YES!

Every night before I go to sleep, I look up at my ceiling where the word "YES" has been scrawled in night glo-paint. I've never asked why it's written there. The first night I moved in, I turned off the light, climbed up to bed, and there it was. Is it a self-affirmation? "YES...I have great skills, including intelligence and the ability to read upside down words on ceilings." Or perhaps it is the answer to a question: "Will you marry me?", "Can it get any better than this?", or "Is this cereal as good as I think it is?" (Demetri Martin: YESSS).
It's at a time like this, when I'm supposed to be coming up with an awesome paper topic, that a three-letter word on the ceiling can suddenly become captivating, sort of. Slightly captivating, if you will. (I'm pretty sure that's an oxymoron).

Anyway, it's hard to go wrong with YES. Especially for me, considering the question: "Should I be doing something else right now?"

YESSSS.

Monkey see, monkey do

I came home from school today with an overwhelming need to relax. So I grabbed some celery sticks and peanut butter and turned on the t.v. What was on, you ask? A Spanish-language program about the plight of starving monkeys in India. (No, as a matter of fact, I am not making this up). Since I'm fluent in Spanish (okay, now that's a lie), I decided to watch for a bit. The monkeys kept snatching things from a vegetable cart until finally a basket of apples spilled over and the owner got furious. It was very similar to Abu's antics in the movie Aladdin. It's sad what can be related to Disney movies and how I can always make the connection. (ha!) I actually remember reading an article about the monkeys in New Delhi in the Economist last year. The monkeys don't have anywhere to go because of all the developments in the city and its surrounding areas. I heard they were considering moving the monkeys to a sanctuary which sounds like it might be the best option. Save the monkeys in India! (don't hear that one a lot!) So that was a visually-enlightening 10 minutes.

life-changing icicles

This isn't related to travel...the reason why this blog was originally created. But what can I say? Travel to me now means hopping into Dad's car and scooting up and east of the I-15 to Alpine. Every once in a while. Other than that, it's Provo/Orem, baby! What small lives we transportation-less college students lead.

So I've been doing a lot of pondering lately. Okay, let's be honest, when am I not doing a lot of pondering? If you think about something for long enough, you'll begin to question the validity of its existence and try to connect the dots in a different fashion. For example, take a word. Preferably three or four syllables. Better yet, take "California." Say it 50 times and you'll begin to wonder if you're even saying it right anymore and might take the Schwarzenegger route- "CAHL-EE-FOR-NEE-AH."
By the way, I seem to have developed an online spell-checker (I don't know when these things happen). How the heck is Schwarzenegger in it and "okay" isn't? And apparently Orem should be Oreo. I'm Tokay (replacement) with that. And I should probably honor it with an Oreo shake every time I'm there. All in the name of tribute.

Anywho, this is life post-Paris. Kind of normal. Normal is Tokay; it's great. But switching things up is great too. I had all kinds of goals for my return to BYU. Unfortunately, I think I've stepped into that world of getting caught up in work/school things and having too little time for play. (I still feel like a four year old every time I talk about playing). And the thing about goals is that you actually have to take steps to accomplish them. (I know! who knew?) Life within a comfort zone leaves something to be desired. So I am switching it up a bit. Thank goodness for the life-changing inspiration that icicles can bring. The icicles lining my window are long, imperfect and jagged. At the same time, they are incredibly beautiful and mysterious. (Has anyone actually seen an icicle being formed?) Life is imperfect. There is no way around it. But it has so much potential to be beautiful.

Speaking of beautiful, I discovered the album I'm listening to (Chevrotine by Holden) at a store in Paris. The music flows over you and feels like a floating stream winding around corners bringing content to everyone it surrounds. My favorites are "Ce que je suis", "Charlie, Rosie et moi", et "Comme une fille." Ecoutez!

http://armelle.mocke.club.fr/home.htm