MOVIE MADNESS

Hello. My name is Olivia Walker and I'm an addict. Movies are my weakness...buying, watching, quoting, re-watching, sorting, alphabetising (don't judge me). Recently I went on a rampage and bought something like 20 movies in less than 10 days. Of course I can't use the excuse that I have the money so its ok because quite obviously as an unemployed college graduate I have NO money. No no, that would be too simple. Really I am going to blame this all on Devin and here is why.

One fine day my beloved brother called me to ask a favor. This favor would take me to the movie section of walmart to retrieve Monsters vs. Aliens. Everything was going according to plan (and by plan I mean put on your blinders and block out everything until the new releases because I can't afford new releases nor do I believe in paying full price for anything) until I actually got to the media center and then the "plan" went to pieces. The $5 movies were right in front of me...unavoidably so. In my weakness I grabbed 4 of them before I managed to steer back on course.

When I arrived home in all my shame I fell again and started searching for musicals on Amazon of which I found 5. $$$$$ :( I thought I had finished and headed to Salt Lake for a weekend with my sister and some friends when one of those friends asked me to go to the store with her. This seemed safe enough to me since we were GROCERY shopping. I felt that I had made a big step forward until she turned in to blockbuster, "just to look, Liv." I may have also grabbed 4 movies there at the $5 stands.

What can I say? I am deeply troubled. However, in my defense each movie was a superb choice ranging from classic musical to crazy comedy. I guess the good note is that I recognize my addiction. The problem is that I, like so many other addicts, have no desire to change my behavior. So, yes, my name is Olivia Walker and I am an addict...I'll deal :)

On the Road Again

Over the past 10 months I have officially had 5 different addresses. To put my feelings about this plainly...IT SUCKS! I hate packing, moving, starting over, finding jobs, making new friends, learning new places, changing mailing addresses, UNpacking, etc. The whole process just brings on a plethora of negative emotions. To top it all off, every time I move I end up doubting myself. Is this right? Am I really supposed to be here? What if I could have had a better job there or built better relationships somewhere else? Well, a week or two ago I moved to Evanston where Josh and Tammy have been amazing enough to let me move in with them and I have been surprised at the positive feelings that I have been having about it. I mean, let's face it, evanston wyoming? not exactly my dream town, especially when I was having so much fun in salt lake. While I was waiting for those expected negative feelings to overcome me I have really just continued to feel like everything is right in the world. I love being at Josh and Tammy's and helping out however I can. It is always fun watching the kids and relaxing to just watch movies or play on youtube, etc with J and T. Plus, Josh is taking care of my laptop that has been in desperate need of some TLC which I am just not educated enough to give it. I still haven't broken in to the Evanston single society but I figure that will come with time. I'm still traveling to salt lake pretty frequently to see friends I've made there so I'm sure that when I finally stick around for a weekend I will have a better chance to make some friends here. So, I guess my old stake president was right (President Turner in Laramie) when he said every time he talked to us to unpack our boxes and make every new place a home and a place worth staying in. While I have needed that little attitude adjustment over the past 10 months and 5 moves, I think I am finally starting to get it and things are no longer looking as bleak as they did when I would start to pack those first boxes.

The Joys of Single Life

As you may have noticed blogging is not my specialty. In fact, I think that my 1 weak attempt at a post so far has been pretty sad. Forgive me. I couldn't keep a journal either so just make do with the snippets you get ha ha ha.

A lot has happened in the past 2 months since my last post. I went on a road trip to Lovell, WY with Chantel and Michael over the 4th of July and we had a lot of fun! Then I got kicked out of Jordan's house, but it is short term :) Really, poor Jordan just didn't want to have to move all of my crap upstairs when they flip flopped apartments with their renters, and I don't blame her for that. She says I can move back in but who knows if that will really happen? I started nannying for Josh and Tammy while they have hectic schedules. Then Chantel and Michael had to go and get married...tear. Ok, I'm not really sad, it is just so hard to believe that my baby sister is married...to a guy...that she lives with. I never thought the day would come but I'm so happy for those two crazy kids and I'm happy to have Michael in the family for reals now.

There has been a lot of post wedding and post reception excitement that I should probably share. First is the scary exciting story of how I got hit by a car. Here is the rundown. I was watching Dakota and Izzy at Josh and Tammy's in Evanston when this all went down. Tammy was leaving for work and basically to calm the beast that was going to be Dakota we both told him that I could take him to the park. No problem, the park is just across the street. So I had just gotten out of the shower and Tammy left so I put shoes on the 3 of us and we took our jaunt to the park. Only problem is, we never made it there. We were crossing the street (no cars both ways, looked and looked again) and when we were about half way across the street an suv pulled on to the street we were crossing, still forever away but Dakota saw it so he kind of sped up and was walking in front of me. Next thing I know I'm knocked off my feet by a little black car, the driver of which was a little blonde high school chick who I am willing to bet was texting or on the phone. So, my flip flops go flying, luckily Dakota was in front of me so he didn't get scratched even, and somehow I managed to catch Izzy before she could fall out of my arms - seriously a miracle. We scrambled over to the sidewalk and I was seriously thinking the whole time that this couldn't possibly be happenning to me and the whole things was just unreal. I mean, how many people do you know personally that have been hit by a car? Well, now you know me I guess. I had my first ambulance ride and got to experience the ER. They took x-rays of my knee which turned out to be ok. Nothing seriously damaged, just bumps and bruises. Both knees were quite banged up and my left elbow where I smacked the ground before Izzy could turned out to be the most irritating ouchy of the whole event. Thank heavens for a loving Father in Heaven and guardian angels, all 3 of us were looked out for that day!

Other exciting news is my trip to Bear Lake with my singles/university ward in slc. Mind you, this was only 3 or 4 days post car accident that I struck out on my journey to the lake but I had been absent from my ward here for over a month and I needed some serious social time to "heal." I could go in to so much detail but that would just get old fast. Suffice it to say that I met a lot more people and got to know the ones I was already friends with better. Super Hottie 1 taught me to dance and gave me a kiss and Super Hottie 2 taught me how to country swing and just being in their presence was enough to make me forget my aches and pains. I got out on the waverunner for a bit but didn't get to try wakeboarding due to hurt knees so I guess I'll save that for next time. We camped out in tents and the first night there was practically a tornado that tore 1 tent in half, snapped the thick bar of our big tent, and sent 2 more tents flying through the field we were staying in. The next night was beautiful though and we got to lay out under the stars and watch the meteor showers. Of course the temperature dropped dramatically overnight so everyone in my car called it a day and headed back to the city. All I can say is that while it is nice to see all my friends getting married and having kids even, I am still really enjoying the single life. I love the friends I have and the friends I am making and while I'm excited for the next step in life, this one isn't as bad as I once thought it was :)

One Year Older and Wiser Too!

Ever since I turned about 12 or 13 I have lived with a birthday curse. Each year, without fail, I have been sick on my birthday! While my mom and Jordan have taken advantage of this and laughed at things I may or may not have said in my illness induced delirium in the past, this year they were left with no new material. That's right, for the first time in about ten years I DID NOT get sick on my birthday!!!!! I had a few friends text me and facebook messeages with birthday well-wishes because of course we don't actually call people anymore lol, and my day went off without a hitch. In fact, I even convinced Devin to come to Salt Lake and go to a Stake FHE activity with me that night.

Jordan and David deserve a special thanks for making 22 a great birthday. Jo and the kids took me to the zoo which I never get tired of and then out to lunch. After nap time and upon Devin's arrival we went to dinner at a bakery where I also got to pick out a birthday dessert especially for ME! Then Dev and I hit up FHE and played some volleyball...mind you it wasn't always good volleyball. More like family reunion volleyball where the older generation uses 2 hands to slap the ball in a move that is clearly illegal but play continues anyways. Ya, there was a lot of that, but I haven't played in about 4 months and it felt good to get back on the court so I stuck it out.

I have to say that 22 doesn't feel much different than 21 and I'm ok with that cause 21 was great! This probably isn't where I thought I would be at 22 but I love the friends I'm making and the time I get to share with Jo and David and clan. My friend Alex teased me that I'm getting old and haggard and I just thought, "you dirty son of a gun, you have no room to talk since you're 25!" So, to sum up: physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and any other ally that there is, I feel great with one more year under my belt!

A MOMENT IN TIME

Well, it happened. Not a week after I moved in with my beloved sister Jordan, she got me to start a blog. Heaven knows that I can ramble on about myself for forever but putting it all into writing might be a different story. Although, my biggest problem in every English class was that I needed to prune my writing and get rid of all of the extras...probably something that I have already proven in the few sentences I've written.

Anyways, I have embarked on a new adventure for the summer. Salt Lake City is nothing new to me but living here is a different experience altogether. My first adventure was going to a university singles ward. Talk about intimidating. It just so happens that the ward meets in the biggest institute building in the US and Jordan KNEW that I was shy and intimidated so she did her best to intimidate me. K, here's how it went. Hot guy parks his motorcycle and starts to walk into the building and Jo yells to him from the car to come help us. When he comes over she starts to explain that I'm new from out of state and I don't know anything and asks if he could please show me around. I was so mortified! So, hot guy named David (Jordan gushed over his name of course) shows me around the building and introduces me to a few more people then puts me in the care of the EQ President who just happens to be even more attractive than motorcycle guy. Then of course there were meetings and such and the new member meetings that I can never get out of, after which the girl who was in charge of it interrupts Sunday school and introduces me to the entire class. Again, MORTIFIED!!! And to top it off, later I was being introduced to a guy who said, "Oh ya, you were the one who interrupted my thought during Sunday school." He was teasing me but it was pretty painful to know that people now knew me as the new girl that was the reason for interrupting class.

After that first Sunday the week was pretty calm. I did some "job-hunting" but mostly I am not ashamed to say that I have enjoyed a lazy week with my sister and her family. I am having fun meeting new people and spoiling Corbin and Zaylee, helping Jo and Dave, playing with old friends, and catching up on some much needed R&R. I am so happy to be done with my Bachelors at this moment in time but it has forced me to look at the world in a way I have never had to before. While I still can go back to school and put off the real world, I have reached the point where the real world is beckoning to me.I can't be afraid to do all the things that I have been able to put off so far. I guess this realization hit me pretty hard today and I thought about all the things that I haven't done that I have always wanted to. I even...heaven help me...made a bucket list today. So, I guess my moment is up and the rest of my life is ready for me.............lets just hope I'm ready for it!