to read, but I don't care.

Question? Oh yes! How do I get myself out of this funk? I have plenty of ideas. I'm resistant to all of them. Deep down, maybe I like having days like this. Or do I?

Question. Right. Here is a list of things for you to try when you feel the way I'm feeling right now.

1. Stab someone in the eye. Doesn't matter who it is. The first person you see will do, or you could use this as a chance for revenge on the barista who got your coffee order wrong this morning. Either way.

2. Crawl back into bed and live on a diet of ice cream for a day. (And none of that low-fat, sugar-free crap.)
3. NCMO (otherwise known as a non-commital make-out) "you need kissing badly."
4. Buy something with your credit card. Preferably something you do not need and will never use.
5. If all of the above suggestions fail, blog about your problems. But only do this when you've already tried the other four suggestions.

Alright. Fine. Maybe those aren't the best ways to handle your feelings (but you didn't point that out to me, I came to that realization on my own!) Here are some slightly more realistic, though completely stupid and cliche` ideas for you.

1. Make up your mind to be happy. Your circumstances don't determine your mood. You do.
2. Get the junk off your to-do list by actually doing it. Then you won't have those things hanging over your head.
3. Do something just for you. It's okay to be a little bit selfish here. Don't think about what anyone else wants and just do something for yourself.
4. Think less about what matters less. That barista who got your order wrong? It's just coffee. Put it behind you and move on.
5. Smile. You'd be surprised what you can do for yourself by putting a smile on. How you feel on the outside will change how you feel on the inside. If you don't feel like smiling, then fake it till you make it.

And there you go. Suggestions for changing your day around. Happy Friday!

Boys, dating, and sex. Oh my!

Well. Well, well, well.

I will do my best not speak negatively of boys in this post.

I have found that dating sounds simple in theory, but is in fact, rather difficult.

Take my roommate for example. She picks up boys at the bar, is twitterpated and utterly blind to all flaws for a few days, and then something goes wrong (big surprise) and she is completely devastated until she can get to the bar again and meet a new guy. This self-destructive pattern has been happening since I met her. She doesn't seem to realize that if she keeps dating the same type of guys and giving away sex like free pretzels, she will never get out of this cycle that only ends in misery for her and an "oh yeah..." for said boy.

Then there's me. Boys seldom ask for my phone number. Last week, one boy did. A football player in one of my classes. Tall, dark, and sexy, and of course I was thrilled when he approached me while I was at lunch with my friends in the rotunda. Over the course of the weekend however, although we didn't spend any time together, I discovered something about him that I knew he was interested in all along, but had hoped he wasn't. Let's just say he expressed orally his desires. Of course I turned him down, this isn't the first time I've faced such pressure, and although I am a little disappointed, it's nothing to ruin my day, or even my week.

Just because things didn't work out with this one boy doesn't mean that all men are pigs, or that it is even entirely all their fault (though they do share much of the blame), because we aren't naive and should be able to spot these types of men right away by now.
Boys and dating can be hard things.





And that's what she said.

The one where I realize I use my blog to complain about my life

So. New post. And I'm warning you that there might be a little bit of whining about my life. I mean contemplating.

Today, I realize that although I am learning a lot and picking up new skills and doing new things, I wish I could be someone else. Not someone else in general, but particular. It's a girl who goes to my school. She has lots of friends, is super pretty, has great hair, is constantly doing new things, doing volunteer work, and most notably--is the girlfriend of a boy I really wanted for my own. So I wished I could be her.

And then I got to thinking. Why can't I just be happy with being myself? I can see all the wonderful things about other people, but when it comes to seeing those unique qualities in myself, I am completely blind. Why do I always make awesome plans about all the awesome things I'm going to do so that one day I will be awesome, and then never act on those plans from day to day? I spend so much time wishing I was someone else, or wishing I was the me in the future instead of taking action to make myself that person.

I will never become that person if I don't act daily. For example, I have an enormous list of books I want to read, but I instead of spending my evenings pouring over the pages of classic literature, I turn on the TV and tune into its alluring glare and superficial reality shows.

That ends now.

Here we go again

Today was the first day of school. I actually was so nervous this morning that I became nauseous and almost threw up.

It's a new year, I've got a new job, and I feel like a new me. I think 2011 is going to be my year. My year for success, for love, for creating, for learning, and for living. I am thoroughly excited for the challenges and adventures awaiting me in the coming 355 days.

I've made goals and resolutions and I am determined to improve myself and learn a lot about the things I want to learn about. I will do less of what matters less and de-clutter my life. I will exercise and eat healthy. I will love myself the way I am.

This was a great first day. Another thing (or ten things really) that I'm trying to do daily will, I think, make every day a great day. The list of ten things can be found here: http://www.getorganizedwizard.com/articles/10-things-to-do-every-day-a-prescription-for-happiness-personal-organization/

I love this list. Check it out. The things are simple but make a dramatic improvement.

Have a happy 2011!