TWS: Third Wheel Syndrome

What has three wheels and is not a tricycle?

Me at my kitchen table...with my roommate sitting on her boyfriend's lap on the couch across from the table.

Tonight I was just minding my own business doing homework at our kitchen table when my roommate (let's call her Bianca) and her boyfriend (we will call him Aaron) come waltzing into the living room and plop down in the couch across from our kitchen table.

I would like to take this time to point out that we have two living rooms. One with the kitchen table and a couch. The other with FOUR other couches.

Normally, being the good roommate that I am and recognizing that the little couple has not seen each other for a week, I would move.

But not tonight!

I was here first!

I have turned the kitchen table into a very organized and large desk. Similar to Dwight's Mega Desk. I will not be forced to relocate. My desk just won't fit in any other room.

Aside the competitive nature ingrained in me to out-awkward the cuddly couple is my twisted sense of "responsibility".

See, Bianca and Aaron have a habit of staying in each others arms for long hours, late into the night/morning. Our house does not fill out NCAA tournament brackets. No, we take bets on when Aaron left last night/morning. Once I lost with 3:45 am...the actual departure was 4:30am.

This is not the first time that I have experienced TWS (Third Wheel Syndrome). During Christmas time, our house drove around looking at Christmas lights. I must have angered someone because I got stuck in a car with only Bianca and Aaron. It was quite romantic with me pestering, "What? Could you speak up?" every few houses or so.

Thank you house. I really appreciate you all...

So tonight, since my peaceful homeworking (really Grey's Anatomy watching if I'm being honest) area was disturbed, I am determined to remain in the same room until Aaron leaves. I am fully prepared with a ruler, a bible, plenty of movie quotes, and sports statistics from this weekend's March Madness games.

(Bianca is sympathetic towards the Jay Hawks, so between my underhanded question about how she felt about the University of Northern Iowa and stalking her date with Aaron, I may have to sleep with one eye open for awhile.)

I will no longer let TWS ruin my homework rhythm. I will no longer let TWS make me walk around the house with my computer screen open to preserve my place in the episode of Grey's Anatomy, thus making the screen wabble.

Only you can stop TWS!

* This Public Service Announcement was made to you on behalf of the Single Ladies Association of The Cove*

Shall we dance?

Normally I don't watch basketball. However, I always make an annual exception for March Madness. Just prior to the Big Dance, is the Pac-10 tournament. In my weekend devoid of urgent homework, I was flipping through the TV and stumbled upon the semifinals. University of Washington Huskies were playing. After dominating Stanford in the semis, they moved on to play Cal in the finals this afternoon.

Such. A. Good. Game.

Such. An. Epic. Win.


They were close the entire time with lead changes and ties throughout the game.

With this win, the Huskies get an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

I knew I should have bought those last minute tickets this morning :)

One year old

Happy Birthday Blog :)




I hope it has kept you all laughing and thinking as much as it has for me!

Overheard@Biola

There is a new facebook group that is all the rage among Biola students. Overheard@Biola. Basically people post awkward quotes that they overhear while going about their day at Biola. The purpose is to find the most out of context quote possible.

For example:

Guy to girl in commons: "Do you need prayer? Because I could lay my hands on you"

Guys walking into a dorm: "Then we'll strip him down and beat him..."

Besides the annoying fact that most of the overheard statements turn into dirty jokes, this is an interesting concept. I pondered it awhile. What is overheard that comes out of my mouth while I am walking across campus or in line at the grocery store or having coffee with a friend at Starbucks? Do I speak with graciousness? Or do I string together thoughtless phases that disgrace the time spent uttering them?

A few weeks ago I watched The Two Towers, the second Lord of the Rings movie. In that movie Treebeard, who is an Ent, responds to Merry's urge to speed up the discussion of whether or not to go to war by saying:

"We never say anything unless it is worth taking a long time to say"

This statement communicates such a precious value of time and words. I have been thinking about the vernacular value I place on time and words. Do I value my words enough to speak only goods? Do I value time enough to only speak things I would not be embarrassed of if they showed up on Overheard@Biola?

People overhear things. Do you even realize what you are saying?

Relative Weather

I always enjoy finding useful apps for my blackberry that are free. Today I installed a handy-dandy weather app. However I noticed a little discrepancy between my phone's weather and my computer's weather. My phone said it was 60 degrees, and my computer said it was 73 degrees. Both agreed on the rain though. Out of curiosity, I went to both respective weather websites to check it out: The Weather Channel and Weather Underground. Still same difference of 13 degrees. To further investigate, I went to a third weather website, Weatherbug; it recorded 53 degrees. La Mirada is not that big...so I don't know why there is a 20 degree difference with all the weather reporting websites...what is a girl to do without a dependable weather forecast? How can I adequately prepare for a day when I don't know if I should wear shorts and a t-shirt or snow pants and a parka?

Well, one thing is for certain: it's raining :)

Mornings

Garfield the cat is a sage.

He has many words of wisdom concerning the morning:

If people were meant to pop out of bed, they would sleep in toasters

Mornings would be better if they started later...

As a college student, I am obligated to feel animosity towards the dawn of the day. The rising sun, by nature, is offensive to me because it means I must pry myself out of the safety of my bed and face the harsh reality of the world.

[Side pondering: If the sun, which is yellow, essentially means time to start another day, why does the yellow traffic light mean slow down?...someone should either address this concern to the traffic elves who change the signals or to the sun and request it to shine green so that we are not so confused and upset in the mornings when a yellow orb is telling us to GO GO GO!! ]

This past semester, my roommate has been practicing a fairly inconvenient habit of asking me questions right after I transition from my dreamworld to reality.

First of all, coming back to reality is:

• Sometimes refreshing (especially after I have dreamed about failing a project presentation...you could consider that an Amanda nightmare),
  
• sometimes confusing (especially after I have dreamed about having a very plausible conversation with a friend...did it really happen? not sure...), and
  
• sometimes heartbreaking (like when I dream that I am snowboarding at Crystal Mountain in Washington with the snow falling on my face and the chill air cutting through my jacket on the ski lift...only to wake up hot and sweating because it is 90 degrees in Southern California in February...)

Second of all, in all honesty, the only decision I want to make within an hour of waking up is which creamer to use in my coffee.

Also, if my classes don't start until 6pm, why would I want to get up at 5am to shuffle around all day watching random TV talk shows that air in the early morning when I could be watching a perfectly good movie screened on the inside of my eyelids....I have upgraded to HD dreams...via the addition of earplugs and the elimination of an alarm clock ;)

YET,

possibly my favorite time of the day is morning.

Mornings are quiet. Mornings are full of possibilities. You have not run out of time in the morning. You are not yet late in the morning. You have not stuck your foot in your mouth in the morning. Mornings are fresh. Mornings are still.

As I think of finishing college in the next couple of months and the desire to finish strong, I am struck by the need to start strong. My previous post was about the finish line of college. However, the finish line does not come to me, I have to go to it. As a natural born competitor, wandering aimlessly toward a goal is not good enough, actually it is shameful for me. I want to cross the finish line, if not first, at least at full speed, exerting all that I have.

Even though I will be committing treason by mingling with the enemy, I think I am growing to appreciate mornings. (I am not ready to say love, so we will not be celebrating Valentine's day together this year).

If mornings were a person, we would simply be on the "hi" status, meaning we acknowledge each other but are not quite ready to stop and chat...

The Finish Line

...is in sight. I see it. I don't know how I feel about it. But it is coming up.

:)