Dear Myself

I would like to share a story. If I've already shared this story, then excuuuuuuse me Princess... but this is my blog.


When I was maybe 13 or 14 I decided to make a list of things I wanted to do by the time I was 16. I was going to open it on my 16th birthday in hopes that I had accomplished the things on my list. So I made this list, folded it up and taped it on the inside of my dresser's top drawer (you know it's important and private if it goes in the top drawer). As my birthday drew nearer I grew more and more excited. I even went as far as bragging to everyone about this. I tried imagining what all my younger self had wanted to accomplish, had I accomplished those things, etc. When it was time to read the list I could hardly contain myself. I opened the drawer, ripped out the folded up paper and opened it. And it was....

Something completely different. There was no list. It was like a piece of scrap paper with something random on it. No list. No goals. Nothing.

This really was one of my more embarrassing moments. But still a funny story.

In the show How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) they often have this bit "You know who could handle this? Future us." (note: this is not a direct quote from the show) Since I am one of those people who regularly adopts funny lines from shows and uses them as my own catch phrases (ex. "frick", "awesome", "funsies", "You son of a beetch!", etc.) I sometimes catch myself saying "You know who would be awesome at doing this? Future Candice." Well, Future Candice, you ARE awesome.

When I was a freshman in high school we had to write letters to ourselves that we would open right before graduation. Since mine was so ridiculously dumb, I'm going to refrain from explaining what it was about. This is just another prime example of how awesome Future Candice is. Because Future Candice would never write about lame things like how super cute that guy in band is.

Since Future Candice is so awesome, I wanted to write a letter to her. So here goes:

Dear Future Candice,
Hi! How is it in year 2021 (yes, 2021... because I'm sure this blog will still be awesome then)? Hopefully great!

I hope by now you have found a career that satisfies you and pays your bills. And leaves you lots of money left over for fun stuff... like shopping! Did you ever take that trip to Greece? I hope so because I'm really wanting to go.

I'm also hoping by now you've managed to have a somewhat successful relationship. And I hope that includes with someone other than yourself! Maybe that's a little harsh, but by 38 you should have at least found someone to love you!

There are so many things I hope you have done and discovered by now, such as had your book published and learned how to clean your apartment. Geez I hope you aren't still living in an apartment! Unless it's one in NYC, then that's acceptable. You did move there, right? Please don't tell me I'm still stuck in Tuscaloosa!

Finally, what is your hair like? Did it turn completely grey? Are you still rocking the Stacy London look? Is Stacy London even relevant?

Love and Kisses!
Candice

P.S. Did the last Twilight movies really suck?

You want me to do WHAT?!

Earlier this morning I read this really great article by Marlo Thomas entitled "Passing the Torch... Who's Going to Run With It?" Basically it was about growing feminism for the next generation (or at least that was what the tweet on twitter tweeted about it... tweet). Anywho... here is the link to it. Go ahead. Give it a read. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marlo-thomas/growing-feminism-for-the-_b_914380.html

Read it? Great huh? It's really inspiring to know that in today's world opportunities are opening up for women by leaps and bounds. In today's world there's nothing a woman can't do simply because she's a woman.

Growing up I never had a hero. People I admired maybe but never an actual hero. Which, looking back, I find to be a shame because as I was a child women were beginning to take the world by storm. There was no longer an excuse NOT to have one. This got me thinking: If I didn't have a role model or a hero, what did I have?

I just read a blog post about books that changed lives and decided to comment on it. The first book that sprang to mind was Catherine Called Birdy which was a favorite of mine growing up. Not to go into any details, but it was basically about a girl ahead of her time. Another favorite, The Awakening. Again, woman ahead of her time. A Doll's House. A woman ahead of her time. Seeing a pattern here? Me too.

Over the past few years I've started to become more aware of the advances of women in both the workforce and in the world. It wasn't too long ago that I remember telling my grandmother that I didn't think a woman would do well as a president. I really wish I could go back and slap that version of me. On second thought, maybe not; that would hurt. My point is, why would I think that? Why would I tell myself, and firmly believe, that women can't do what men can?

The truth is I don't know. I could say that I thought the world wasn't ready for a female president of the United States. But why not?! Other countries have women leaders - Germany, England, Liberia, Finland, India, Argentina, Australia... the list goes on! Why not us? Why not the US? Okay... off that soapbox.

My point is and original reason for writing this post is that today's women can do anything, be anything, achieve anything. Our mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers fought and pushed to get us to where we are today. If anything, I wish I could tell girls how successful they can be, how beautiful they can be, etc. and that they don't have to be Snookie or whatever crap MTV pushes out to be awesome!

I think Reese Witherspoon summed it up best (ironically at the MTV Movie Awards) “I know it’s cool to be bad; I get it,” she said. “But it’s also possible to make it in Hollywood without a reality show.” It's also possible to make it anywhere.

Note: I should let you know what brought on this girl power rant. Last week my boss told me that he wanted me to clean the office really well because one of his bosses is coming back into town and wanted to make sure the office looked good for him. Apparently I work on the set of Mad Men. However, according to my friend Emilie, if I did work on Mad Men haha well on Mad Men I'd "at least have a really attractive... boss who might bang you on the side." Thanks Emile Bunle for putting that into perspective.

If I could write my own job description... It would be awesome

It's a funny thing, really, when you think about your job. What it is you ACTUALLY do vs what you were HIRED to do. I often wonder would I have even applied for my job had I known exactly what all it entailed.

Thinking...

Thinking...

Thinking...

Yeah, I probably would still have applied. I was that desperate back then.

In hindsight, which IMO is the best sight to have, the job hasn't been that bad. I've learned a lot, I've grown somewhat of a backbone, I've learned not to let little things get me down. But, just in case there is something better just around the bend *coughNewYorkcough* I've decided to create a more accurate job description for the person who one day takes my place

Event Coordinator Job Description

Office Equipment Repairperson/Guru - The Event Coordinator is required to know all facets of the office equipment, including but not limited to Fax Machine, Copier, Laminator, Scanner, etc. Should the Event Coordinator for some reason not know the reason behind malfunctioning equipment, whether due to overusage or ignorant employees who don't know how to use said equipment, he or she must figure out how to fix said equipment so ignorant employee can continue with their job.

Information Specialist - The Event Coordinator must be familiar with all internet websites that may contain any information others may need at any given time. He or she must always be able to find answers to a variety of questions, including football/commencement/academic/Prince William's schedules; phone numbers to clients who had an event that one time three years ago; and why Vanderbilt is the Commodores.

Psychic Medium - Must be able to see into the future and forsee all needs and wants of anyone at any given time. Whether they are a client or not. This may also include knowing what type of salad Nick Saban enjoys.


Historian - Ability to keep impeccable records of all events dating to before Event Coordinator graduated from high school. Prefer person who is able to recall dates at the drop of a hat and provide facts regarding said dates.


Therapist/Psychologist - Provide free services for customers and co-workers with various problems and disorders. These may range from "my boss just told me we need cookies for this afternoon," and "but only 8 of my 10 guests showed up and I don't want to pay for 10" to "my husband pissed me off this morning so I'm going to take it out on you." Therapist license preferred but not required.

Detective - Ability to research and provide facts from mulitple months or years prior, including what type of spice was used on that thing with the brown stuff on top that was served at the event that was back in 2007 or 2004 when that man with the grey toupe sat at the third or fourth table and ordered a glass of water.

Miracle Worker - At any given time miracles must be performed. These are not limited to Annie Sullivan miracles but may also include miracles of the Biblical kind.

Yes, yes you can add water at the last minute! W-A-T-E-R!

Sound like an interesting job? No? You're right... it's actually not. Except for the miracle working part. That's pretty awesome.

7 Favorite Harry Potter Moments #5, #6 and #7

Today's the day. The day it all ends. The final Harry Potter movie is officially out in theaters and in a few hours my sister and I will be sitting in our awesome D-Box seats waiting to watch our three favorite wizards try to destroy He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Today will prove to be a very non-productive day... as if any of my days really are!

#5 - That moment of "huh?" that I had after watching HP:OOTP
Yeah, I know that doesn't sound like a very memorable moment on the surface, but trust me, it was. After watching Order of the Phoenix I remember leaving the theater thinking "okay, I am TOTALLY lost here." So I decided to finally read the books. I was unable to put them down. As I am a super-reader, I'm pretty sure I went through books 1-6 in like a week. So thanks whoever wrote, directed, produced, whatever the 5th installment. I owe you one!



#6 - That time Hermione grasped Ron's hand
Who DIDN'T squeal when this happened? Okay... maybe no one did. Maybe I didn't either. But it seriously was cute.


#7 - Tie between waiting for the Inferi to grab Harry's hand and waiting for my sister's shock when Snape killed Dumbledore, both in the Half-Blood Prince
This is probably one of the drawbacks to reading a book before seeing the movie based off it. You know what's going to happen before it happens. Of course, when you know it's going to happen and it's something that you know is going to startle you, that does make it even more exciting. When we were watching HP:HBP I remember sitting in suspense, waiting for that deathly hand to pop out of the water and grab Harry. And then it did! Yikes!


The next thing I was really looking forward to was Snape killing Dumbledore. Unfortunately when I was reading the books I read something about how Dumbledore had been killed, so I knew it was coming. However, I didn't know Snape had done it and it was a very definite "whoa!" moment. So I knew that in the movie this scene was going to be very similar for my sister. I kept glancing over at her during this whole scene to get her reaction. Boy was she surprised!


Whew, at least she didn't act like this!


So there it is... my 7 favorite Harry Potter moments. And so as to not leave on a sad ending, here are two of my favorite Harry Potter videos.

Is there such thing as a 1/3-life crisis?

I'm pretty sure there comes a point in everyone's life where they stop and think "Is this really my life?" Maybe it comes earlier in life, fresh out of college, sitting in your parents' living room in your pajamas watching Sabrina the Teenage Witch at 1:00 in the afternoon while eating a bowl of cereal out of a big cup because you just woke up 20 minutes ago. Maybe it comes later in life, while you're sitting at your kid's soccer game and watching him kick the ball into the other team's goal and forcing yourself to clap for your semi-special little man who just lost the team the game.

Or, if you're like me, maybe it hits you every time you take a shower. Or go to bed. Or wake up. Or sit at your desk at work pecking away on your blog.

I just finished reading a post on HelloGiggles (one of my favorite new sites, check it out if you haven't already!) entitled "Being a Professional Adult." In this post the writer listed ways she would know when she was an adult and I really found myself agreeing with her on most things. She wrote about when she bought her first winter coat how she felt everyone would know she was an adult. I think I go through that a lot to. Not with coats, mind you, because I have a mild obsession with them and have a different one for every day of the week, plus a few extra for costume changes mid-day. But there are times (rare times) when I actually put effort into getting dressed and think "I'm wearing heels! My hair isn't in a ponytail! I'm not wearing sweats! Look at me! I'm a grown up!"

Of course, I pretty much cancel out all grown-upness out when I get home, kick off my heels, pull my hair up, put on some sweats and turn on Wizards of Waverly Place.


Lately I've been looking at my life and thinking "Is this really my life?" You hear all the time about the existential woes of the twenty-something, scraping by on a meager salary, eating Spaghetti-O's for dinner, having massive credit card debt due to shopping too much... It's kind of funny, always good for a laugh or a quirky rom-com. But in real life, not so funny. And somehow, in the past year, this has become my life. Minus the credit card debt. Yay me.

Now, I've never felt like I was the girl who always "had it together" but I've also never felt like an incredible train wreck. There's really no point in searching for the "how" or the "why" - such as I took a job that was incredibly low-paying and in Tuscaloosa in hopes that it would lead to a better job. Pshh...
Now that I've gotten all my Negative Nancy out, maybe I should focus on how to combat said train wreck and get myself back on course.

Set goals - I would like to move somewhere new by 2012. (NYC please!)
Manage money better - Prepare budget and stick to it. Cut excessive crap spending.
Clean apartment - No explanation necessary
De-clutter my life - Do I really need 9 coats? In Alabama? (yes... yes I do)
Make goals happen

Will these things make me feel better about my life? I have no idea. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. But maybe they'll let me stop eating Spaghetti-O's. They're honestly pretty disgusting.

7 Favorite Harry Potter Moments #3 and #4

My friend Emilie went to the NYC premiere of Harry Potter last night and I'm fairly certain my skin is slightly tinged green with envy. But no matter... only 4 days until I get to see it!
I thought it would be fun to have some HP-themed snacks for my sister and me to enjoy before we go see the movie so the first thing that came to mind was Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans. Let me tell you... this was like trying to find a needle in a haystack! I still haven't found them... so we may not get to feast on "chocolate and peppermint, and... also spinach, liver, and tripe." However, after work today, the search will resume!


And now for more of my favorite HP moments!

#3 - The hotness of the Weasley twins
Who would have ever thought that two gangly gingers would turn out to be so hot? Not me, that's for sure!



#4 - Any scene that Helena Bonham Carter is in
I don't really remember much about Bellatrix Lestrange from the books, mainly because re-reading them I haven't gotten that far (I'm still working on GoF). But I do know that casting HBC as Bellatrix was a total WIN. The first time we were introduced to her was like whoa... she's one crazy you know what.

7 Favorite Harry Potter Moments #1 and #2

With almost a 10 year age difference between my sister and me there really are very few things we've shared over the years. But when our mom forced me to take her to the movies 10 years ago to see Harry Potter and the Sorcer's Stone, who knew that would be the start of something special?

Danielle and I have gone to see every Harry Potter movie together over the years and, in 5 days, it will all be over. So, rather than get all weepy now, I wanted to discuss my favorite moments over the past 10 years. And, in keeping with Harry Potter, I've decided to list my favorite 7.

#1 - The midnight premiere of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
By this movie our sisterly tradition of going to see Harry Potter had really taken root and we both were excited about it so we decided to go to the midnight premiere. This would also be the LAST midnight premiere of Harry Potter that we would go to. Danielle fell asleep during it. I was constantly having to wake her up. She thought it was boring. I still tease her about not being able to handle staying up late.

#2 - Harry Potter costume = fail
I thought it would be funny to dress up in a Harry Potter costume before going to the movies to see what my sister would say. So I put on my old black graduation robe, a scarf and my glasses and went to sit in the living room to wait on her. My mom laughed but when Danielle walked in, she took one look at me and said "Okay, are you ready to go?" Apparently she didn't think it was funny...