happy happy happy

i hope you american readers are having a very warm and cuddly day of carbs and sweaters and your fam/bffs...i know i plan on it. all the rest of you...enjoy your thursday of working and laying off the starches. the united states will be back and kicking from our tryptophan/insulin-induced comas by monday, fo sho.

my friend marisa has been listing something she's grateful for every day this month. i like the idea and since i "procrastinate," or as i prefer to word it, work well under pressure, i decided to save mine for the end of the month. here, in no particular order, are 30 things i'm grateful for this year:

1. my cool parents
2. my diverse background
3. ballet flats
4. diet coke
5. cardigans
6. blogging
7. my job
8. my fun coworkers
9. my faith
10. mt. timponogos topped with snow
11. laughter
12. music
13. makeup
14. medicine
15. words
16. the internet
17. running water
18. my army of girlfriends
19. utah
20. chuck bass
21. popcorn
22. a warm coat
23. love
24. little miracles (and big ones)
25. teachers
26. the gift of sight
27. being an american
28. facebook
29. my bed
30. YOU!

have a happy thanksgiving, everyone!

hey you guys

did you know they made a movie about that vampire book?




aaaaanyway...how many times have you seen it? so far for me it's a big 'ol ZERO. am i missing out?

i would like to have seen montana.

so i'm up at the parents' house for the thanksgiving festivities this week, which in case you didn't know involves a hellishly long drive through southern idaho/montana. much to my shock and surprise, it didn't kill me. three important takeaways from my trip thus far:

brother: the other night, i went bowling. i bowled a 186. i would have bowled a 200...
sister: but you didn't knock down enough pins?

sister: everybody knows this song.
brother: i don't know this song.
sister: you're not everybody.

dad, on why texting won't wreck his language skills: no, i was raised in a generation when kids were taught to read and write.

please read this.

hi friends,

my friend hannah is a funny funny girl and she's smart as a whip. she wrote this today. i want you to read it.

xoxo
hollylynn

best little black dress ever.

i have a little black dress. it is the best little black dress ever. it's a chloe dress. i bought it on the internet. i don't know if it was legit or not...but boy do i love it. and i can never wear it because i don't have a fancy enough occasion.

like a holiday party.

the last time i had a fancy holiday party to go to, i didn't even have the dress. i wore a dress i like a lot but it was not THE dress.

that holiday party was sure a scream though. i went stag and drank a bunch of diet cherry cokes with my drink tickets, circulated the room, got interrogated by swarms of married people, sat with all my work bffs and their significant others.

then about halfway through the "entertainment" - you know, someone had been murdered and the girl in the bad blond wig was going to keep doing that shrill, contrived screaming "whodunit" until we solved the mystery. too bad half my coworkers were drunk off their chairs and the other half were in food comas by this point. everyone but me was inebriated in some way. i was just extra alert from all my diet cherry cokes. and of course we were just a couple minutes away from a real murder, meaning me murdering blond wig chick.

and of course there's an extra seat at my table because you know, i didn't bring my +1, and by the way i should have tried to get the drink tickets my +1 would have gotten but i was young and sweet and didn't want to steal from the company. and of course someone from another department busts into the room in a polo shirt and jean cutoffs at this point, and by the way she was slurring her words let's just say i hope she took the bus, and of course she sits at the extra seat at my table.

and of course she proceeds to offend everyone sitting with me in the most interesting ways.

saddest part is, i'm the only one who remembers it.

if i had to endure that again, at least i would have my black chloe dress. i'm just saying.

by the way

are any of you using wordpress?

i just tried to set it up now, you know, just to see. it didn't seem so intuitive to me. but maybe i'm just spoiled by the caveman easiness of blogger.

any gems of wisdom? what do y'all prefer?

riddle me this.

so everyone, thanks for your support of the first installment of hollylynn says. the segment needs better branding - i get that. but it was good times, yes?

people seemed to like it.

some people hated it.

hated it, i tell you. and they were too scared to comment. work up that nerve, haters. i'd love to hear a little (respectful) dissenting opinion once in a while here on my little blog.

speaking of hate...how OVER the hills are you by now? 89%? 92%? i don't know why i didn't realize this before, but this is heidi's mad face:

thanks i*heart*you for the photo.

seriously...freaking DUMP SPENCER already.

although the expression kind of reminds me of what chuck bass said after he walked in on his dad and lily van der woodsen having a "business discussion":

"not much future as an actress."

currently love

the theme song from quantum of solace.

it's as bossy as daniel craig himself.


"another way to die" by alicia keys and jack white.

hollylynn says: installment 1

nathan writes:

This has always baffled me. Why do girls like jerky guys who treat them badly? Growing up, I was always "the friend" and by some miracle managed to find an awesome girl who liked me anyway. *whew*

But for all the others out there who might not be as lucky, what is it about being nice that kills the interest?


dear puzzled in provo,

this is a very good question. listen up, boys stuck in "the friend zone." you might learn something.

there are two reasons that this happens:

a) the guy provides a safe place to fall instead of excitement and intrigue
b) the guy's dating tactics are all wrong

gratefully, both can be overcome. i will elaborate:

a) you're a soft place to fall. remember when harry and sally finally decided to be friends? harry was always level-headed and understanding without taking sides or getting all dramatic. sally provided that for harry too, and he was a very non-threatening presence in her life - constant, dependable, the friend.

sally eventually came around because she realized, like all women do, that as much fun as fun is (ha - "yes," said george wade, "isn't fun...fun?"), the soft place to fall is just as important.

if you're her soft place to fall, play that role. but live your life. if she is telling you about men she dates, then you should be out there and asking for her advice about women you see. dating around will make you a more interesting person to her. it will either make her realize that you're worth more than she thought, or it will help you move on (sometimes both, and boy is that another post for another day).

b) your dating tactics are all wrong. remember when chris brander moved to los angeles, lost all that weight and became fabulously wealthy? when he came back, he knew something invaluable. his friend had a lunch date with a woman. he talked to chris. it went like this:

chris: how are things going with gina?
friend: good; we're having lunch tomorrow.
chris: what...a day date?
friend: what's wrong with that?
chris: it's like the express lane to the friend zone. pretty soon she'll be treating you like a non-sexual object. like a brother. or a lamp.
friend: i don't want to be a lamp.
chris: no. listen, do yourself a favor: call gina, change your day date to night, play aloof the whole time and no matter what you do, kiss her at the end, because friends don't kiss.

granted, chris learned the hard way that playing aloof is not the way to go, but he had a point.

the "dating game" has rules for a reason: they work.

now, don't play games with peoples' hearts, but make your intentions clear, and have confidence! if there's one thing anna stern taught seth cohen ("confidence, cohen!") is that confidently going for what you want, believing you are worth it is exactly how you get summer roberts, or anything else you want.

hope that helps. now boys, go get your girl.

xoxo
hollylynn



Here are your random numbers:9 5 3 9 1 2 6 9 6 10 2
Timestamp: 2008-11-18 02:20:59 UTC

i like this.

"cast no shadow" by ortoPilot.

please televise this, please televise this, please televise this

i secretly love the girls next door. ok you got me. i unsecretly love it. (but i’m only telling my blog…i tell her everything!!) yep, it’s a morbid fascination but it’s my morbid fascination. did you know bridget has a master’s degree? yeah.

anyway, by now i’m sure you’ve heard that kendra is engaged to some pro athlete that i don’t care about at all, and today people reported that holly madison will be a bridesmaid. way to go, holls! kendra will buy you a cute dress now! i always knew you were the smart one.

i’m just rilly rilly hoping for a special 2-hour girls next door wedding event. make it happen, h-mad! think about it:

hef walking kendra down the aisle in his burgundy smoking coat and house shoes.
kendra laughing several times throughout the blessed event.
holly’s magic boyfriend making the funfetti wedding cake levitate.

THAT’S GOOD TV.

why you hafta do me like that?

dear 30 rock,

what the heck, people?! i have been talking you up to basically everyone i meet, and you let me down. i just hope none of my "investigators" were watching for the first time tonight. talk about embarrassing.

gosh, it would be like bringing a friend to church and having the weird old lady get up and go on a incoherent racist rant before one of the even more expressive congregation members makes his way to the pulpit to perform a rousing rendition of "pour some sugar on me." with bagpipes.

that's what it would be like. i'm not kidding.

last week was actually funny. i have included a recap of that good episode below my signature for your review. please try to live up to this in the future.

disappointed but still committed,

hollylynn

so, do you prefer lead to ink?

was a question i was asked after coming back to my desk after sharpening all five (5) pencils i have at my workstation. i have been at my job a year and a half and have yet to sharpen a pencil. i even had to ask beckie if we had a pencil sharpener in the office.

i like writing with a pencil to scribble notes on the fly – my action items from a meeting, for example.

i don’t know why.

a shrink might say it stems back to my love for tom hanks and my hope that he would send me a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils.

i associate the good old fashioned pencil with school (when it was fun, learning cursive and times tables…or maybe it was just the new school clothes), freshly fallen leaves, preppy scarves, tights with boots, daylight savings, caramel apples (have you had one yet this year? i have, and it was delightful) and my birthday.

speaking of which, what are you getting me for my birthday?

byob

or should i say byodc? meaning of course, bring your own diet coke.

i've mentioned that one of the many reasons i love my job is the coke fridge in the break room that is typically stocked with dc.

we ran out today.

it was hard on us all. i even drank a coke zero (i know, i know). usually, nothing can take diet coke's place. when you want one, you want one. you know? reminds me of a time i was out to eat with a friend who feels similarly at a place that only has pepsi products (how could we not have known?). when my friend asked for a diet coke, we were told that the closest thing they had was diet pepsi. looking up solemnly, he replied,

"just this once."

i was shocked at his defection but it did give me the strength to venture out and order one as well.

i just read this post. i think i have what some members of the medical community may call a "problem."

if so, someone call dr. drew. i might be having some crazy withdrawal side effects tomorrow.

you're welcome.

i'm about to show you a real sweet blog.

my friend angie (that's super angie to you) from back home is a social studies teacher in a small eskimo village. i know, so cool. she recently got a fullbright scholarship to teach in morocco - i know, even cooler.

lucky for you and me, she's blogging about it. angie in morocco has it all. witty narrative, fab photos, cute kitties, it's a winner all around. so check her out on my blogroll to the right. or, just visit http://angieinmorocco.blogspot.com.

enjoy!

new blog feature.

as many of you know, i have lots of opinions. what you might not know is that i adore giving advice. also, i know everything.

in light of these simple facts, i would like to introduce you to a new blog feature i like to call:

hollylynn says.

(fabulous logo forthcoming)

yes that's my blog address. also a new game. not unlike "dear abby." it will turn the blog into an advice column, one day a week no month no let's be honest whenever i feel like it.

the first round of advice will be dished out on

tuesday, nov. 18.

how we play is, in the comments section of this post, you ask my advice. this can be about anything. anything! dealing with a pesky coworker, getting a date, peeling an apple...look, i could go on here but the point is: the sky is the limit.

if you're a little sheepish about your question, just post the comment anonymously, or email me your quandary at hollylynnsays at gmail dot com.

this will be fun! send me your conundrum by the 18th and i'll pick one from the pile.

i can't believe i forgot to tell you this.

the other day i was going to 7-11 to get an icy diet coke. i pulled in next to a lovely bmw x5. someone got out of the car - the owner of the sev!

now i always knew mukesh was a classy man (for real), but this caught me off guard.

i could hardly wait to tell jmadd who said, "it doesn't suprise me. with all the big gulps i buy there, they guy should be swimming in benjamins."

amen, sister.

this is officially the second most memorable thing that has ever happened to me while buying an icy diet coke at 7-11.

fluff your pillow? dust your head?

housekeeping!

i've heard from several people that they have not been able to post comments to my blog lately. deeply apologetic. i just changed my comments settings and we should be in good shape now.

if it won't let you comment, please email me at hollylynnsays at gmail dot com so i can get it straightened out.

...or so i can take my push-button publishing to wordpress so fast blogger won't even know what hit it...

married! geesh.

ok, after that last post i started missing jake ryan real bad. but the best part of this clip is long duk dong at the very end after he slams the door on jake.

enjoy!

it's been a long time, long time

this is blane from pretty in pink:

this is zach condon of beirut:

same hair same face same outfit.

ok, maybe i'm the only one who sees it. anyway, like i said, it's been a long time so i thought i'd push some music on you all. maybe it's due to my recent glass case of emotion, but i have not been feeling particularly inspired by music the i've been hearing these days.

i mean, what are you guys listening to? i'm so open to recommendations.

anyhoo, you can head on over the playlist for a little "elephant gun" by beirut (thanks, hannah, for introducing us). i gave it a good listen and it is f-bomb free.

i think i really like this song a lot (but it's hard to tell. "it's the same with guys i mean...you may think you like someone. but, you could be wrong." name that movie. i'm ashamed. it's soo easy).

zach condon's voice is cool and distinct. if i may go ahead and use a modifier with a superlative, it's one of the most unique (sorry, every journalism professor i ever had) voices i've heard in a while, and i like the horns. usually i hate horns in vocal music (because it reminds me of ska, which i find incredibly annoying).

aaand, he looks like blane. amiright? amiright?

what do you think (about the song, about blane, we could also chat about jake ryan if you feel so inclined)?

do you ever just feel

like you're in a glass case of emotion?

but you know, in a good way.

an apology.

dear blog,

i am deeply sorry. i missed our blogoversary. i meant to congratulate our partnership on our 200th post and mention how much i love blogging and how i appreciate the creative outlet it allows me and how much i love reading the things that other people blog/care about.

yay blogging.

this is the 203rd post. as usual, i am a day late and a dollar short. but i love you anyway. and you should probably get used to my tardiness cuz it ain't going away.

xoxo
hollylynn

warning:

***this post may or may not contain strong opinions. the city of provo may tar and feather me for voicing these feelings. read at your own risk. if i were really skinny enterprises not responsible for any crying/hurt feelings that may result from reading this post.***

today i made the mistake of leaving the house. i'll be more succinct: i made the mistake of driving within a 2 mile radius of edwards stadium at byu. which by the way is basically impossible not to do if you're trying to get anywhere that matters in utah valley.

if you live in provo/orem, you know exactly what i'm talking about. during the fall on saturdays, you must remain a prisoner in your own home if you wish to escape the byu football fans and the subsequent concentration of redonkulously terrible utah drivers.

they are rabid. they will kill you.

i could not care less about byu football if my heart were surgically removed.

mind you, i respect byu. being mormon my whole life and now living in utah for the past 2 1/2 years, i run into quite a few byu students and graduates. i have to say, i tolerate the majority of them quite well, and am actually rather fond of quite a few of them (most of my current coworkers as well as lots of my friends and even a few relatives). all my byu friends: i like you. i'll keep you.

but byu sports, you and i will never be friends. and you avid byu fans - probably don't bring up football. if you keep this rule, we should be fine.

memories...

last night i was listening to my trusty internet radio station when the cranberries came on. linger, to be specific (on the playlist to the right. i've taken a page from jocelyn's book and alphabetized by artist).

it brought back several specific memories, including but not limited to:

sun ripened raspberry body splash from bath & body works.
shopping at contempo.
sixth grade - specifically having to change into uniforms for p.e. - i think the body splash made me think of this actually...
clueless.
the purple crushed velvet dress i bought at 5.7.9 to wear to my first school dance. i wish i still had that smokin frock...

don't you love how a song can do that?

well, all right.

first of all, did you know that 'all right' is ALWAYS two words and that under no circumstances is it correct to use 'alright' ever ever ever?

you know now.

second of all, i thought i'd tell you all what i think about barack obama. i bet my opinion is the first you've seen all day!!! yep, i have lots of original thoughts.

when brian williams told me that obama had won, and by a landslide at that, it was an emotional moment for me. i couldn't put my finger on what it was. i mean there is the obvious historical significance and the strides our country has made that the election has made evident and the fact that these times are so freakin depressing we'll all pretty much cry at the drop of a hat. but as i've talked to some people and listened to some npr and read some good blogs, these are some impressions:

1. the sheer number of votes obama received makes me satisfied that he is indeed what the country wants. in the past two elections, i never really felt like bush "won" as much as gore and kerry had just lost. if that makes any sense. no real majority ever really backed bush the way they backed obama yesterday.

2. obama's victory shows america's preference of hope over fear. i find that quite inspiring.

3. obama has a huge task to live up to all the hope we've placed in him.

4. let's back this guy up. shark bait referenced this bob lonsberry (who i've never heard of - is that bad?) quote and i agree:

Those who didn't vote for Barack Obama must set a higher standard of civility and citizenship than those who didn't vote for George W. Bush. In defeat, there must still be nobility.The last eight years have taught us what happens when you set out to destroy a presidency for political gain. You help your candidate, but you hurt your country. That pattern must not be followed with this new president. America must treat Barack Obama better than he treated George W. Bush.

did anyone else get the warm fuzzies?

seriously?

i voted today. wahoo!

since i haven't voted in oh such a long time (i know, bad me) i couldn't remember what i needed. i asked becky:

"hey, do i just need my drivers license?"
"actually, they didn't ask for mine."

JIGGA WHAT?

i told hannah:

"they didn't ask for becky's i.d. when she voted."
"huh...yeah, they didn't ask for mine either."

YOU DON'T SAY.

i told becky:

"they didn't ask for hannah's either! isn't that kind of messed up?"
"yeah for real. for all we know, hollylynn's ballot has already been cast."

i knew she was making fun of me a little bit but i really wondered why they weren't checking for identification. i mean...right?! shouldn't they?

becky helped me formulate this plan that i would go and not take out my drivers license (she and hannah both had theirs in their hands when they approached the poll workers) and then when they didn't ask for it, prompt, "oh, don't you want to see my i.d.?"

good, huh? that'll make them straighten up and fly right. this is the american democratic process! do it right!

so i did. and they said, "nope. go over there to an open machine. thanks."

of course i always assume the worst. the first thing that flashed into my mind is chuck bass paying that red haired girl to take the SAT for serena when she was passed out from that roofie that georgina gave her.

but anyway, does anyone know why they wouldn't ask for identification? does that seem strange to anyone other than me?

why today was splendid:

1. it was one of the most positive and productive workd days i've had in weeks.
2. i watched gossip girl.
3. my dad sent me a text message - i always get the biggest kick out of that!
4. i gave myself some highlights. some very subtle highlights. highlights so faint i doubt that people with normal eyesight will notice them.

how was your day?

confession.

i totally punked out on halloween.

i didn't dress up as sarah palin...i didn't put on a headband with cat ears and draw myself some whiskers with eyeliner...i didn't do anything.

i wore jeans and my fav hoodie from 2003. i called it: "holly: the college years." or as one of my friends so aptly and michael scott-ly put it, a "hollygram."

everyone thought it was a total scream.

can i just say...

thank you!

thanks to all who follow my little blog and double thanks to you commenters. today i've been combing through you lovely peeps who follow me, checking out your blogs and the other blogs you follow. and i have you say...you're splendid!

my blogging bestie and real life gal pal emily once told me, "there's no stroke to the ego like someone saying they read your blog." and i wholeheartedly agree.

my goal this month is comment more often. so many times i'll read one of your posts and have an excellent dialog with myself about it and then not post a comment. sad, i know.

being that november is my birth month (yes, the actual day is the 28th but i kind of like to celebrate all month long because let's be honest...who'd that ever hurt?), i thought i'd give a little more love and be a more active commenter.

so, get ready!

some things i loved about hsm.

first of all, whenever someone says "hsm," i immediately think "hsn" and then i want to say,

"i don't take you to be the kind of person that buys stuff off of tv."

not that i'm judging. so i hope you don't judge me for watching high school musical 3.

you know, i smiled. i tapped my toe. we shared a few laughs. here's my top 10 list of stand out moments from this fine flick:

10. i'm (still) pleased as punch to no longer be a high school student.

9. zac efron and corbin bleu dancing in a junk yard like janet jackson.

8. you would think that with the money this movie is making, they could have given sharpay a more believable weave...just as a show of good faith.

7. zac efron wearing a bandanna on his head to go to the junk yard. visions of a.d. hot cops dancing thru my head.

6. zac efron and vanessa hudgens dancing in the rain and not kissing.

5. east high school being incredibly easy to break in to.

4. 6 beautiful kids monopolizing every club in the school that gets any exposure.

3. boys in high school reacting to prom the way boys my age react toward the prospect of a steady relationship ("i think it's too late to back out of this" was the line)

2. beautiful snow-capped wasatch mountains.

...and my number one comment about hsm 3:

hoping the whole time that ryan and kelsi would love each other and it never happening. i guess i'll have to get that in "hsm 4: performing all those dance numbers instead of studying made you fail your finals and none of you graduated!" ...fingers crossed!

any other hsm virgins take the plunge with the latest installment? thoughts or impressions?