Beverly Hills Part 2

This post is a little bit past due.

On August 27th, Bryce held his silent auction in Beverly Hills. Chelsea and I went (THANK YOU Chelsea for going with me - I think I would have died without you...) and had a pretty good time, all in all.

Clubs are NOT my thing - at all - but this was for the best cause possible, so I went. Supported by my headband. hahaha. I love that thing.

Bryce schmoozing.

There was this giant guy there that looked like he should be playing the Hulk ("excuse me, can I touch your pecks?") and of course, the Chinese lady with the see-through clothing was back...in more see-through clothing and BOOTY SHORTS! Scott and I played a round of real or fake and I got to meet some of Bryce's friends from the mission. They were super cool.

Scott, Chelsea and I.

The auction went well. Bryce made about $6,000 and that gave him the last little bit he needed to pay off one full lung surgery! Woo hoo!

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:
1. How easily I get along with Scott when really I've known him for like a week...
2. Chelsea's totally rocking dance moves. While sitting down.
3. Nicole not realizing that Scott and Bryce both have beards.
4. Stud.

Jake the Dog

We like to sit on the floor in my family... Mostly it's my dad and Jereme on the floor, but I picked it up in Seattle and for some reason it's pretty comfortable. The only problem is, the dog. He's a 70 pound lap dog.

He'll walk right up to you, and then sit on you.

He also loves to sleep on his back with all 4 legs in the air.

Really, this is the oddest dog I've ever been around. He's incredibly vocal. I don't mean he barks a lot - he doesn't, actually. He GROANS. And sings - which is SO fun. But really, he groans ALL the time.

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:

1. Rexburg smells like hay.

2. Sonic ran out of tator tots and darn near caused an uproar.

3. English classes start tomorrow!

Stranded

No, I didn't get stranded coming up here.

I just feel stranded.

I can't get the internet in my apartment for some stupid reason. So I'm up here on the third (HOLLER Sister Sargent, and KP!) trying to figure everything out.

I didn't realize how dependant I am on constantly having the internet at my fingers. I think a small piece of it is that up here, my friend list gets considerably shorter every semester. And it's about to get cut again! Jessie is leaving me on Friday for good. No more PK runs. :o(

BWAHAHA! Who am I kidding? I'll go alone!

Anyways. The point is, if you're writing to me on facebook (or my email account, for that matter) and I'm not replying, this is why. Until further notice, I don't have the internet. I do have a cell phone though. A nice, shiny, new one. So please feel free to contact me on that. (I still don't know what my ring tone sounds like!)

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:
1. New books.
2. Hillary. She's a new roomie and super nice already!
3. Papa Kelsey's is only 13 minutes away.

Revealing More Nerd-Tendencies

I don't know why I, all-of-a-sudden, have decided to reveal exactly how nerdy I am to my few readers, but I'm going to do it again.

Let me give a bit of a backdrop.

You all know I love the Twilight books, right? So, because I'm such a nerd, I read Stephenie Meyer's website. And Stephenie Meyer somehow got a hold of this new book by Suzanne Collins (I'd never heard of her, but apparently she's written a few series before...one of them 9 books long!) and LOVED it! Last summer, she posted on her blog about how much she loved this book (called The Hunger Games) and couldn't put it down for anything and even took it with her and family out to a restaurant one night and was reading during dinner. (Do you see why I like her so much?!) I read a chapter of it online and decided to give it a read even though it isn't technically in my favorite genre.

I fell in love. I fell in love with everything about this book, the characters and, most especially, the main character's sarcasm.

So naturally, I did research until my fingers bled from typing (no, not really) and found the release date for the second book, Catching Fire. It came out today.

Present day: Barnes and Noble opens at 9 here, so I got online and found a 30% off coupon for the book and made it to the store around 9:45. I got home just after 10 and started reading. I had to take care of Grannie for a bit and eat lunch and talk with my mom, but it took me roughly 6 hours-ish to finish and I STILL can't stop thinking about it! (It's only been 2 hours since I finished, but whatevs...it's just that captivating of a read!)

Oh my gosh. I'm so annoyed that Nicole hasn't read it and can't read it until this weekend and that she reads slower than I do because I am BURSTING to talk about it, people, but no one I know has read the first one, let alone finished the second.

AMAZING books, I highly suggest them. All of the research I've been able to find says that it's a trilogy, and since this second one came out almost one year to the day of the first one, I expect the third and final (although, I hope it won't be the final book) installment this time next year.

I'm going to die waiting for it.

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:
1. Trying to think my way out of the book.
2. How incredibly absorbed I become when I read.
3. The stupid dog. Honestly - he made me so angry today, but you just can't hate him for long.
4. Peeta Mellark.
5. Little blessings. Like distractions...slash borderline amnesia.
6. Chasing the bugs in my room last night at like 2 in the morning in my underwear. No, I'm not joking. When I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror I laughed.
7. Sister Sargent. You'll do GREAT, love!

Nerd Fettish

As I'm sitting here watching Friends, I've come to realize that I have a crush on eveyone's least favorite Friend: Ross Gellar.



That's right. I have a crush on David Schwimmer. And I'm announcing it to all 4 of my readers. So you have another reason to roll your eyes and say, "Oh, Lauren. Gigg-le." Or, "You would."


I love everything about this remarkably odd, extraordinarily hairy, Jew. (Can I say that if I, myself, am not Jewish?) And it's not just his roll on Friends that I love about him. I positively adore him as Melman, but yes, Ross is my guilty pleasure.


I love when he plays his "music" on his stupid keyboard, and his flare for the dramatic. I really admire his ability to create an entire trivia game based on 4 of his best friends. I love how he changed the erotic cake for Emma's first birthday into a bunny, and his fake accent. I love his boring lectures and that he's a paleantologist.


And yes, I know that Ross Gellar is not a real person. But David Schwimmer is. Besides, I have a big thing for basically any fictional male.


Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:
1. Seeing Julie & Julia.
2. The French language. It's beautiful.
3. Books.
4. New babe pool (you gotta say it like Amanda Bynes in She's the Man) in Rexburg next semester.
5. I enrolled myself on The Scroll's staff this morning.

I'm a Nerd.

The highest level English class you can take at BYU-I is English 495, and I'm enrolled for Fall semester.

Sister Hawker, the teacher, emailed us maybe one week after the end of the Summer semester to give us our first assignment. Yep, she gave us a 6 week notice. And it's probably a good thing she did.

Does that mean that I did anything about it until I got back from Arizona one week ago? Definitely not.

Our biggest assignment is called Book Fest. Sister Hawker sent us the syllabus and 3 booklists. From what I gather from the syllabus for this assignment (yes, this ONE assignment has it's own syllabus...), here is what we are supposed to do:

• Pick one book, (or two plays; or one author's collected works + something else) from EACH list. (More on the lists in a minute...)
• Make a powerpoint presentation arguing whether or not to keep the book in the traditional English "canon"
• Create and deliver a 15-20 minute presentation (which will we have to give in front of the English department and our classmates - the classmates will grade us) to expand our powerpoint and the other things we have to do...
• Make a reading guide. The reading guide has 4 parts: a) A 500 word summary of the book, b) A 500 word personal review of the book, c) A 100 word biographical summary of the author, and d) 20 developed discussion questions that incorporate literary criticisms.
• A visual adaptation. We can make any of the following: book cover design, movie poster design, family photo/family tree, video game, film or stage set, movie/play book.

I know it sounds ridiculous, but I'm thoroughly excited for this whole experience!

So I opened up the lists when I got back from Arizona. (This is the part where you all get to see the OCD, borderline completely mental side, of me) I went through each list and highlighted any book I hadn't read before in yellow (we're not allowed to re-read anything). After that, I put an orange star next to a book that sounded interesting purely based on the title and/or author. From there, I tried to narrow down my choices so when I get to the bookstore I can make my final decision there - and this is where it got interesting.

Recommended Booklist has 83 total books on it. I have highlighted in yellow 11 books. Yep, 11 books out of 83 that I haven't read. From those 11 I narrowed it down to 4 orange stars.

Non-Fiction Booklist has 79 total books on it. I have highlighted in yellow 7 books and out of those 7 books, I have 3 orange stars.

The Canon Booklist has 103 total books on it (these are the books that English teachers on campus have decided that every English student MUST read at some point in their lives). I have highlighted in yellow a whoping 10 books!! Out of those 10, only 4 have orange stars by them.

The fiction books I have orange stars next to are all by either Hemingway, Eliot, or C.S. Lewis.

Next step: go to the bookstore. YAY!!!

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:

1. Catching Fire comes out next week!
2. Enchiladas on Sunday.
3. LBS
4. Barnes and Noble emails me weekly with coupons and such, and they've recently started emailing me book suggestions based on past-purchases. I am in SO much trouble.
5. Bryce's not-so-silent auction on Thursday in Beverly Hills at the Aqualounge. It has a 1920's theme. And I'm supposed to dress up. Uh oh.
6. Waking up to a text and thinking Bryce was asking me to runaway with him. He wasn't. I didn't finish the text before I closed my phone and went back to sleep. HAHAHA!

Beverly Hills

Swimming Pools
Movie Stars (name that TV show)!

(A little background before I tell you about Beverly Hills!)

Bryce is a fundraising machine for his cancer. He's trying to get enough money to pay for his surgeries and travel and living costs while he's in Europe. He's hoping the insurance will reimburse him, but because it's an overseas procedure, they may not. Anything he earns OVER what the insurance company reimburses him is going into a fund he's starting for ASPS cancer patients since there is literally NOTHING out there for them yet. (He's also documenting every experience on video so he can have that information for people who don't have it.)

I keep telling people how special he is...!

ANYWAYS!

Bryce used to intern for an online fashion company and the owner, Michael has a new hot find in Jonathan, a jewelery designer from Quebec. Jonathan's company, Lolipop, is AMAZING! Every piece Jonathan makes is uniquely hand-made by him. He uses special glass that is made mostly of quartz, so it's incredibly strong and clear - like pyrex glass. Celebrities have worn his stuff to award ceremonies. He makes belt buckles, money clips, bangles, earrings, necklaces, cuff links, rings. He also makes HUGE artwork. It's expensive, though...far too rich for my blood. I was looking at this beautiful pair of earrings that I wanted SO bad, but they were $500.

Bryce is having a silent auction in Beverly Hills at The Aqualounge and the things up for bid are geared more toward the wealthy. He's gotten donations of items like box seats to the Lakers (including parking), box seats to the Pantages (including parking), box seats to the Hollywood Bowl (including parking), backstage passes to American Idol with a meet and greet with Ryan Secrest...you get the idea, right? Well, Jonathan is donating a few pieces to auction off.

Back to Beverly Hills.

Jonathan's friend David knows a lot of high end people because he's a screenwriter/producer, so he invited Jonathan into his home in Beverly Hills to showcase his pieces to some wealthy people and get the word around. David was very welcoming as we walked into his house and even told us his house is haunted by LOTS of spirits. Well, Bryce and Jonathan hadn't ever met. So Jonathan invited Bryce to the showcase. Bryce invited me and a few other people, but it ended up being just Bryce, my new friend Scott (MOUNTAIN MAN!), and I.

We were in the heart of Beverly Hills surrounded by photographers, actors, movie producers, screenwriters, and some of the people I didn't even meet. It was a great opportunity for Bryce to tell people who have money about the auction on Thursday and they can tell their friends and hopefully, he'll get enough money to pay for the surgeries.

David is a screenwriter/producer and he had fliers and cards out about his newest project called, The House at the End of the Drive. A horror film from the executive producer of The Amityville Horror.

Here's the kicker, though. We were getting ready to leave, and a new group of people had come in and as we're walking out the door, I heard David (the host) say something about Charles Manson. (If you don't know who that is, google him...famous murderer. You won't understand the rest of the story unless you know who he is.) We got in the car and started heading down the ridiculously long and curvy driveway and Scott said he saw a room that had framed pictures and newspaper clippings of Charles Manson. Odd decorating choice. But combined with what I overheard, we decided to call David (since we had his business card) and ask what the deal was.

The house we were in...that we had been in for over an hour...was the actual site of the Charles Manson murders of Sharon Taye and her entire family!!

...We survived though.

Things that induce laughter/smiles/happy feelings in me today:
1. Bryce selling me out to the French Canadian, telling him that I spoke French. It sounds funny because it didn't happen to YOU!
2. Having the Mama Mia soundtrack still stuck in my head from Disneyland.
3. Jake. He is the oddest dog in the world.
4. All of the memories I'll have long after Bryce is dead.