Opening night
Hannah and I were preparing to go onstage and throw our street higher than all the other streets (it was a competition). We were getting all pumped up and excited, so we decided to do our new secret handshake for good luck. Of course, knowing us, this secret handshake involves a high five. Also knowing us, our high fives are never very good ones. It's a mystery. So there we were, standing immediately offstage, getting ready to go on. We turned to each other. "Share the love!" we whispered. Of course, everything went silent. No one on stage was speaking, and there was no music. We high fived each other. It was the loudest high five ever (well, I would say second loudest high five ever. The first place going to the high five Mark and I did in the hallway during small ensemble practice...but I digress). So everyone looked at us, we felt embarrassed. And also kinda bad. It was pretty loud. But no one said anything.
Closing night
We threw our street for the last time, and I thought it went really well. I ran across the stage, set my street down, then I had to run upstage and assume a freezing position, in order to get out of the spotlight. When the stage Nauvoo came back to life, I unfroze and ran back to my street so I could straighten it out a bit before exiting the stage. Unfortunately, it got stuck in a crack on the stage. Hannah and I both started pulling on our own ends, and we freed our street, but right as we were straightening it, a girl (I think a Sciamarilla) was running upstage. She unfortunately ran into our street. And tripped. And fell. I felt bad.
Showing posts with label Natalie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Natalie. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Home again, home again.
So, I had planned on coming home and blogging about everything hilarious that happened on the train ride, but we ended up sleeping through most of the trip. Seriously. We probably slept through 75% of the journey (well, I don't know actual numbers. But we slept a lot). However, I did remember a couple of funny things that happened in Nauvoo. I will blog about them soon.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
We aren't going, we're coming...home.
Well, I guess this is farewell from Nauvoo. We just checked out of our room and we'll catch the train in a few hours for the long ride home. It's been great. I'll be thinking of other funny experiences we had here during the train ride, and I'll blog them when we get home. Plus we might have more funny train stories.
Friday, July 13, 2007
The story of how Hannah and I became Irish dancers
Someone recently asked us our history of how we became Irish dancers. This is our story.
We were walking down the street one day, when suddenly a man from Ireland tripped over his own ghillies, fell into the street, and got hit by a car. Of course, Hannah and I rushed over and started giving him CPR. We took turns for about 30 minutes, and finally he was in the clear. We had saved his life, but of course we couldn't accept a reward for that. We were just doing our civic duty. He was very glad that we had helped him in his hour (or rather, half hour) of need, so he offered and we accepted his offer of free Irish lessons. And that's how it happened.
We were walking down the street one day, when suddenly a man from Ireland tripped over his own ghillies, fell into the street, and got hit by a car. Of course, Hannah and I rushed over and started giving him CPR. We took turns for about 30 minutes, and finally he was in the clear. We had saved his life, but of course we couldn't accept a reward for that. We were just doing our civic duty. He was very glad that we had helped him in his hour (or rather, half hour) of need, so he offered and we accepted his offer of free Irish lessons. And that's how it happened.
A mistaken identity
Hannah and I were practicing the "Happy Birthday" song in spanish. She was sitting on her bed facing the window, and I was sitting on my bed facing her. We were singing along, and it sounded great, but then Hannah made this noise like "aaaahhhh". It was a blissful sound. I looked at her face and noticed that she was looking out the window. I concluded she must have seen someone who she thought was very attractive, namely our "elder brother" S. So I quickly turned to look out the window to see who she saw, but the only person in view was Ken. He plays Brigham Young, and he's very nice, but he's probably old enough to be our father or great-uncle four times removed (no, just kidding), plus he has long Brigham-like hair. I was shocked. In all the time we've spent together recently, we've shared a lot of secrets. But Hannah had never told me about that.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
A few random experiences
Well, this past week has been so crazy and all the days have just been running together, so I decided to ditch the idea of writing day by day summaries and simple tell a couple stories.
The paradigm is shifting
It's no secret that Hannah and I were having trouble making friends here in Nauvoo the first little while. The first person we really tried to befriend resisted all our friendly efforts. I don't want to share his name, so we'll call him "William" (after our former president Bill Clinton). We tried to talk to Will at meals and stuff the first few days, but he was standoffish. We attributed it to post-mission shyness, as he recently got home from a mission. But then he started getting to be really good friends with these other girls, and it's a long story, but it was odd. We ditched the idea of making friends with people, especially William.
But yesterday we were walking down to the grove and Will was halfway down the hill. He turned around and looked at us, so we waved, but then he stopped. Will just stood there until we reached him and he started walking and talking with us. I was stunned into silence.
It happened again that night at the pageant. Let's just say that we were very surprised.
Ageless
Apparently it's hard for people to tell what age I am. Usually they'll assume I'm older, like return missionary age. This has made for a lot of confused people and some very awkward moments immediately following a waltz. That's all I have to say on the subject currently.
Ethan Frome
I might have already mentioned that there is a hill here that looks, I'm sure, just like the hill that Ethan and Mattie slid down during their attempted double suicide. Well, there is this picture that we have seen everywhere. It's a picture of a man (or maybe two) in a wagon in the snow. It reminds me of Ethan Frome. But seriously, we see this picture everywhere. There are multiple copies hanging in the JSA not even six feet away from each other. I want to know why it's so important.
The paradigm is shifting
It's no secret that Hannah and I were having trouble making friends here in Nauvoo the first little while. The first person we really tried to befriend resisted all our friendly efforts. I don't want to share his name, so we'll call him "William" (after our former president Bill Clinton). We tried to talk to Will at meals and stuff the first few days, but he was standoffish. We attributed it to post-mission shyness, as he recently got home from a mission. But then he started getting to be really good friends with these other girls, and it's a long story, but it was odd. We ditched the idea of making friends with people, especially William.
But yesterday we were walking down to the grove and Will was halfway down the hill. He turned around and looked at us, so we waved, but then he stopped. Will just stood there until we reached him and he started walking and talking with us. I was stunned into silence.
It happened again that night at the pageant. Let's just say that we were very surprised.
Ageless
Apparently it's hard for people to tell what age I am. Usually they'll assume I'm older, like return missionary age. This has made for a lot of confused people and some very awkward moments immediately following a waltz. That's all I have to say on the subject currently.
Ethan Frome
I might have already mentioned that there is a hill here that looks, I'm sure, just like the hill that Ethan and Mattie slid down during their attempted double suicide. Well, there is this picture that we have seen everywhere. It's a picture of a man (or maybe two) in a wagon in the snow. It reminds me of Ethan Frome. But seriously, we see this picture everywhere. There are multiple copies hanging in the JSA not even six feet away from each other. I want to know why it's so important.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Days Ten and Eleven -- Saturday and Sunday
All I have to say for Saturday is that there is this very chivalrous young man here. Hannah and I were in the internet room blogging and I was kneeling because there was no chair, but this boy went out and found me a chair. It was very kind of him.
This morning (Sunday) Hannah and I were able to sleep in later than usual because we didn't have a rehearsal to be at (I just have to preface this story a bit by saying that I become paranoid in random spurts. Bad). I had been paranoid the night before, so I locked our door. We rarely lock our door. When we woke up at 9 AM, we decided to go shower. So we got out of bed and left the room. Apparently we had had too much sleep. We forgot the key. So we stood in the hall for 45 minutes (in our pj's!) waiting for Elder Graves to come unlock our door. Then he ran into our room and started opening the windows the "perfect amount" and adjusting our fan to allow for maximum cooling to take place. But we wanted him to leave because we wanted to shower, and we were in our pajamas.
This morning (Sunday) Hannah and I were able to sleep in later than usual because we didn't have a rehearsal to be at (I just have to preface this story a bit by saying that I become paranoid in random spurts. Bad). I had been paranoid the night before, so I locked our door. We rarely lock our door. When we woke up at 9 AM, we decided to go shower. So we got out of bed and left the room. Apparently we had had too much sleep. We forgot the key. So we stood in the hall for 45 minutes (in our pj's!) waiting for Elder Graves to come unlock our door. Then he ran into our room and started opening the windows the "perfect amount" and adjusting our fan to allow for maximum cooling to take place. But we wanted him to leave because we wanted to shower, and we were in our pajamas.
Day Nine -- Friday
Well, today was opening night. No more laugh attacks-that was a really good thing. Nothing really happened today other than the fact that we opened. I ran into (not literally) Kirk, a boy I met at the stake dance festival and have seen at every stake dance since, but he never remembers my name. It's not a big deal.
Also-the Lusvardi family is here because Brother Lusvardi is head of the missionary department. So of course I had to find Cameron and make fun of him a little bit, reminisce about group piano lessons a little bit, and remark on his age. He's only 15, you know. Even though everyone thinks he's 18, at least. Well, Hannah and I can certainly relate.
Also-the Lusvardi family is here because Brother Lusvardi is head of the missionary department. So of course I had to find Cameron and make fun of him a little bit, reminisce about group piano lessons a little bit, and remark on his age. He's only 15, you know. Even though everyone thinks he's 18, at least. Well, Hannah and I can certainly relate.
Day Eight -- Thursday
The blue cast arrived yesterday and today. Hannah and I found that we are perfectly capable of being friends with others and carrying on normal conversations. We were just put in the wrong cast. The blue cast members (and the work crew) will talk to us, but we have problems talking to members of the red cast. Who knows why. Anyway, it was quite a relief to discover that we are not scary or intimidating.
At the dress rehearsal tonight, Hannah and I had an attack of laughter. At the most inconvenient time, of course. We tried to cover our laughter and make it pass as sobbing. Not sure if it worked, but that's all I really want to say on the subject. It was bad.
At the dress rehearsal tonight, Hannah and I had an attack of laughter. At the most inconvenient time, of course. We tried to cover our laughter and make it pass as sobbing. Not sure if it worked, but that's all I really want to say on the subject. It was bad.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Day Seven -- Fourth of July!
*Sidenote: I wore my red white and blue crocs today.*
Street throwing
There is a part in the pageant where Hannah and I have to throw this long piece of blue cloth in the hair, hold the ends, and run across the stage so it spreads out on the stage forming Granger Street on the map of cloth roads. We were in a cast meeting today and the choreographers were saying how we (in general) needed to work on our street throwing. Hannah and I were both thinking they were talking about us and thinking of how we could do it better. But then Jared said, "And can I just say that Granger street is amazing?!" So, we felt pretty good about ourselves.
Hannah has a new nickname
We've been pretty disturbed lately at our inability to make friends. We try, but no one is responsive to our attempts to be friendly. We've been feeling like we have personality defects, or we're scary and intimidating or something. So we've been confused. There's boy on the work crew named Kevin, though, who has been easy to work with. When we asked him about his Disneyland music days shirt, he answered our questions, and then kept the conversation going, like friends do. We told him our names, but he told us he's bad with names. So we decided to play a little trick on him. Like friends do. This was yesterday.
This morning when we saw Kevin he (very excitedly) yelled, "Hi Hannah and Natalie!" We looked at him confused for a minute. "What did you call me?" asked Hannah. "Um...Hannah?" Kevin replied. "Oh, you mean Jenna!" Hannah and I both said. Kevin acted very disturbed by this. He was sad that he had "forgotten" one of our names.
Of course, we started feeling bad about this. So we looked for Kevin all day to remedy the situation and relieve our consciences. But he was nowhere to be found. We started thinking that we had lost a friend. Luckily, when we started our evening run through, Kevin appeared, so we went up, told him the truth, and apologized. I think he has forgiven us, and we are on the path to making friends.
Street throwing
There is a part in the pageant where Hannah and I have to throw this long piece of blue cloth in the hair, hold the ends, and run across the stage so it spreads out on the stage forming Granger Street on the map of cloth roads. We were in a cast meeting today and the choreographers were saying how we (in general) needed to work on our street throwing. Hannah and I were both thinking they were talking about us and thinking of how we could do it better. But then Jared said, "And can I just say that Granger street is amazing?!" So, we felt pretty good about ourselves.
Hannah has a new nickname
We've been pretty disturbed lately at our inability to make friends. We try, but no one is responsive to our attempts to be friendly. We've been feeling like we have personality defects, or we're scary and intimidating or something. So we've been confused. There's boy on the work crew named Kevin, though, who has been easy to work with. When we asked him about his Disneyland music days shirt, he answered our questions, and then kept the conversation going, like friends do. We told him our names, but he told us he's bad with names. So we decided to play a little trick on him. Like friends do. This was yesterday.
This morning when we saw Kevin he (very excitedly) yelled, "Hi Hannah and Natalie!" We looked at him confused for a minute. "What did you call me?" asked Hannah. "Um...Hannah?" Kevin replied. "Oh, you mean Jenna!" Hannah and I both said. Kevin acted very disturbed by this. He was sad that he had "forgotten" one of our names.
Of course, we started feeling bad about this. So we looked for Kevin all day to remedy the situation and relieve our consciences. But he was nowhere to be found. We started thinking that we had lost a friend. Luckily, when we started our evening run through, Kevin appeared, so we went up, told him the truth, and apologized. I think he has forgiven us, and we are on the path to making friends.
Day Six -- Tuesday
Hannah and I were sitting waiting for rehearsal to start when the man playing Parley P. Pratt approached us with an interesting reprimand. "Um, there have been a lot of complaints that you two are too happy all the time. Could you tone it down a little? This is Nauvoo. Could you act like it and just endure?" I hadn't realized that our constant laughing and smiling was noticed by others. It was interesting.
We were doing a service project. The task was unloading and setting up hundreds of metal folding chairs at the pageant site. The chairs were in huge trailers. The boys unloading the trailers were getting the chairs out from front to back (it was really the only way to unload). The trailer was filled to the brim with chairs. When the boys got to a certain point, all the weight was at the back of the trailer so it tipped over. At first it was scary because we thought the boys might be hurt, but they came out and waved like they were in a parade.
We were going into the main part of the JSA to return a CD playing, As we walked over, there was an old man mowing the lawn on a riding mower. I tried the big door but when I pulled it didn't open. You would think that it was locked, right? So Hannah and I just stood there looking lost. The old man noticed this and called out, "is it locked?" and then, without waiting for a response, he started driving over to us, and he was going fast. It was quite surprising. So he breezed past us, grabbed the door handle, and pulled the door right open. Embarrassing.
We were doing a service project. The task was unloading and setting up hundreds of metal folding chairs at the pageant site. The chairs were in huge trailers. The boys unloading the trailers were getting the chairs out from front to back (it was really the only way to unload). The trailer was filled to the brim with chairs. When the boys got to a certain point, all the weight was at the back of the trailer so it tipped over. At first it was scary because we thought the boys might be hurt, but they came out and waved like they were in a parade.
We were going into the main part of the JSA to return a CD playing, As we walked over, there was an old man mowing the lawn on a riding mower. I tried the big door but when I pulled it didn't open. You would think that it was locked, right? So Hannah and I just stood there looking lost. The old man noticed this and called out, "is it locked?" and then, without waiting for a response, he started driving over to us, and he was going fast. It was quite surprising. So he breezed past us, grabbed the door handle, and pulled the door right open. Embarrassing.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Day Five -- Monday
Stick Pariahs
Today at rehearsal it was characteristically hot for Nauvoo. So it was pretty sunny during our morning practice. Everyone was wearing their sunblock, hats, and glasses. That's when it happened. We saw Alex wearing pariah glasses! We told him the story of the glasses and promised to teach him the stick. Then we were talking to a kid in our district and he was a pretty good at the first part of the stick. We're going to get him to perform the stick with Alex in the talent show. It will be amazing. Not to mention hilarious. Did I mention there's a new part of the stick dance?
An awkward FHE
Today at dinner there was this random kid. He was wearing a little mermaid shirt (yeah, a little odd), he had a brown afro, and he had recently graduated from college. He was basically a "director" of a touring "children's theater" who had stopped by Nauvoo to "volunteer" for a few days. He was really weird. Anyway, we were sitting by Sister Gee and she told him that we were going to the single adult FHE and he should "go too" (imagine it with a Syd Riggs voice)! We left dinner at this point. Later that evening Hannah and I were walking to FHE trying to find the home it was at. We were a bit lost, wandering around Nauvoo, so we stopped on a corner and pulled out our map, trying to figure out where we were going when who should pull up beside us but random kid. Brian. Unfortunately, he was wearing pariah glasses. So he asked us where the Allen's home was and we pointed him a random direction. Then he started offering us a "lift to the Allen's" but I said, "No, thank you. We are just taking the 'scenic detour'." So he drove away and we kept walking. But we arrived at the exact same time as Brian! Turned out that we were the first 3 to family home evening, and the Allen's were still eating dinner, so we had to sit in the living room alone with Brian. Hannah and I took turns asking him questions in order to give each other a break from listening to him. He was extremely stuck on himself and very annoying. We were glad to leave.
Today at rehearsal it was characteristically hot for Nauvoo. So it was pretty sunny during our morning practice. Everyone was wearing their sunblock, hats, and glasses. That's when it happened. We saw Alex wearing pariah glasses! We told him the story of the glasses and promised to teach him the stick. Then we were talking to a kid in our district and he was a pretty good at the first part of the stick. We're going to get him to perform the stick with Alex in the talent show. It will be amazing. Not to mention hilarious. Did I mention there's a new part of the stick dance?
An awkward FHE
Today at dinner there was this random kid. He was wearing a little mermaid shirt (yeah, a little odd), he had a brown afro, and he had recently graduated from college. He was basically a "director" of a touring "children's theater" who had stopped by Nauvoo to "volunteer" for a few days. He was really weird. Anyway, we were sitting by Sister Gee and she told him that we were going to the single adult FHE and he should "go too" (imagine it with a Syd Riggs voice)! We left dinner at this point. Later that evening Hannah and I were walking to FHE trying to find the home it was at. We were a bit lost, wandering around Nauvoo, so we stopped on a corner and pulled out our map, trying to figure out where we were going when who should pull up beside us but random kid. Brian. Unfortunately, he was wearing pariah glasses. So he asked us where the Allen's home was and we pointed him a random direction. Then he started offering us a "lift to the Allen's" but I said, "No, thank you. We are just taking the 'scenic detour'." So he drove away and we kept walking. But we arrived at the exact same time as Brian! Turned out that we were the first 3 to family home evening, and the Allen's were still eating dinner, so we had to sit in the living room alone with Brian. Hannah and I took turns asking him questions in order to give each other a break from listening to him. He was extremely stuck on himself and very annoying. We were glad to leave.
Day Four -- Sunday
Alex Debirk
Alex (our district leader) and Melinda (one of the core cast members) are having a fling. Hannah and I are very intrigued by this. We like to watch them flirting and track the rate at which their relationship is progressing. It is very entertaining.
Today during our missionary training meeting, Alex and Melinda were sitting to the side and in front of us. Of course we watched them interact throughout the meeting. There was one time that I looked over and saw their legs very close together. Melinda would shake her foot so it would barely touch Alex's leg, and Alex would periodically inch his own foot closer to hers. We were exceedingly amused by this Sunday afternoon game of footsie.
I am contagious
Lately Hannah has started dropping things. She kept dropping her face lotion in the sink this morning. Earlier today we were taking our "daily picture" with "the face" and Hannah was in charge of pushing the button. She pressed the button, then we both let go of the camera. So it started to fall. In order to keep it from hitting the ground, we both reached for it but ended up hitting it and sending it flying into the closet. Luckily the camera is okay. What a trooper.
Boys and doors
Hannah and I had just gone to a nice "discussion" about the pageant and we were in a particularly giggly mood. We went outside and started walking toward the JSA. There was a group of work crew boys about 20 feet away. I reached the door first, opened it, and started to go inside. Just then, Hannah and I were charged by a group of boys. "Don't touch that door!" the ringleader screamed at us. So we stopped and let him take the door. It was really funny. I started laughing but didn't want the boys to see so I turned the corner and started running up the stairs as fast as I could. Unfortunately, the boys were going the same way we were. As they turned the corner with Hannah, I stopped running and she caught up to me. We were still being followed by the boys, though, and we had started laughing and knew we wouldn't be able to control it. So we started booking it up the stairs. As soon as we got to the second floor, we dashed into the laundry room and had a complete breakdown. It was very funny.
Alex (our district leader) and Melinda (one of the core cast members) are having a fling. Hannah and I are very intrigued by this. We like to watch them flirting and track the rate at which their relationship is progressing. It is very entertaining.
Today during our missionary training meeting, Alex and Melinda were sitting to the side and in front of us. Of course we watched them interact throughout the meeting. There was one time that I looked over and saw their legs very close together. Melinda would shake her foot so it would barely touch Alex's leg, and Alex would periodically inch his own foot closer to hers. We were exceedingly amused by this Sunday afternoon game of footsie.
I am contagious
Lately Hannah has started dropping things. She kept dropping her face lotion in the sink this morning. Earlier today we were taking our "daily picture" with "the face" and Hannah was in charge of pushing the button. She pressed the button, then we both let go of the camera. So it started to fall. In order to keep it from hitting the ground, we both reached for it but ended up hitting it and sending it flying into the closet. Luckily the camera is okay. What a trooper.
Boys and doors
Hannah and I had just gone to a nice "discussion" about the pageant and we were in a particularly giggly mood. We went outside and started walking toward the JSA. There was a group of work crew boys about 20 feet away. I reached the door first, opened it, and started to go inside. Just then, Hannah and I were charged by a group of boys. "Don't touch that door!" the ringleader screamed at us. So we stopped and let him take the door. It was really funny. I started laughing but didn't want the boys to see so I turned the corner and started running up the stairs as fast as I could. Unfortunately, the boys were going the same way we were. As they turned the corner with Hannah, I stopped running and she caught up to me. We were still being followed by the boys, though, and we had started laughing and knew we wouldn't be able to control it. So we started booking it up the stairs. As soon as we got to the second floor, we dashed into the laundry room and had a complete breakdown. It was very funny.
Day Three -- Natalie's perspective on Saturday
Pariahs without borders
Before Hannah and I left for Nauvoo, we talked about how we were not going to let ourselves be pariahs. We were goign to be outgoign, funny, upbeat, etc. On the train our hopes were diminished because we didn't want to attract unwanted attention. So we decided that once we arrived in Nauvoo we would adopt the desired qualites. Not happening. Everyone is very nice, but for the most part, we're by our lonesome. Even our district seems to be estranged from the rest of the cast. Good thing we've had lots of practice in pariahdom.
You're HOW old?!
It's 4:17 on Day 3, and Hannah and I have already had multiple experiences with people mistaking our age and relationship to each other (and in so doing, they mistake race). Our district leader Alex "DeBhurque" thought we were returned missionaries. Sister Christensen asked us how far into college we were. Many people have asked us if we are sisters or perhaps cousins. My response to that question is an incredulous look and the phrase, "Does Hannah look Asian?!" Well, apparently she does.
Would you please stop throwing things at the floor?
This problem of mine, unlike the door problem, has been recently acquired here in Nauvoo. When we arrived to our room yesterday, I was putting lotion on but I missed my hand and sprayed the floor. Also yesterday, I dropped my can of Stax! They should now be called Crumbz! This morning, I was putting on some makeup and dropped it on the floor. Then I dropped my phone at rehearsal. Upon returning to our room, I dropped my can of pringles and then a chip! This is seriously weird (but I haven't "dropped the baby"...yet).
Can we help it if we like to laugh?
Hannah and I were practicing our Irish dance. We tried going straight through the whole dance, but during the final 16 counts, I messed up and Hannah couldn't control her laughter. So we tried it again. This time I cracked up. We tried multiple times and haven't been able to make it through without laughing yet. This is bad news.
Costume tribulation
Hannah's costume didn't really fit, so one of the costumers asked, "Is Hannah getting at tuck?" That's pretty blunt, in my opinion. Now, because I'm tall, I think I have a longer torso than what we might call "normal". So I put on my skirt, then the bodice, and there was a few inched of my undershirt showing. In order to remedy this problem, I pulled my skirt all the way up my torso so it would connect with the bodice. But then my skirt would puff out weird, and now I walk around looking pregnant. This led to Hannah's quote of the day (and, quite possibly, the whole trip) "I am pregnant every year!"
Lunch Delights
Today at lunch there was a BYU ballroom dance company dining with us. BYU boys are a little crazy. One of them was sitting under a serving table with his head sitting on a platter which was covered by the lid, of course. When Hannah and I came up to the table, he was talking to his friend which was a little weird. A disembodied voice coming from the entree. But it didn't faze Hannah. She didn't even notice when he crawled out from under the table.
Before Hannah and I left for Nauvoo, we talked about how we were not going to let ourselves be pariahs. We were goign to be outgoign, funny, upbeat, etc. On the train our hopes were diminished because we didn't want to attract unwanted attention. So we decided that once we arrived in Nauvoo we would adopt the desired qualites. Not happening. Everyone is very nice, but for the most part, we're by our lonesome. Even our district seems to be estranged from the rest of the cast. Good thing we've had lots of practice in pariahdom.
You're HOW old?!
It's 4:17 on Day 3, and Hannah and I have already had multiple experiences with people mistaking our age and relationship to each other (and in so doing, they mistake race). Our district leader Alex "DeBhurque" thought we were returned missionaries. Sister Christensen asked us how far into college we were. Many people have asked us if we are sisters or perhaps cousins. My response to that question is an incredulous look and the phrase, "Does Hannah look Asian?!" Well, apparently she does.
Would you please stop throwing things at the floor?
This problem of mine, unlike the door problem, has been recently acquired here in Nauvoo. When we arrived to our room yesterday, I was putting lotion on but I missed my hand and sprayed the floor. Also yesterday, I dropped my can of Stax! They should now be called Crumbz! This morning, I was putting on some makeup and dropped it on the floor. Then I dropped my phone at rehearsal. Upon returning to our room, I dropped my can of pringles and then a chip! This is seriously weird (but I haven't "dropped the baby"...yet).
Can we help it if we like to laugh?
Hannah and I were practicing our Irish dance. We tried going straight through the whole dance, but during the final 16 counts, I messed up and Hannah couldn't control her laughter. So we tried it again. This time I cracked up. We tried multiple times and haven't been able to make it through without laughing yet. This is bad news.
Costume tribulation
Hannah's costume didn't really fit, so one of the costumers asked, "Is Hannah getting at tuck?" That's pretty blunt, in my opinion. Now, because I'm tall, I think I have a longer torso than what we might call "normal". So I put on my skirt, then the bodice, and there was a few inched of my undershirt showing. In order to remedy this problem, I pulled my skirt all the way up my torso so it would connect with the bodice. But then my skirt would puff out weird, and now I walk around looking pregnant. This led to Hannah's quote of the day (and, quite possibly, the whole trip) "I am pregnant every year!"
Lunch Delights
Today at lunch there was a BYU ballroom dance company dining with us. BYU boys are a little crazy. One of them was sitting under a serving table with his head sitting on a platter which was covered by the lid, of course. When Hannah and I came up to the table, he was talking to his friend which was a little weird. A disembodied voice coming from the entree. But it didn't faze Hannah. She didn't even notice when he crawled out from under the table.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Day Two
The day started out normally. Well normal for having slept on a train, I guess. Hannah and I had just awakened from our "beauty rest" when this old woman walked past. She stopped and looked at us for a minute before she said, "I like your blanket. It's cute." Hannah and I didn't know whose blanket she was referring to, so we basically just sat there and looked at her.
We may be just a bit bored...
We had been on this train for about 30 hours when we realized that, aside from writing summaries and drawing pictures of our future prince charmings, we hadn't really done anything. We recognized the fact that we were bored. I called Julie about a billion times, then we decided to do something useful with all our extra time. So we pulled out the "Customer Safety Instructions" guidebook and proceeded to quiz each other on correct emergency procedures when one is on a train. Hannah stumped me a few times, but I must say, I am an expert on snap lights. To activate: 1. Bend once 2. Snap 3. Shake
My trouble with doors and boxes
Doors and I have never exactly been on great terms. Just a couple days before we left for Nauvoo, I totally punched my bedroom doorway and ended up with a bloody knuckle. I thought it might be solely Utah doors that I have problems with, but no. Apparently I don't get along with Nauvoo doors either. Hannah and I needed to go pick up our boxes that we sent ahead, so we were leaving our room and I whacked my uninjured hand on the doorway. It hurt. I was annoyed with our door, and I made the mistake of taking out my anger on the outside door. I pushed it open with a flourish, but it hit a bush, bounced back, and hit me. Now that was embarrassing.
Somehow, though, Hannah and I made it to our boxes, picked them up, and started heading down the stairs. Hannah was in front of me, and at the top of a flight of stairs she stopped to readjust her box. I misjudged the size of my own box while readjusting, and I smacked Hannah with one side of my box-practically knocking her down all those stairs. Not good.
We may be just a bit bored...
We had been on this train for about 30 hours when we realized that, aside from writing summaries and drawing pictures of our future prince charmings, we hadn't really done anything. We recognized the fact that we were bored. I called Julie about a billion times, then we decided to do something useful with all our extra time. So we pulled out the "Customer Safety Instructions" guidebook and proceeded to quiz each other on correct emergency procedures when one is on a train. Hannah stumped me a few times, but I must say, I am an expert on snap lights. To activate: 1. Bend once 2. Snap 3. Shake
My trouble with doors and boxes
Doors and I have never exactly been on great terms. Just a couple days before we left for Nauvoo, I totally punched my bedroom doorway and ended up with a bloody knuckle. I thought it might be solely Utah doors that I have problems with, but no. Apparently I don't get along with Nauvoo doors either. Hannah and I needed to go pick up our boxes that we sent ahead, so we were leaving our room and I whacked my uninjured hand on the doorway. It hurt. I was annoyed with our door, and I made the mistake of taking out my anger on the outside door. I pushed it open with a flourish, but it hit a bush, bounced back, and hit me. Now that was embarrassing.
Somehow, though, Hannah and I made it to our boxes, picked them up, and started heading down the stairs. Hannah was in front of me, and at the top of a flight of stairs she stopped to readjust her box. I misjudged the size of my own box while readjusting, and I smacked Hannah with one side of my box-practically knocking her down all those stairs. Not good.
Day One
Hannah and I boarded the train at approximately 4:45 AM. Somehow, we forgot about the early hour and climbed the stairs laughing and talking. Suddenly (when people sleepily looked at us), we realized that the main activity on the train was sleeping. This made us laugh harder because we had been loud. Anyway, we sat down and were immediately assaulted by two scary people-men. They started asking us questions about Hannah's family. We were scared. One of the men was bald-ish; the other wore a cowboy hat. They will hereafter be referred to according to their descriptions.
Eventually, we feel asleep in our very reclined chairs. It was still scary because cowboy hat kept looking at us. When we woke up around 6:15 AM, I felt like sitting up. So I asked Hannah, "Do these seats come up farther?" As I spoke, I pressed this silver button on my arm rest. And the seat back rocketed itself forward. It was quite loud. Because of the type of personality I have, I was quite embarrassed, but of course I couldn't show it. "Yep" was all I could say.
Unfortunately, the noise had called some attention to Hannah and I. Bald-ish man was now watching us. "Good morning!" He called. We muttered a disinterested "Hello" and returned to our usual activities-talking, laughing, and gossiping.
A few hours later (11:45 AM) two boys about our age boarded and sat right behind us. They looked fairly normal-not too scary. We will refer to them as the AtbSBs (Appearing to be Sane Brothers). I felt safer with them behind us. Hannah fell in love with the older one (No, just kidding. We didn't even look at them). The younger AtbSB was sitting behind me. Not too long after the train started moving, I heard a very familiar noise of the chair flinging itself up. "I KNEW that was going to happen!" exclaimed younger brother. So I laughed at him. In a kind way.
Not even 15 minutes had passed before I heard that noise again. "Ahhhhhhhh!" younger brother cried. He apparently does not have the same vain personality flaws that I do. Hannah and I started to laugh even harder at him.
*Sidenote: Hannah slept through Ruby Canyon (I'm not sure if that's the real name). They only way you can see said canyon is if you raft the Colorado River or take the train. I think Hannah is now out of luck.*
While Hannah was asleep, there was this old woman walking down the aisle. Suddenly the train leapt into a tunnel and what had been day was suddenly night (it was dark). "Oh!" preffed the granny. "We must be in a tunnel!" Rolling my eyes, I said to myself "Thank you, lieutenant".
To pass the time on the train, I started reading my great-uncle's book about college/random stuff. There was a section on cursing. Uncle John suggest that instead of cursing, we should just say the phrase, "Audit you!" Long story. Anyway, our male counterparts (the AtbSBs) need to read Uncle John's book. Hannah and I are officially disenchanted.
Are Ya Feelin' it?
Of course, no long journey would be complete without kisses. The chocolate kind. So I brought a bag of kisses along. Hannah and I decided to break out the kisses at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. As I opened the bag, one kiss fell in between our seats and landed on the floor in back of us-right in front of the disenchanting boys. We laughed about it (silently, of course) for a couple of minutes and resumed our conversation. But when Hannah leaned forward to put her cherry yogurt away, a kiss fell from her Secret Stash and came to a stop in between our seats. I looked at the kiss, then at Hannah, and started to say, "Is that kiss yours?" But when she turned to look, it fell off our seats and landed on the floor alongside the first kiss. We felt pretty silly, throwing kissed at those nerd boys.
Revenge
Hannah and I eventually decided that we needed to use the train restrooms. It wasn't ideal, but it was kinda necessary. We stood up and started walking to the stairs which were located behind us. As I followed Hannah, I suddenly and completely lost my balance. I was carrying a big, full purse, and I just happened to whack Older Brother in the head. And then I was immobilized. I was stuck, hitting him in the head with my Large Purse. Of course I apologized, but in my head I was thinking, "This is what I think of you and your rotten language! Plus your know-it-all attitude and pariah talking!" Then I ran down the stairs. I'm pretty sure he learned his lesson.
When we returned from the restroom, the older brother tried talking to us. He asked where we were headed and where we're from. We answered him, but we were definitely disenchanted still, so that's where the conversation ended. Older AtbSB was probably surprised that he and I hadn't bonded more during that moment that we were practically stuck. So, he turned his attention and attitude to a boy sitting behind him. I felt kinda bad for this pariah boy, but didn't intrude.
A few hours later, the disenchanting brothers got off the train. Someone new boarded and struck up a conversation with pariah boy. This is where the tragedy will be realized. Pariah boy turned out to be incredibly normal. He wants to serve a mission in Tonga. Hannah and I wanted to talk to him, but it was late so we left that task until morning. However, in the morning we were too scared to talk to him and he left the train in Omaha.
Eventually, we feel asleep in our very reclined chairs. It was still scary because cowboy hat kept looking at us. When we woke up around 6:15 AM, I felt like sitting up. So I asked Hannah, "Do these seats come up farther?" As I spoke, I pressed this silver button on my arm rest. And the seat back rocketed itself forward. It was quite loud. Because of the type of personality I have, I was quite embarrassed, but of course I couldn't show it. "Yep" was all I could say.
Unfortunately, the noise had called some attention to Hannah and I. Bald-ish man was now watching us. "Good morning!" He called. We muttered a disinterested "Hello" and returned to our usual activities-talking, laughing, and gossiping.
A few hours later (11:45 AM) two boys about our age boarded and sat right behind us. They looked fairly normal-not too scary. We will refer to them as the AtbSBs (Appearing to be Sane Brothers). I felt safer with them behind us. Hannah fell in love with the older one (No, just kidding. We didn't even look at them). The younger AtbSB was sitting behind me. Not too long after the train started moving, I heard a very familiar noise of the chair flinging itself up. "I KNEW that was going to happen!" exclaimed younger brother. So I laughed at him. In a kind way.
Not even 15 minutes had passed before I heard that noise again. "Ahhhhhhhh!" younger brother cried. He apparently does not have the same vain personality flaws that I do. Hannah and I started to laugh even harder at him.
*Sidenote: Hannah slept through Ruby Canyon (I'm not sure if that's the real name). They only way you can see said canyon is if you raft the Colorado River or take the train. I think Hannah is now out of luck.*
While Hannah was asleep, there was this old woman walking down the aisle. Suddenly the train leapt into a tunnel and what had been day was suddenly night (it was dark). "Oh!" preffed the granny. "We must be in a tunnel!" Rolling my eyes, I said to myself "Thank you, lieutenant".
To pass the time on the train, I started reading my great-uncle's book about college/random stuff. There was a section on cursing. Uncle John suggest that instead of cursing, we should just say the phrase, "Audit you!" Long story. Anyway, our male counterparts (the AtbSBs) need to read Uncle John's book. Hannah and I are officially disenchanted.
Are Ya Feelin' it?
Of course, no long journey would be complete without kisses. The chocolate kind. So I brought a bag of kisses along. Hannah and I decided to break out the kisses at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. As I opened the bag, one kiss fell in between our seats and landed on the floor in back of us-right in front of the disenchanting boys. We laughed about it (silently, of course) for a couple of minutes and resumed our conversation. But when Hannah leaned forward to put her cherry yogurt away, a kiss fell from her Secret Stash and came to a stop in between our seats. I looked at the kiss, then at Hannah, and started to say, "Is that kiss yours?" But when she turned to look, it fell off our seats and landed on the floor alongside the first kiss. We felt pretty silly, throwing kissed at those nerd boys.
Revenge
Hannah and I eventually decided that we needed to use the train restrooms. It wasn't ideal, but it was kinda necessary. We stood up and started walking to the stairs which were located behind us. As I followed Hannah, I suddenly and completely lost my balance. I was carrying a big, full purse, and I just happened to whack Older Brother in the head. And then I was immobilized. I was stuck, hitting him in the head with my Large Purse. Of course I apologized, but in my head I was thinking, "This is what I think of you and your rotten language! Plus your know-it-all attitude and pariah talking!" Then I ran down the stairs. I'm pretty sure he learned his lesson.
When we returned from the restroom, the older brother tried talking to us. He asked where we were headed and where we're from. We answered him, but we were definitely disenchanted still, so that's where the conversation ended. Older AtbSB was probably surprised that he and I hadn't bonded more during that moment that we were practically stuck. So, he turned his attention and attitude to a boy sitting behind him. I felt kinda bad for this pariah boy, but didn't intrude.
A few hours later, the disenchanting brothers got off the train. Someone new boarded and struck up a conversation with pariah boy. This is where the tragedy will be realized. Pariah boy turned out to be incredibly normal. He wants to serve a mission in Tonga. Hannah and I wanted to talk to him, but it was late so we left that task until morning. However, in the morning we were too scared to talk to him and he left the train in Omaha.
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