Another Way to be Weird

Hi, my name is Molly, and I'm a nonconformist.

Hiiii Mawwwwlly.

Except going to a support group would be what all the other nonconformists were doing, so I'd probably steer clear. But at least I can admit it now. Up until a few years ago, I'd deny anyone who suggested that I might be "nonconformist" because I didn't want to be labelled. Yeah, High School Molly was that girl, alright? And skinny jeans just fit my body better, alright? And Conor Oberst is a master lyricist, alright?

...ahem. Well, this week has been the start of a grand nonconformist experiment disguised as a health conscious life decision - I have started following the "Paleo Diet", which really isn't a diet, per se, so don't freak out. I heard about the diet in a couple different places, did a lot of research, and found it to be a really neat approach to making healthy decisions. My dad has been eating gluten-free for about a year and a half now, which I think gave me a good starting point for making the transition, as the whole premise of the lifestyle is to return to what our bodies are made to eat. This means no wheat or other grains, dairy, legumes, sugar, processed/packaged foods, etc. So basically, anything that normal college kids eat is out. And there it is. The true motivation. The driving force behind this harebrained scheme of mine. And I ain't afraid to admit it. Eating paleo makes me different, and I like that.

But Molly, if you can't eat bread or pasta or cheese or milk or Greek yogurt or granola or peanut butter or tortilla chips or chocolate, what do you eat? I figured my hypothetical reader would ask this question, so I took the liberty of designing this highly scientific food pyramid which suits my paleo lifestyle better than the accepted standard.

 I eat a lot of vegetables. I also eat lean meats, eggs, fruits, and almonds. It's only been four days, so I can't really pinpoint any results or benefits quite yet, except for the fact that I've had to become more creative with what I eat and cook. In and of itself, that's already enough of a positive outcome for me to be glad I gave paleo a whirl. (I've also been in sickness prevention mode, which means at least three cups of tea daily. Plus there are some fantastic teas out there that can handle sweets cravings.)

So, yeah. I don't have any time frame or plans for permanence. I'm thinking at least a week or two of strict paleo, then I'll probably reintroduce some things like popcorn and chocolate and freedom at restaurants. This may or may not have anything to do with paleo, but I've been craving pancakes everyday this week, which I rarely ever think of on a regular basis. Now you know.

Why I Love Croatia: Introduction

This past weekend was my program's five day break. Most people go to Italy. Some cross the Channel. The few that miss the memo explaining Spain is for the 4-day and Italy is for the 5-day go to Barcelona. And then there's me. (I've been told that if I were I river I'd be the Nile, because I flow in the opposite direction of everyone else...)

Planning for these five days with my bros Danbot and K-Fed started with this question: where is the strangest place we could possibly, feasibly go? Our answer? Croatia. Sounds good. Stay in the capital city, see some sights, maybe set out on a day trip to see waterfalls in a national park, the like. But after awhile that started to sound a little too normal. More days in the park? All the days in the park? Camping in the park? Camping in the unmarked and unprotected woodlands alongside the park, BearGryllsing it in the wilderness for three days? Bingo. Interlaken was going to be an Epcot village compared to this.

Our preparations included a lot of logistical work to get us from Metz to Zadar and eventually to the Plitvice Lakes National Park region, a lot of list making, a lot of supply shopping, and a lot of hair cutting. The boys wanted some fresh cuts before going extended periods of time without showering, so I stepped up to the challenge and turned a dorm room into a de facto barber shop. The cuts might not have been perfect [read: the cuts were borderline awful]. The hair was shorter, though, which is really what it all comes down to, right? Right? It's nerve-wracking to cut the hair of people that you're going to be trusting to keep you alive in the Croatian wilderness.

Once hair was cut, bags were packed, and hammocks and Twix were bought, we were ready to begin our trek. What happened from there? oh. so. much. In an attempt to tell the full story of this adventure, I've enlisted the help of my Broatians to take the blagosphere by storm and deliver my first ever blog series and guest bloggers - at the same time. Woah, dang. And so begins "Why I Love Croatia: Three Essays by Three BAs".

2012

Seeing as yesterday was the first day of a new year, and every blogger worth his spit has an obligatory new year post, here's mine.

I'll start by saying that I have never, for as long as I can remember, kept a New Year's resolution. This is probably because every resolution I've ever made has been something along the lines of eating less, exercising more, and sister loves to eat a little too much for that to be a reality. So, this year, when asked my resolutions, I kept it simple and attainable. I want to start wearing perfume more. I want to write more letters. I want to do more cool stuff.

These surface level resolutions are great and all, but when I'm tired I get real introspective and late last night I decided that I absolutely must write out serious life goals for the new year. Grabbing a Moleskine and a G2, I set down, prepped for writing, and froze. I had no goals. The only thing running through my mind was the chorus of a Luminate song. A chorus that says, "Here's to new beginnings, here's to breaking free. Let's chase a new horizon, chase who we're meant to be". Suddenly, I knew exactly how I was to compose these things I wanted, which were not so superficial as resolutions but also not so intense as life goals.

New Beginnings: This year, I'm going Mulligans on Jesus Calling, giving it a new start. I also hope to begin new and meaningful relationships, and open up to new opportunities that might arise. I also started a fresh journal.
Breaking Free: I've found myself in destructive cycles as of late, and I'm hoping to break free of that. I also want to break free of aspects in certain relationships that drag me down, plus unnecessary pressures, stresses, and anxieties.
A New Horizon: This one I took as "future goals", for lack of a better term. Step one would be to make a resume. And to find out what nuclear engineers actually do...
Who I'm Meant to Be: Ending high school, I knew exactly who I was. I think I lost a little of that my first year in college. So, for 2012, I'm striving to be me; a child of the King, a Proverbs 31 woman, a goober, a reader, a spontaneous dancer, an opera singer (in the car), an experimenter, a Walmart clothes wearer, a shoe collector, an adventurer, a proponent of the Oxford Comma, and whatever else strikes my fancy on any given day.

Not profound by any means, but that's exactly what I think makes this structure fit. Resolutions are way too mainstream for me, anyways. Here's to 2012!

I Couldn't Be Happier

So sometimes, I have really good days. Really, really, good days. Not like I'm trying to brag or anything, but I have really good days.

Today was a really good day. It was my last day of work, huzzah! Not that I didn't enjoy my job - I enjoyed it to the moon and back. It's just really exciting to end one phase of life and start a new one. And, being my last day, my boss took me out to lunch with my very favorite parents and two of my very favorite mission folk to one of my very favorite restaurants. Can't beat that. She also presented me with the sweetest "Thanks for being a good mission intern, I had lots of fun" token of appreciation. It's a bracelet. I'm wearing it right now.

If that isn't enough good crammed into one day, I got off work early, and got to come home and watch Project Runway with mi madre. Then two of our favorite girlies came by to pay a visit, and we got to talk about crafts and Project Runway and ladies spotted in Marshalls.

AND THEN...my dad came home from work with my new car! Yippee skippee! Just when things were starting to look bleak on the car front, this awesome prospect cropped up. I'm super pumped. I've never had "my own car" before - the one I've been driving since high school was a pass down from the brosky.

My parents have gone out to dinner with some friends. You would think eating alone would put a damper on such a good day, but I really like it from time to time. It helps, too, that my very favorite food group was on the menu. Sweet Potatoes. They deserve their own food group. Plus, I had Van Morrison blasting creating ambiance in the background to keep me company. After dinner, I retired to the playroom and starting making friendship bracelets while the music played. The CD finished after a while, and I got up to change it out, but became bold. I've been curious about turntables and records for a long while now, but I've never had the guts to do anything about it. Every so often I'd mention maybe one day my dad could show me how to use his turntable, but nothing ever came of it. And my dad's records have always been, from my perspective, off limits. It was never said in so many words, I just have always had the feeling that nobody should be touching this prized collection of audio. So...I just did it. I picked out a nice Dolly record from his collection and fumbled my way through to the right stereo settings. Maybe it's just me, but there is something extremely more satisfying about listening to vinyl than to CDs or MP3s. Probably because, to me, it's a novelty and something unexpected.

Then, I talked to one of the coolest people I know via Twitter - disclaimer: I love Twitter. - and we've set up a gameday dress making party. Not to mention, she gave the tip off that the quill was up for Pottermore, and I got into the early registration! Still not real sure as to what all of this is, but if it's Harry Potter Mania, you'd better believe I'm there no matter what.

So, that's the really good day. Nothing extraordinary by some standards, but to me it was really, really, good. In fact, I'm a little overwhelmed. Not to mention, it all has the potential to carry on to tomorrow, when I *hopefullyhopefullyhopefully* get to meet Bruce from Swamp People.

Nerds will be Nerds

I have always considered myself a huge nerd - except for in middle school, when I held out hope against hope that I would somehow infiltrate the "in" crowd. I'll leave you to infer how that turned out...

With that, imagine my joy senior year of high school, finally connecting with the wittiest, most awkward group of nerds thinkable, planning themed potluck lunches every other Friday, dressing up accordingly, dubbing ourselves the "Picnic Club", and SingStarring on the weekends. It was heavenly. No matter what vague or obscure reference was spat out, one of us would understand and reply in turn. No matter what harebrained scheme was concocted, everyone who could would be there in costume. The Picnic Club became my family.

It was tough to scatter like we did, most everyone at different schools, many of us in different states. I know I'll never find a group quite so singular and close-knit. A group of mondo-nerds, who have the quirkiest fun doing nerdy things. Geocaching, for instance.

Last night was a night like any other. All of the in town Picnic Club came over to eat pizza and act like pirates, perhaps to pop in some SingStar later. Then, all of the sudden, geocaching was mentioned. Geo what? The GPS driven scavenger hunt was explained, and with one look around the table I could tell we all had the same idea. Tuesday Night Geocaching. So we downloaded the app and headed out to parking lot after parking lot, searching for the tiny film canisters that housed treasures beyond measure. After our first find, we decided to head back to home base for some flashlights and headlamps (we're nerds, remember?). We also did some human geocaching and recruited Trant to our outing. (Poor Trant must quake when my name pops up as an incoming call on his phone. Quake with excitement, that is, because he knows something amazing is about to happen!!!) And we set off, all over Tyler, lifting skirts, PNG-ing, geocaching. It was ludicrous, it was silly, it was nerdy, it was Picnic Club.

Style is The Perfection of a Point of View

^Richard Eberhart said that, and I like it. It always amazes me when people comment on my "style". I wasn't aware that I had style. I just wear what I like. Today, for instance, I'm wearing a navy t-shirt, black pants, brown cowboy boots, and a red coat. (The red coat more out of necessity than choice - it's cold!) I like black and navy together. I like black and brown together. Heck, I might even be crazy enough to like brown and navy together. So that's what I wear. Plus. Stacey and Clinton say all the time that it's OK to mix neutrals. I trust Stacey and Clinton. Clinton a little more than Stacey, but still.

These comments have prompted some soul searching, and I'm proud to announce Molly's Comprehensive List of How to Dress and What to Wear In Order to Attain Her Style. (This is by no means intended as a substitute for Tim Gunn's Guide to Style. Always trust Tim Gunn.)
1. Always, always wear t-shirts: t-shirts are not only comfortable and functional, they are also great mementos of really cool things. For example, I have a NASA t-shirt from my adventures with Madi, one from the best little barbeque joint in Tyler, the tie-dyed shirt I made in AP Chemistry, shirts from concerts, etc. These memories make me really happy anytime I pull shirts out of my drawer. Wear them with shorts to look sporty, jeans to look casual, skirts to look hipster, and leggings to look sororitastical.
2. High waisted skirts: believe me on this one. My middle school mentality for lower half dressing was the lower-riding the better. What actually occurred was the lower-riding the more love handles. High waisted skirts not only make you look thinner, they also make you look like a secretary or business woman. Or a classy lady from the 1950's. Plus, they give you an excuse to tuck in your shirt.
3. Tucked-In Shirts: I don't really have an explanation for this, except that I really like tucked-in shirts. Indiana Jones always tucked in his shirts (or at least started out that way), so I guess it's handy just in case you have to embark on a treasure hunting adventure. On that note...
4. Dressing like a character: my segues are infallible today. One thing that I really love to do is to create a whole outfit around a character. Subtle themes like Jedi, cowboy, secretary, Audrey Hepburn in <fave Hepburn movie>, safari, Amelia Earhart, etc. are always fun. Although, most of the time I'm pretty sure that I'm the only person who can detect my theme. That's OK with me, though.
5. Tights: tights are a cure-all. It's cold outside. Wear tights. My dress is too short. Wear tights. These shoes give me blisters. Wear tights. I want to look like a flight attendant today. Wear tights. Bonus points are given for wearing socks over tights.
6. Boots Shoes Boots: I love boots. I cannot say it enough. Actually, I love any kind of shoes. All shoes. Any shoes. But boots are especially awesome because they make you feel powerful, like you can stomp out any problem. If I could have an unlimited supply of two things, they would be giftcards to Barnes and Noble and boots. And AA Advantage Miles, so three things.
7. Sweaters: cardigans are my lifeblood. Not really, but I do like them a lot. In my experience, Target sales racks have by far the best cardigans in the world. No matter what you wear, it always looks classier with a cardigan.
8. Everything Else: as a general rule, just wear things that look like they belong in a middle-aged woman's wardrobe, or could be purchased at the Gap - definitely some overlap in those two categories - but wear them with something unexpected like a t-shirt or those japris you bought at Hollister in 7th grade. Maybe that's the whole secret to my "style". Just wear things that you like, even if they look like they don't go together. Chances are, they don't and you'll start a new trend. Oh, and matching is overrated.

There. Now that I've spoken my piece, and my peace, about fashion, I hope every one of you eight readers forget about it and wear what you like.

Steady As a Beating Drum

So, I've fallen into this habit lately of listening to Disney music while I work on homework. It's by far the best idea I've had since coming to Tech. Not only do I get a wonderful sampling of Phil Collins and Alan Menken during my studying, it never fails that a song will stick in my head for the next day or two as well. You just can't beat Classic Disney in terms of animated movies or soundtracks. Too bad the man thinks that little girls no longer have any desire to become princesses and is nixing the typical Disney movie for the time being. (No joke-I read it here.) Isn't that just the saddest thing? Little girls "too cool" to want to be princesses? Well, if wanting to be a princess is wrong I don't ever, ever want to be right.

A Dedication

I would like to dedicate this post to my off-brand Silly Bandz. Now, I'm not one for trends (especially when they cater to humans 10 years younger than myself) but I'm kinda partial to this Silly Band collection I've got going. First is a seahorse because I asked a Cherokee Indian to pick me out a band that represented my personality and that is what he gave me. Obviously my spirit animal is a seahorse. Second is a stingray in honor of the late, great Steve Irwin. And third, the outline of North America. Because that is home. And if I'm not mistaken, a certain Razorback piccolo player has one, too, and I like to think that even though we're states apart, we still have a Silly Band Bond.

Recommended Reading

I finished reading same kind of different as me today. It took me all of three days, and that included massive hauls of studying in between chapters. I was supposed to read it a long time ago, having had it recommended to me over and over, but that little contrarian inside took over and refused to budge the book from its place on the shelf. (Yes, this does happen quite often.)

Now, after having read it, I am so glad that I did. Powerful and moving, the story grips you and does not let go. The incredible faith of the principle subjects knocks you off your rocker and leaves you inspired. Perhaps, though, the thing I respect most about this book is that never once was I made to feel guilty for what I have. So often, radical Christians preach guilt and shame to the haves, garnering only superficial giving for the have-nots. True, honest, giving comes from the heart, not from shame. God has blessed us not that we may spurn His blessing, but that we may use it to bless others.

"So in a way, we is all homeless - just workin our way toward home."

Thoughts

I've never really known much about Buddhism, except that it's a religion. This weekend, though, I listened to a new acquaintance explain her reasonings for being Buddhist. What I understood is that the entire religion is based on self - self punishment for wrongs and self rewards for rights. I can't help but think how entirely desolate, empty, and unfulfilling it must be to have everything center around yourself...

Title

I used to have a Twitter account named Calamity Molly, because I had just watched Calamity Jane and all of the cooler names that incorporated Molly were already in use. But then I got nonconformist and deleted my Twitter, just for the grounds of saying, "Twitter? Oh, I used to do that".

I used to have a blog named A Displaced Texan, because I had big dreams of telling the world how a Texan girl, through and through, was adjusting to life in Georgia. But after my Russia trip I got really hesitant to blog, so I deleted the whole thing, I think because I needed more time to process the trip before sharing my experiences than I originally allowed myself.

So here I am again, eating my words for the umpteenth time, Tweeting and blogging, this time under a new name. I didn't realize until setting up my new Twitter that I had such an awesome pun built into my name - and I've always pined after a cool name pun or nickname or the like. My middle name, Claire, can be put in front of my first name, Molly, in such a way that it sounds like "Clearly Molly", giving me much delight. Yes, I am a little obsessed with my newfound name pun, just because so many things happen to me that could only happen to me - they're Clairely Molly.