an actual conversation taking place at sonic

me: I'd like a medium flurry, please.
order-taking girl: Okay. What flavor would you like?
me: What flavors do you have?
girl: Every flavor.
me: Strawberry, then.
girl: We don't have strawberry.
me: Oh. Well, what do you have, then?
girl: All the flavors.
me: Okay... How about raspberry?
girl: We don't have raspberry.
me: Well, what flavors do you have?
girl: I told you, we have everything.
me: But you don't have strawberry?
girl: Right.
me: Or raspberry?
girl: Nope.
me: But you have every flavor.
girl (making no attempt to hide her annoyance): Yes. That's what I said.
me: What's your favorite flavor, then?
girl: Oh, I don't know. I like them all.
me: Never mind. I'll just have an ocean water, thank you very much.

oops

Don't you hate it when you're walking through a store and you forget to look where you're going and run into a display of dishes and break them? And then everyone turns to stare at you?

Me too.

and a few more....

Our Inca Trail hiking group at the summit on day 2:



Making an offering for safe passage:



Feeding the alpacas. I ate alpaca later on - YUMMY!



Standing by the temple of the moon. These stones weigh 50-60 tons apiece, and the Incas managed to get them across the valley and up onto the mountainside. Incredible:



Me and Erin with Harry, our trail guide:



Me and Erin on the boat to the floating islands. We weren't just wearing those hats because we thought they were cool. It really was that cold:



These are the UGLIEST dogs I've ever seen in my life. They have no hair except for on their heads:



Me and Erin with the cute old woman we stayed with in Lima. I think she was about 3 feet tall:

a few peru pictures (finally)

Pretty flowers at the ruins in Lima:



The view from our restaurant in Cusco:



Famous 12-sided Inca stone:



Me with the nice woman who let me hold her baby goat:



I have a picture of my brother on his mission standing in this exact pose in this exact location:



On the Inca Trail:



View of the ruins from our campsite on night 3:



On day 4, we hiked for 2 hours, then stopped to watch the sunrise:



Standing in front of the 14-day-old llama at Machu Picchu:



View of Machu Picchu:



On the floating islands on Lake Titicaca. The islands that aren't anchored just float around the lake. A girl in our group stepped on a soft spot and fell through:



Feeding the guinea pigs:

who loves my new design?

ME! ME!! MEEE!!!

things that have made me happy

Receiving a text message from Brett, an old friend that I haven't heard from in a year and a half. Remembering how we became such good friends in such a short amount of time. Remembering how, when I missed the ward parties because I was studying for a test, he would bring a plate of food over to my house so I didn't miss out. And how he once brought me bratwurst, and I didn't have the heart to tell him I hate bratwurst so I ate it anyway. I love Brett!!

Receiving an email from Charlotte informing me that my new title is "mistress of willpower". I've never been named mistress of anything. This is very fun.

Solidifying plans to go to New Hampshire next weekend. I can't wait!!!

Knowing that Steve is coming back from Prague today to hang out with me.

Justifying buying a pretty new yellow dress by riding to Philadelphia with a group of friends instead of driving by myself. The money that I saved on gas went to purchasing said dress.

The wedding reception on a boat at Penn's Landing last night. Although the groom was two hours late to the wedding ceremony and the entire wedding party was an hour and a half late to the reception, it was still a delightful evening.

Painting my nails.

And lots more...

hot fudge sundaes

Today I've really been craving a pistachio ice cream hot fudge sundae. Which reminded me of the cruise I took with my sisters. And how we ate them every night after dessert. And how I accidentally went skinny dipping in the ocean in Cozumel. But how nobody saw because we were the only people on the beach.

And then I missed my sisters.

The end.

take some advice

Sometimes I really wish I could go back in time and give my teenaged self some advice. I think that most of it would be fashion advice, not because my high school years were horrific because I had no sense of style, but because I'm currently organizing all of my high-school photos and am having a really hard time finding any that I actually want to put in a photo album that people are actually going to see.

I would start off by telling myself that it's a really bad idea to wear a mustard-yellow shirt on picture day. It's a bad idea any day of the year, really, but if you wear it on picture day, your future posterity will forever know that when you wore this shirt, your skin and hair magically took on the exact same shade. I realize that since you're not an iguana, you had no reason to suspect that you could actually change colors, but if you had just taken the time to look in them mirror, could have saved yourself a lot of embarrassment.

Also, the green shoes were just a bad idea. First of all, you don't own anything that goes with these green shoes (besides the t-shirt your friend's dad brought home from work, which was also a bad idea), and second of all, they're just ugly. No matter what you're wearing them with.

You should also know that being a blonde really isn't all it's cracked up to be. So you don't need to try so hard. And you especially shouldn't trust your little sister to dye your hair blonde two days before you move to a new school while her boyfriend is over and she is clearly very distracted.

But, since I've now grown up and am no longer so shallow as I once was, I'll give you some non-fashion advice. If you're pretty sure he's not that into you, don't let him kiss you, no matter how much fun it may be. (This is advice that I still need to hear occasionally.)

Other than that, you've done a fairly decent job of things.

Dear BYU Engineering friends,

Um, where are we going next year? We were supposed to decide the location of our annual trip DURING the previous years trip. We've already broken that rule, and it's only year 2!!! We're doomed.

I vote for somewher east coast. Just so you know.

And don't ask me why I didn't just send an email. I don't understand it, either.

Love,
Poodle

no thank you

In the spirit of giving thanks, I'd like to also list a few people (and inanimate objects) that I would most certainly not like to thank.

The girl who got in her parents' car, let off the brake, and watched it roll backwards into my car in the church parking lot last week. If she weren't so cute, and the incident had left a larger dent, I might even be upset about it.

The person who refuses to speak to me for reasons that, since you are currently not speaking to me, I am completely unaware of. You know who you are. Oh, wait. You don't read this. But doesn't change the fact that you know who you are.

The bright light right outside my bedroom window that keeps my room illuminated all night long.

Bryan, because, despite suggestions from his blogging audience and the indication that he would work on it, he still has not added comments to his blog. Really, this is not the Bryan I know. The Bryan I know takes action! The Bryan I know never settles for less than the best! So what happened here? (I still love you, Bry.)

And, so you don't think that I'm completely negative, because really, I'm a positive sort of girl, here are a few more that I'd sincerely like to thank.

My pomade, for making my hair look so great today. (Really, you should see it. It looks fantastic.)

My baby sister, for being the coolest 17-year-old I know and offering to fly out here to help me move down to Georgia in August.

My ward, for giving me a candybar for Father's Day yesterday, just because they know how much I love Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Yum.

My old friend Ben, for naming his new baby girl Sadie so that when he told me the name I didn't have to just pretend to think it was cute. I'm really just not good at that. At all.

And that's all.

good rule of thumb

If your roommate is conducting a full-fledged investigation because she thinks that somebody may have walked off with her copy of last month's Ensign, not because she needs to use this Ensign to write a talk, or even just because she wants to read it, but simply because there's no reason for somebody to walk off with something that's not theirs, even if it is only a copy of last month's Ensign, it's probably a good idea to not ever touch any of her stuff, no matter how "communal" it may seem.

Just in case anyone may ever find themselves in this situation.

thank you

Here is a list of people I would like to thank, just because they're so fantastic.

Erin, because not only did she buy me lots and lots of Gatorade to keep me hydrated after my little run-in with the Peruvian empanada, but she was smart enough to buy it in the little sport bottles, allowing me to drink without actually sitting up. (At the time, sitting up exhausted all of the energy I had. Bad news.)

Target, for selling glow-stick earrings. No matter how bad my day is, I can't see those and NOT laugh. (For those who don't know, during the summertime I develop a rather embarrassing fixation with glow-in-the-dark and light-up apparel.)

My dad, because it's father's day tomorrow and I'll feel guilty if I don't include him in this list. Plus, he really is just great.

Matthew, the Air Force investigator guy who interviewed me for security clearance purposes. While I thought the entirety of the interview would include questions such as Is said person a threat to national security? and Do you have any reason to believe that said person is plotting with foreign forces to overthrow the United States Government? Matthew made the interview much more entertaining for me. Who knew that investigators would ask Can you tell me anything embarrassing about said person? Or ask about said person's past dating relationships and how they ended. These questions can make for pretty entertaining stories, so we really had a rather enjoyable time with this interview.

Barnes and Noble, just because they have their discount literature section and super comfortable chairs.

That's all for now.

storytime

Okay, so I know a few days ago I said that I'm back, but then disappeared again into the world of zero posts. But this time, I'm back for real. I just needed some time to return to my real life and pick up where I had left off. But now my life is picked up again (for the most part) and the parts that haven't been picked up were intentionally left lying. So everything is in order and I am again ready to entertain.

But first, I just have to let everyone know that my sister heard her baby's heartbeat for the first time yesterday! So that's exciting news for us. I think it's a girl, but she informed me that the mother is the only one who is allowed to have feelings about that until the sex is actually determined. Which won't be for a while still.

So. I was going to tell you a story. I would tell you a fantastic story about the end of my vacation, but I still have that empanadas-are-evil-and-there-are-still-lots-of-foods-that-make-me-ill feeling, so I think it'll be a few days before I really remember just how fantastic my vacation was. But when that happens, I will show lots of pictures and fill you all in on the delights that make up Peru.

Instead, I'll tell you a dating story, because they're always fun. Now, the last date I went on was last month, and that boy is now engaged. (Not to me.) So instead, I'll tell you about Ken. Ken was an engineer, and he and one of his engineering friends thought it would be a good idea to go on a double date with me and my sister. I spent the evening suppressing the urge to introduce myself as Barbie to everyone we met, because honestly, the only Ken I had ever heard of before this one was Barbie's boyfriend. But my sister informed me that the Barbie joke wasn't that funny, so I gave up on that. But kept telling it to myself over and over again, which resulted in spontaneous and unexplained bursts of laughter, which I believe Ken found to be quite a nuisance.

Well, I actually think that's all I can remember of my date with Ken and his engineering friend. Sorry it wasn't a better story. Maybe tomorrow...

one more question

So, what is our nationality? We call ourselves Americans, but technically people from South America consider themselves Americans too. So are we United States of Americans? United Staters? I really think we need to come up with something, don't you?

dear person who keeps finding my blog by searching for poodlethenoodle,

Who are you?

Love,

Poodle

i'm back!

I know, I know, you're all having parties in your little work cubicles because you're so excited. I'm that excited too, so you're not alone.

The flight home was fairly uneventful. (Meaning I didn't get sick on the person sitting next to me.) So that was good. But then I arrived at the Washington Dulles International Airport, and since my friend's sister couldn't pick me up, I hopped in a cab to take me on the five-minute drive to her house, since that's where my car was parked. So the cabbie started driving away, and asked me where I was headed. I told him the name of the street, and that it was only five minutes from the airport. He, of course, didn't know where Viking street was located, and I, of course, didn't have the EXACT ADDRESS, and although I reassured him very adamantly that I knew EXACTLY how to get there and that it was only FIVE MINUTES from the airport and that I would pay him for every second that I was in his car, he stopped the cab in the middle of the road, pulled my bag out of the trunk, threw it on the curb, and said "No address, I no take you."

I thought for sure that this must be some sort of joke. It wasn't. He was very serious about it. So I did what any normal person would do and dragged my sad little self back to the airport and promptly had a nervous breakdown. At least until a very kind man and his very kind father took pity on me and helped me make up an address that would satisfy the cabbie at least long enough to get me far enough away from the airport that he couldn't just dump me on the side of the road. I am eternally grateful to this kind man and his kind father.

I finally made it home to find that my new roommate had packed up everything I owned that I had been keeping around the house and left it all in boxes right outside my bedroom door. I took that as my cue to move out.

So, now I'm in a new apartment (with two closets!) and feeling well enough to eat pudding and grapes. Yum.

SICK

i am absolutely, miserably, horredously sick. i was supposed to come home tonight, but i'm too weak to even stand up, so i won't come home until tomorrow. so please, everybody, feel sorry for me. i need it.

Part III: The Inca Trail

This was one of the coolest things I've ever done. If you get the chance, go for it. But if you're planning on being in Peru for 2 weeks and are only hiking for 4 days, DO NOT BRING ALL TWO WEEKS WORTH OF STUFF ON THE TRAIL WITH YOU. Find a place to leave it. Trust me on this one. And, no matter how avid a reader you are, there is absolutely no reason to bring 6 books. Ever. I arrived at the trailhead to discover that my pack was twice the size of my fellow hikers. I did a serious evaluation of how much I really wanted everything in my pack. Quite a few items of clothing lost that battle, and the Peruvian women were glad to take them off my hands for me. I also dumped a couple of books, which I swore I would never ever in my life do, and even gave away my makeup bag, which goes against everything that is Poodle. But it was worth it.

Day 1:
We met our hiking group, which included me, Erin, a man named Brian from Washington who thought it would be a great idea to RUN the entire way. And he was in good enough shape to do it. Brian's wife Kelly pretended that she was out of shape and would be slow. I believed her for about 2 minutes until Brian told me that she had recently run a marathon without training. And she could even walk the next day. Then there were 4 Peruvian engineers from Lima. Karen looked surprisingly like my friend Carey, Gabby is incapable of walking downhill without tripping (which is kind of a problem when you're trying to hike through the Andean mountains) and Manuel and Reynoldo took turns trying to keep Gabby from injuring herself.

After a day of hiking, I arrived at our campsite fairly exhausted, only to read my guidebook, which described day 1 as a "leisurely stroll" compared to day 2's "greuling climb." HA. During dinner, Harry, our trail guide, told us a story about how the Inca trail is haunted by the ghosts of dead porters. The story wasn't at all scary, and nobody was sure if they should pretend to be scared or not, so we sat in silence instead. That was pretty funny.

Day 2:
I was awakened at THREE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING by the rooster crowing right outside my tent. Whoever said that roosters crow to announce the sunrise LIED. And just so you know, horrendous cramps plus swollen hands and feet from the altitude plus a 4000 foot climb all before lunch equal one tired little hiker. (That would be me.) But, GLORIA, I made it to the summit! And the view was absolutely incredible and totally worth it. Along the way, I ran into one VERY ANGRY hiker whose group had turned back because the steep climb and altitude were too much for them. I also met perky Caroline, who didn't seem to understand why I struggled to climb as fast as she did when I was carrying a 35 lb pack and she was carrying nothing but a water bottle. I learned that apparently I looked like I was going to die the whole trek, because even groups that I was passing asked me if I was going to be okay. }

At dinner that evening, I introduced our Peruvian friends to the Beach Boy's Surfin' Safari (the line that says ...from Hawaii to the shores of Peru...) which they thought was fantastic, and then fell asleep promptly at 8 pm.

Day 3:
Everything about it was marvelous. There was an incredibly steep climb in the morning, but it was only a couple of hours instead of all day. We got to sleep in until 6:00, explore some ruins, hike through a tunnel, and learn the names of all the wildflowers that grow in the area.

That night at dinner, Erin and I tried to teach our fellow hikers how to play Zip-Bong, which originated in State College and is a riot. They decided they weren't quite drunk enough for that.

TO BE CONTINUED.....

Part II: Cusco

Twenty hours on a bus is a very long time. That's all I have to say about that.

Although on this bus ride, we were introduced to what we now refer to as Apple Goo, which is the worst dessert you'll ever try. So don't try it. It almost tastes like melted jello, but it's just a little bit worse. We also met a very kind British man who helped us find a cab and hostel for the night. Right before he left to try San Pedro, which is a cactus that causes hallucinations. We wished him the best of luck in that adventure.

Some of the highlights of Cusco included the view from our hotel (this was BY FAR my favorite city view ever), finding a nice place to stay for only $4 a night, and the food. I also gained a very strong testimony of the absolute beauty of Snickers bars. Paired with some fresh mango juice, they make a rather delightful breakfast. Or lunch. Whichever you prefer. We took a couple of walking tours, during which we only got lost twice and were able to see the famous twelve-sided Inca stone and several cathedrals. My favorite part of these tours, though, was the guidebook, which described the market as "smelly, noisy, and full of fat women in large hats" and warned us "if you see a dog, throw a rock at it - they're pests." I learned the difference between a llama and an alpaca, and met a kind woman who let me hold her baby goat.

The scariest moment of the trip was when a couple of Peruvian men offered themselves to us. At a reasonable price, of course. After that, we found a new route to our hotel. But don't worry, we came out unscathed.

your own peruvian guidebook

PART 1: LIMA

The trip started out fantastically, since my travelling companion has connections in Lima (ie, our very own tourguide and a free place to stay.) We arrived in Lima at around midnight and experienced the Peruvian nightlife until 3:30 the next morning. One of the scarier moments occurred right when we landed, and got into a taxi with no seatbelts to drive around a city in which traffic signals and the whole driving on the right side of the road idea are apparently completely optional. SCARY!!

The next day we visited the ruins of an ancient civilization whose god was female, which meant that they only sacrificed women by drugging them and burying them alive. Delightful. The ruins themselves were pretty cool, though.

While in Lima, I had to use all of my willpower not to buy every food item available, since my absolute favorite part of visiting a foreign country is trying the food. Although I did receive several shouts of I LOVE YOU from the salesmen when I turned down their offers to buy their products. So that was sweet. I've had a hard enough time getting my boyfriends to say that to me. Who knew it could be so easy?