"My Mama always said life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get."

Oh Forest Gump...

Forest Gump is simply one of those movies you can watch over and over and over again...and then still wanna watch it some more. So many lessons can be learned from watching it, and if you are ever in a depressed, unsatisfying mood.. just turn it on... guarantee you, you will feel better.

No matter what Forrest was ever faced with..he pushed through and never let anything get him down..not the fact that his legs weren't "straight"... Jenny running away time and time again... Bubba dyin in Vietnam..his precious mom dying from "the" cancer on a Tuesday..and Jenny dying.

I just love this movie.. the aspect of how much history is involved is so neat to see how they tied it all into Forests life.

I've recently started watching this show called "The Buried Life". It's about 4 guys who three years ago set out on somewhat of a "mission" to complete 100 things they want to do before they die. They spent a couple of years planning it all out... the funding..each working several jobs to save up for an RV and then they were off. Steadily their exposure grew and recently they were given the opportunity to complete #53 on their list.. Have their own TV show. It amazes me that these guys..with little to no money just got sick of living everyday with no real purpose in life. They realized how we are only given one life to live.. with no guarantee of tomorrow.. so they asked a simple question to themselves.. "What do I want to do before I die?". & now here they are.. three years later and have completed a little less than half of the list.. some of the goals are as small as planting a tree... to something as extreme and crazy as attending a party at the playboy mansion. & I haven't even told you the best part... for every task they complete off their list, they meet a stranger and help them with whatever they want to do before they die. They helped one girl "queen" get a plane ticket to Denver, where her mother was buried several years ago after dying from a disease caught from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, LA. They have helped a father who hasn't spoken to his son in 18 years finally get the chance to hear his sons voice... and most recently they helped two life long friends travel back to a "man made" water hole they spent countless summers/years making memories with their other friends 50 years ago...and even found the other 2 friends and got them all together to re-visit the place they will always remember.

It makes me wonder..what do I wanna do before I die? I stated in my last blog that I recently started my bucket list. As I sit down and either add something to the list, or go over what I have already written... I can't help but think.. can I really even get one of these things accomplished? Everyone in life should have the opportunity to do everything they have always wanted to do before they die..especially before it's too late. So I urge anyone that reads this to just write down even a couple of things you have always wanted to do.. AND DO IT! :] (If only it was that easy..right..) but seriously..think of practical things. Want to take a dancing class? SIGN UP! Want to go skydiving? GO DO IT! Don't ever hold back, and always remember how important each day we have is. Don't waste it. So who cares if I don't even get to step foot in the Atlanta Braves clubhouse.. or meet John Mayer... I can go volunteer more.. read 50 books a year.. travel! I can't wait to get a little bit older..make more money and do some of these things. For the first time in a pretty long time, I'm excited for my future.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." Mark Twain

With love,

Dev

Procrastination & Self-Realization

Well.. just like I predicted.. I didn't exactly keep up with my blog as I had hoped. That's something I'm working on don't worry. I am so sick of procrastinating.. I do it WAY too much.. and what sucks the most about it is I feel like every day, I turn a little bit more into my mother, which unfortunately..is not a good thing. But for real, how come every time I have a pretty lengthy to-do list I barely even get one thing accomplished? Why do I put things off so much to where come deadline time I am pulling my hair out with frustration? These are just a couple of the MANY things I need to start working on. I've recently started a "bucket list" if you will... I'll share a few of the things I have thought of so far because I feel something as endearing and personal as a list of things I hope to accomplish before I die is kind of personal. A few that instantly came to my mind were ones anyone who knows me could probably guess..

1) Tour the Atlanta Braves clubhouse/walk on Turner Field. & 2) Meet John Mayer

I have been a big lover of JM music for sometime now.. I think the moment that made me fall in love with his music was his concert in 2007. I had always enjoyed his music, mainly his popular songs like Daughters, Your Body is a Wonderland & No Such Thing, but when I went to that concert in 07' I saw an artist on stage that played with so much passion...and intensity. Ever since that concert I can't help but become some what of an addict to his music. Some of my favorite JM songs are Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, Gravity, Bigger Than My Body & Vultures. I was lucky enough to attend his Concert in Birmingham a couple of weeks ago and I saw him in a completely different light then I ever thought I could. Sure.. the next day his whole Playboy incident came out into the spotlight but you know what.. it's okay. People make mistakes... (as I'm sure Tiger Woods can vouch for.. heh.) every single day people are realizing things about themselves whether its because of their own self-realization or incidents happening that make them look at themselves in a different light. Just like I have realized I need a lot of self healing with different habits I have found myself doing... I am pretty sure John realized he needs to just focus on what he does best. Make music.

Ever since the interview has become public he has tweeted maybe 2-4 tweets one including a link to the Issac Foundation. You see..over the past few years John has built a bond/friendship with a young boy named Issac who suffers from an autism spectrum disorder. Issac is from Canada, and JM's tour made a stop there near Valentines day and Issac made John a HEART. So yes.. criticize John Mayer all you want about his stupid mouth...but report on the good things he does too.. because the Issac Foundation sure can vouch for him.

Okay.. so apparently I ran off on a huge John Mayer tangent but this has been on my mind for quite some time now so I needed to get all of that out. Back to the list. If you are indeed reading this right now (which honestly as I write this..I don't expect a single person to) you might know that I am majoring in Nursing in college. #3 on my list would have to be to travel as a nurse across the U.S and other countries, simply saving lives. Which weirdly enough.. #4 on my list is to become a Doctor (A physicians Assistant will count too). So maybe I will travel as that.. guess I'll have to see how far I can push myself.

To sum this up I'll leave you with a few more random notes that have been on my mind the last couple of months...

1) I want a puppy

2) I moved back home from Birmingham

3) I live with 2 beautiful/lovely roommates who are also my best friends.

4) I twitter now..

5) I am realizing money does not grow on trees

6) I enjoy Biology class

7) Self-Consciousness sometimes gets the best of me

8) The Olympics are pretty bad ass...

9) I need to get closer to God..which is kind of ironic considering I just used the term bas ass...

10) I have had my Iphone for 2 years now and though I can sometimes be too obsessed with it... I love it almost as much as I love my friends...

11) I don't talk to my mom as much as I should...but I am working on it.

12) This winter has been extremely cold down south...

Hope I didn't bore you all too much!

With love..

Dev

P.S Thank you Katie Beard for inspiring me to get back to blogging with your most recent post.

Awkward lunches & Flu kits

Oh. My. Goodness.

So I'm sitting in my as usal boring sociology class, texting literally 5 or 6 people at once to hopefully make the time go by quicker. The time is 1:00..that means 45 minutes until I can finally leave and get something to eat! Because Lord knows I can't skip a meal. Well I'm so excited because I think Jessica can go get food with me at the HUC. Well..unfortunately her class starts when mine ends so I had to eat lunch by myself today. Which normally isn't a big deal, I actually enjoy eating by myself as loser-ish as that sounds because I highly enjoy the peace and quiet. That is until today.

So I make the decison of Taco Bell over Chik fila for once, mainly because the line for Chik Fila was way to long, and my lazy self did not want to stand in line. So anywho, I get my food and then the worst part comes...looking for a spot to sit. It's like a typical restaurant or fast food place. You have tables that seat up to 6 people, 4 people and then the few tables that only seat 2. Which considering the fact I'm eating by myself (which I am just sooo excited about) a 2 person table is the best choice for me. Well. There were none left.

I'm like greattttt. So my next option is a 4 person table, hopefully there is one empty. Well..ding ding ding. There was a perfect spot sitting right infront of the window looking towards University Blvd. Which is very very enjoyble for losers like myself, because I can watch those stupid people that just love to test the brightly lit big red hand (which obviously means DO NOT WALK) vs. waiting till the white little pedestrian man appears so you safetly cross the street. This is always just so fun to watch because you always have those impatient wanna be dare devil pedestrians who test the brightly lit big red hand and also test the the cars driving DOWNTOWN I'm no rocket scientist..but that could be one of the dumbest ideas. Of all streets you test..you choose one of the busiest downtown. You decide to make it a foot race between yourself & the 99' celica driving 15 miles over the speed limit. Very smart.

Let's have a lesson before I continue.

WHITE LITTLE PEDESTRIAN MAN=WALK












RED HAND=DO NOTWALK



Regardless, it's always enjoyable to watch & I usually always laugh at one point or another.

Alrighty. So back to the story. The only thing that concerned me about this 4 person seat I'm stuck with is someone else also not having a spot to sit. So they see me, the only loser in there eating alone and since they are obvioulsy also loser-ish and alone they figure hey, let's make a party out of it, I'll sit by her. Wonderful..

I'm on my last taco (yes I got 3, judge me I dare you.) & what do you know. As soon as I open the wrapper, a 5'10, dark brown greasy hair, very scruffy facial hair & glasses guy walks up to the table and makes a motion towards the seat in front and to the left of me. I'm like great. I am sitting here, enjoying my people watching and I now have to endure an awkard lunch. So I nod and smile becuase me being the person I am, this guy could of probably walked up to me on the streets and said he needs my other kidney and I would of probably donated it to him right then and there.

So of course I'm not just gonna say no, I mean I am taking up a 4 person seat, there is enough room & If I was in his position I would of done the same. I give a half hearted smile and let him know he can sit there. So he sits down. He has chik fil a by the way. I keep to myself, finishing up my taco, still people watching & I feel him just staring at me. I swear 9 times I looked over at him and he was already looking at me with some weird smile on his face kind of like a "I'm memorizing your face so I can come follow you into your dorm later tonight and kill you." It was one of those smiles. Kind of like this one that William Defoe is giving, except this guy's mouth was closed, but his eyes and everything looked just like this.


So yeah, needless to say I am now inhaling my taco.

& this guy was eating his Chik Fila very odd. He had like 10000 napkins and with each little chicken nugget he had he would wipe off with the napkin then eat it. I don't know. I'm not one to judge because of all people commenting on pickyness of food, I am the worlds worst. So anywho, about 10 minutes has gone by, no talking between myself and the creepy guy, yet he is still giving me that weird stare. Finally I sip the rest of my coke, trying my hardest not too laugh at loud at the situation I have put myself in by choosing the 4 person table & I start packing up my stuff to leave. I get up, put my purse on my shoulder and slowly begin to make my way away from the table. Not knowing whether I should say bye to his guy, or just get the heck out of there. I settle on a head nod & I leave!

So..I think I am clear from this creep..but no. I am walking towards that intersection of university blvd, which is where from my seat I could watch people (remember this guy was sitting in front of me, so now that I am outside in front of the window his back is now towards me.) well I walk past the window and happen to glance inside & he is turned around..staring at me still!!! WTF???????

I hurry towards the crosswalk ,where the big red hand is shining brightly with a 10 seconds timer going off beside it, meaning I have 10 seconds to cross the street before I become one of those idiotic, impatient, wanna be daredevils I spoke of earlier.

Needless to say I will avoid a 4 person table at all costs next time.

Now, onto my next topic, I wasn't planning on writing about this but it was so funny I figured what the heck. I'm having a pretty random day so far..might as well add to it! Well after finally escaping my awkward lunch, I start making my way towards my dorm so I can finally relax..since I did stay up till 4 a.m talking to someone about some serious RANDOM stuff. Between our mutual love for Dawson's Creek & certain things that bother us, it was for sure an interesting convo :]

So I walk inside, and decide to check my mailbox, hoping for maybe a letter or a notice letting me know I have a package to pick up! Well my wish came true. Tucked inside was a purple sheet of paper telling me to come to the front desk to pick up my package. I walk up to the two ladies sitting down with a huge smile on my face & begin to say "I have a package to pick up" Well..I haven't really spoken to anyone in about a hour or so..and I have been sick with flu like symptoms for 4 days now. I am in the coughing stage, so I have been coughing non stop the past 24 hours. So in my raspy stuffed up sounding voice I tell them I have a package to pick up. The ladies were shocked at how I sounded! (46 people have left my housing complex with Swine Flu in the past 36 hours.) I told them I have been sick for a few days now, & I doubt it's Swine Flu because I have not been running a fever that high.

So one lady goes to get my package, and the other informs me that she has just the thing to cheer me up. I get excited thinking it's you know candy or maybe an encouraging card or letter. Nope. I was wrong.

So I sign the paper to get my package, and the other lady hands me the "kit". I take both back to my room and of course I first rip open the package to see a CD I have been looking forward to receiving for quite some time now & a very nice note attached with it that alone made my day worthwhile :]

I then go to open the "kit" & one by one I take the contents out.

First..a box of Kleenexes.

A mask. The kind doctors wear, or more importantly the kind you see foreigners wearing to protect from swine flu.

5 SANI-CLOTH Germicidal disposable wipes.

A mini pack of kleenex's

2 antimicrobial hand wipes

2 cough drops

a disposable thermometer

2 advil

A package of 8 gatorade powder packs (wtf...)

& last but not least. 2 flyers talking about the flu and swine flu.



Thank you for keeping me safe & well

<3

& in honor of my new DMB cd.

"Do you know what it is
To feel the light of love inside you?
And all the darkness falls away
If you feel the way I feel
Then believe we have the answer
I've been searching for tonight " - DMB

1940's

Call me crazy, I don't care..
I remember being 10 years old, watching old movies & shows with my mom & wishing I could build a time machine to take me back to the 1940's.

I loved the fashion. Dresses that were hand stitched and laced. These were the times names such as Dior & Coco Chanel were booming. Oleg Cassini & Edith Head was the BCBG & Versace of today's time & man did they have some style.

It wasn't just the feminine dresses or the "New Look" inspired by Christian Dior that caught my eye during the decade...but it was the sense of simplicity.

Radio was the lifeline for Americans. Anything from soap operas to sporting events, to critical news reports & mystery dramas & children stories was what families listened to during the week. Don't get me wrong, I am for sure fortunate to be able to watch various baseball & football games on the snazzy HD flat screen TV most people now have in their households.

Let me be real though, was there more of an intensity on a sweltering summer night, gathered around the radio to hear the crack of a wooden bat smack the living crap out of a baseball hit by Joe DiMaggio or Ted Williams? Didn't think so.

The 1940's rank as one of the most spectacular decades in baseball history, despite the disruption of war. At the beginning of the 1940s, games were played in the daytime by white players and watched by fans who normally lived fairly close to the park. When the decade ended, night games were an accepted and crucial part of professional baseball... black players were not only participating, they were reshaping the game; and radio and modern-style marketing promotions were captivating fans in every part of the county.

Speaking of War...have I mentioned World War II? On the devasting day of December 7th, 1941, the Japanese military bombed the military base at Pearl Harbor. President Franklin D. Roosevelt said it best when in a press conference infront of Congress he stated that December 7th 1941 was a "a date which will live in infamy".

You might wonder why in the hell would I want to build a time machine & take myself back to that trying time in American History? The answer is simple. I wish I could of helped.

"Sure, we want to go home. We want this war over with. The quickest way to get it over with is to go get the bastards who started it. The quicker they are whipped, the quicker we can go home. The shortest way home is through Berlin and Tokyo. And when we get to Berlin, I am personally going to shoot that paper hanging son-of-a-bitch Hitler. Just like I'd shoot a snake!"
- General George s. Patton addressing his troops.



The last thing that makes me smile ear to ear about the 1940's is the FADS.

Working mothers, combined with another new phenomenon..the refrigerator. Yes..the refrigerator, led to the invention of the frozen dinners. Ya know..those things that now take up a whole section of the frozen foods in grocery stores. With the TV becoming available later on in the decade, their name changed to TV Dinners.

Tupperware & Aluminum foil was invented during this time. TUPPERWARE! I would DIE without that. Diners were also invented, and we all know when the 50's rolled around..you wern't "cool" unless you sported your favorite poodle skirt, hair tied back in a ribbon, sharing a milkshake with your hot greased boyfriend.

& lasast but not least..the invention of.. The Slinky.

[with Greenwall at top of a huge set of stairs leading to a temple]
Ace Ventura- I'll meet you at the bottom. There's still one more thing I must do before I go...
[close-up of slinky going down temple stairs]
Ace Ventura- Isn't this incredible? IT'S GONNA BE SOME KIND OF A RECORD! Everyone loves a Slinky, you gotta get a Slinky, Slinky, Slinky, go Slinky go!
[runs down to see Slinky stopped on second last step]
Ace Ventura- Awww man! Can you believe it. It was right there!

:]

My first one.

"So what, so I've got a smile on me, but it's hiding the quiet superstitions in my head" - John c. Mayer
I smile.
I smile on rainy days.
I smile to my professors when they are just so convinced they have this world figured out.
I smile when I'm listening to Mr.Mayer on my I-pod late at night.
I smile when I realized I aced a quiz or test that I felt like I was completely and utterly unprepared for.
I smile every single time I watch my Atlanta Braves pull of a win.
I smile when Hamlet (my stuffed animal pig) & my pink plush blanket is intertwined throughout my body while I am sleeping.
I smile every single time I drive into the city of Atlanta .
I smile when I get my late night craving of Ben & Jerry's cake batter ice cream.
I smile when I go visit my mom, and my yellow lab Lucy runs at the door when I walk in & she has the weirdest yet cutest grin I have EVER seen.
I smile when I leave my moms after only a few days of visiting, and Lucy precedes to bite the handle to my suitcase so I can't get out of the door....

I could go on and on about things that make me smile, but lately..I find myself actually trying to smile. It no longer comes natural... & that is something I am trying to understand.

I've started a blog before, about a year or two ago & I usually quit after two or three posts. Maybe this time will be different!