Thoughts from a Cardinals Fan

To be honest, I'm only posting this here because I know very few people are going to see it. I could post it to my Facebook and piss off a lot of my friends; I could put it all under a read more on my Tumblr and just bother my followers with yet another text post about baseball that they don't care about; I could even condense it into Tweet form, but it wouldn't be as sweet. I need this place to completely let my emotions go and say what exactly I think about the Cardinals, baseball fans, and this World Series in general.

First off, I am a huge Cardinals fan. I hesitate to say I'm even a baseball fan because I am so centered on my team that I fail to learn about other team's players, keep up with what's going on in other divisions, or know anything about baseball history. But through supporting my team over the years, I've picked up a good amount of baseball knowledge, so I can get by. That's what I tell myself.

I thoroughly enjoy watching baseball games, from start to finish when I can. I especially like watching my team win said games. Of course, who doesn't? And I'm fortunate enough that I get to see my team of choice win more often than many others. As a refresher, the St. Louis Cardinals have won 11 World Series titles, two of them this past decade in 2006 and 2011. So I have two distinct memories of watching my team win it all. It's great. And in recent years we've made appearances in the postseason more often than not.

I'm so proud of my team, and I will continue to support them through the inevitable highs and lows. But with such success, one can't help but think of the less fortunate. Those who haven't seen a championship for decades. And one of those such teams happens to be our favorite rivals, the Chicago Cubs.

Now, my younger years (if I can even say that at age 22) were dedicated to my hatred of the Cubs. I like to think I've grown out of that and more into pitying them. Not that pity is any nicer than hatred from a Cubs fan's perspective. It might be worse. But to the outside world, it looks more sympathetic. (When really to me, it's more comical.)

Anyway, the Cubs haven't tasted sweet victory since 1908, which basically means no one alive has experienced any kind of Cub championship. It makes sense that some fans would harbor hatred toward the Cardinals and Cardinals fans. And I've experienced this first hand. Especially during the postseason when the Cardinals are doing well.

Last year in 2012, my Facebook news feed and Twitter feed were filled with my Cubs fan acquaintances' complaining. Some were straight out offensive towards the Cardinals, simply stating that the poster hated the Cardinals and all Cardinals fans. Okay, that hurts. Maybe they didn't think about how that message was personally attacking human beings simply for their choices to root for a certain team. It's in poor taste, of course, but I found other statuses even more infuriating. These are the ones that profess to be rooting for the opposing team. Last year it was the San Francisco Giants.

Of course there were plenty of Cardinals fans coming out of the woodwork (I didn't even know you followed baseball! and yet you are posting a status about the "CARDS WIN!!!!" after every game...), but all of a sudden, half of my friends were inexplicably rooting for the Giants! Strange.

I'm going to try and say this without being too sarcastic, which I haven't been able to do before. But it bothers me to no end when Cubs fans in particular feel the need to root FOR a different team instead of AGAINST the Cardinals. Does that make sense? Instead of posting statuses about how they want to Cardinals to lose, I see things like "Let's go Giants!!" (or in the case of this year, when we are in fact in the World Series again, "Red Sox!!"). And for some reason, this really gets under my skin. Maybe I'm just sensitive and quick to defend my team. Whatever the reason, I still believe it's a sad move that these fans have to resort to rooting for another team every year instead of being able to stick with their own team to the end. That's really all there is to say about it. I'm just glad that I can say "Go Cardinals!!" every year.

Now, that should give some insight into how desperate Cubs fans are. I know how great it feels to see my team win, and I know that it's exciting every year, despite how many times we've done it before. But I wonder if it loses its sweetness over time.

In 2006, I remember watching us win. My dad and I both stood up upon that final strike thrown by Wainwright, and we watched the field flood with Cardinals jersey's, and we were speechless for a few minutes, just looking at each other and back to the television, reveling in the victory.

In 2011, I sat alone in my room in Spain, watching a sketchy live feed of the game at almost 7am. The power had been out for half of the game, and it had just come on in time for me to watch the last few outs. But I saw Allen Craig catch that pop fly in deep left, and heard the announcer say "What a team! What a ride! The Cardinals are world champs in 2011!" and I sat there in awe at how my team had overcome so much and still come out with a win.

I know how it feels to win. It's incredible. And I feel almost the same excitement this year. But I can't help but think how amazing it would feel as a Cubs fan, if they ever do win again. Over a century of waiting, of disappointment, of losing. To finally feel the thrill of one huge win. I'm almost envious. Almost. To get that high, you've got to win something first.

Anyway, I've rambled on long enough. That exactly why this is here and not on any other social media site.

TL;DR I know I'm spoiled by my team's success, but I still root for them whole-heartedly, and I'm glad that I can continue to root for them instead of for another team who is playing my rivals, like many Cubs fans have to do in the postseason. Yet Cubs fans have an advantage, if they ever were to win, I'm sure it would be absolutely magical for them. I fear that as a Cardinals fan I'm slowly getting desensitized to winning. Not just yet, but maybe a few more championships from now. ;)

Catch-Up

So now that I've made my birthday post, it's time for some catching up. I know I didn't write for a long time until recently. Therefore, this post is dedicated to telling you all the things you missed. This should be fun.

Other than it being summer, there are two main things that have happened that I think that my blog has missed. Both of which I have written about before: Jennifer Jareau and Harry Potter.

First, JJ. You may recall my post, The Imminent Return of JJ, in which I discuss my issue with CBS cutting Jennifer Jareau's character on Criminal Minds. At the end, I believe I said something like..."if you somehow happen to be an executive at CBS or in any position of power to bring JJ back to Criminal Minds, please consider my rock solid reasoning. I know thousands of fans would absolutely love you."
Well, I am pleased to announce, an executive must have been reading my post because they have officially brought JJ back to Criminal Minds for good! That's awesome news, right?! I knew that post would make a difference. ;)

So my character will be reunited with her BFF, Spence, and everything will be awesome this next season. :)
That's it for JJ, though.

On to Harry.

If you've not been keeping up with my blog, you may not know that I blogged my way through reading Harry Potter for the first time this past winter. Naturally, I fell in love, became obsessed, etc., etc... An accomplishment that had no public outlet until just recently, with the release of the eighth and final Harry Potter movie!
I decided to go all out, wearing full Hufflepuff costume and brandishing a homemade (but seriously legit) wand. I told people I was Hannah Abbott. And that I marry Neville.
[I know I was against the Hannah-Neville relationship before, but my selfishness won out. I want Neville for myself, and I think I'm Hannah Abbott. There is nothing wrong with me.]
Here is a picture of me (Hannah Abbott) and Kelsey (Hermione) at the midnight showing!!

The movie was wonderful, more than I could have hoped for. Someone freaked me out before the movie started, saying something about how they might not have the part where Neville kills the snake (then I started wondering if they maybe had someone else do it instead), and so I spent a good majority of the film all tensed up just waiting to see Neville in his moment of glory.

They threw me for a loop, too, though. They gave Neville this whole bridge scene where he's being chased by an army and the bridge is collapsing, and he falls off the edge, but still manages to hold on! And as soon as that part was over I was like this is not good, they only gave him that whole heroic part because they're going to have someone else kill the snake, I just know it.

And so later, Harry tells Hermione that she needs to kill the snake, and I honestly whispered No! in the middle of the theater. If Hermione was going to kill the snake, someone was going to pay after the movie. Probably someone dressed up as Hermione in close proximity. Not boding well for Kelsey.

So THEN, when it comes time to kill the snake, seriously EVERYONE attempts to kill her. Hermione's out there with a basilisk fang, taking stabs at the snake, and Ron's right there with her. It's like, the quest to kill the snake, and everyone but Neville gets to try. I was about to cry.

BUT THEN THE MOMENT OF TRUTH! NEVILLE KILLS THE SNAKE IN ALL HIS GLORY!! IT WAS EVERYTHING I COULD HAVE EVER WANTED.

I love that man. I love him so much.

So enough gushing about Neville. God knows there's enough of that all over this blog. But the movie was brilliant, despite some itty bitty things I would have enjoyed seeing.

1. Hagrid being more distraught over Harry's death. I know it's nit-picky, but in the book, Hagrid's reaction is heart-breaking. In the movie, he's just like "No! 'Arry!" And then he's all stone-faced as he carries him to Hogwarts. Shed a tear or two, Hagrid. You cry over dead spiders.
2. Harry creating his old wand using the Elder wand. He just snaps the Elder wand in two. Like...didn't you want to do something with that before destroying it? You really want to be left with Draco's wand? Okay...
3. Kreacher fighting in the Battle of Hogwarts. I honestly consider Kreacher one of my favorite characters now, and the fact that he wasn't even included in this movie was depressing. I love how he changes and how he ends up fighting with the house elves.

So that's it for my complaints. I told you there were few. I may think of more, but I won't post them when I do; I'll just complain to whomever's around. :)

But that wraps it up for Harry Potter! And this post. So I hope that was enough to make me feel like I can blog about current things now. And not everything all at once. And I promise, I won't write about Harry Potter all the time. Although I will have a Pottermore post for sure. :)

Til later!

Goodbye, Teenage Years

I realize I have plenty that I could write about right now, seeing as I haven't posted anything in months. But my birthday was yesterday, so that seems a convenient thing to write about.

I'm twenty now. Dang it. But let's not dwell on that.

Yesterday was a good day. :) I got to go to Champaign with my two best friends from home (Kelsey and Hillary) and see some of my best friends from school (Betsy and Minyona)! We went bowling, and I scored a 109 on my second game. Not too shabby. And then we went to Cocomero and had nummy frogurt and drinks!

Hillary, Kelsey, and me!

Me, Betsy, and Minyona!

Anyway, that was the fun part of my birthday.

Now for the sad part. You may know that Borders, the bookstore, is closing nationwide. You may also know that the Borders in Bloomington was the choice hangout of the Phalanx (me, Kelsey, and Hillary) until it closed in the winter. You may even know that yesterday, my birthday, was the last day that Borders was going to be open normally before putting everything on a liquidation sale.

I could try to explain to you how much Borders meant to me and my friends. 

How we started going there just to do math homework during our senior year in high school, and one Saturday we spent 8 hours there catching up on all the homework we had put off until then. 

How we had the menu memorized, how we filled out our punch cards to get free drinks until they did away with those and started keeping track electronically.

How every time we ordered drinks, we used different names and tried to pass them off as our own until the workers realized that we were different people every time.

How we had our own special table with our own usual spots, and if anyone was at our table when we got there, we would wait and take over it as soon as they got out of their seats.

How we went there to celebrate good times, like the beginning of summer, or someone's birthday, and how we went there during the worst times.

Borders was our home.

But nothing I say can fully explain how important Borders was to us.

Point being, yesterday was our last day getting drinks at a real Borders cafe. Having said goodbye to our own local Borders months ago, we had to go to the one in Champaign.

We really only wanted to get drinks, sit there for a while, and maybe buy one last thing with a few remaining gift cards.

So this is what happened. We walked in, saw a sign on the cafe and freaked out that it was already closed. It was a false alarm, but still terrible because the sign actually said they were out of the bonding powder to make Javakulas, which are our usual drinks. So we were really mad about that.

We also needed to come up with weird names. We decided on our recognizable but sufficiently strange Star Wars names (Kelsey is Princess Leia, Hillary is Yoda, and I am Obi-Wan).

But then, the best part of the Borders experience for the day, we met the cafe worker. I don't know his name; he didn't have a nametag. But he was super nice. He offered to make us iced Javakulas instead of the less-desirable alternative drinks we had chosen. And when we said our names, he called them loud and clear with pride for Star Wars. He even said "Master Yoda." And then he spoke in a Yoda voice. He was kind of weird. But we thoroughly appreciated it.

Anyway, Kelsey told him it was my birthday, so he only charged me for a latte, even though I was getting something more expensive, and said the rest was on him. And he gave us whatever toppings we wanted on our drinks because they needed to get rid of them anyway.

I know this is a long and pointless post about Borders, but despite it being our last day going there ever, it was about the best day I could have asked for.

So Borders closing was the end of an era for us. The end of my teenage years, as well.

All of it is bittersweet.

But there are different, yet equally as exciting things ahead. We may never find another "Borders." I'll never be a teenager again. But I still have my amazing friends and a super-privileged life, and I could not be more thankful. :)
Happy birthday to me!

The Imminent Return of JJ

If you do not watch Criminal Minds and don't care about it, now is the time to stop reading this post. That means most people. Yet, if you are still reading and you are interested in what my ominous title and half-hearted forewarning might mean, do read on.

Jennifer Jareau aka JJ

JJ, or Agent Jennifer Jareau, is a character on Criminal Minds, which airs on CBS every Wednesday at 9/8c.  It is an appropriately named crime show which follows a team of FBI agents as they attempt to solve murders, abductions, etc. which involve a psychological aspect. They use the art of "profiling," which means using cues found in the case to create a stereotype, if you will, of the potential killer. It's a real method that is still in use today, as I have read books about it. :)
Anyways, an example of real-life profiling is: we have a woman who was stabbed in the face and killed. Profilers would look at that and instantly use data collected on this type of crime to determine that the perpetrator was most likely a male (who would favor using a knife as well as would prey on women) who knew the woman personally (because violence to the face indicates a personal relationship).
Ta-da!
So that's what this show is. And I love it. But JJ, or rather, A.J. Cook (the actor), has been taken off of the show, and that's not cool because JJ is my character.

There was a lot of backlash regarding JJ's departure, including a petition, Twitter posts from cast members, and just a lot of general grumbling from fans. Because of all the complaints, the network agreed to allow JJ's character to appear in the first two episodes of the new season to provide closure. Then she left. And I cried, not gonna lie.
But now they are bringing her back for one more episode, which is airing this week! I'm more than a little excited, but I wonder how much CBS is going to toy with us...bringing her back and taking her away again, over and over. So here are my reasons for why JJ should return as a regular character on Criminal Minds:

1) She is the only one with her specific job. I need to give a quick run-down of the members of the team:
Profilers - Aaron Hotchner, Dr. Spencer Reid, Emily Prentiss, Derek Morgan, and David Rossi
Tech Genius - Penelope Garcia

Team Liaison - Jennifer Jareau

Hotch         Spence             Prentiss         Morgan           Rossi              Garcia

Do you notice that there are five profilers and only one team liaison? Well, it's true. The profilers get to sit in their little board room and listen to JJ detail the crime they are investigating, then they throw around possibilities and stuff. A very important job, but five of them are doing the same thing. And JJ even helps.

JJ's job is to choose the cases the BAU (Behavioral Analysis Unit) takes on, present them to the team, and then serve as liaison between the FBI and other jurisdictions or the media. She also makes arrangements for grieving families to have their funerals, holds press conferences about how the investigation is going, and helps to decide which information to disclose and which must still be confidential.
She has a very, very important job.
Nobody else does this job. Why would you take out a character that plays a unique role in every episode? I do not know.

2) She is a strong female character. Did you also notice that there are three women and four men on the team? Taking away JJ leaves you with two women and four men. And Garcia already has a kind of behind-the-scenes job. Not to mention they are talking about doing away with Prentiss. Don't even get me started.
Also, JJ is one of the few characters with an incredibly well-developed back story. We get some with Hotch and Spence, but JJ recently had a baby and is getting married. There is kind of a lot going on with her character that we would like to keep following, you know.

Ugh

3) They've replaced her with a freaky look-a-like who has no depth. Look at this girl. That is "Ashley Seaver," some stupid new addition to the BAU. I don't know what was going on in the minds of the producers of Criminal Minds when they were like, "La di dah, let's cast a boring girl who looks a whole lot like JJ to anger our fans even more that we fired A.J. Cook. And then every time they watch the show, they will first think that the pretty blond girl is JJ, but then they will realize it's this useless new girl, and they'll hate us, and it will be so funny! Hahaha!" And then they talk some more about getting rid of Prentiss because they don't even want anyone to watch the show anymore.
I can't even look at her.

4) She is Spence's best friend. Honestly, JJ and Spence are BFFs. And not just because JJ is my character and my best friend's character is Spencer. For one, I refer to Dr. Reid as Spence throughout this blog because JJ is the only one that calls him Spence. Except the freaking STUPID NEW GIRL CALLED HIM SPENCE ONCE AND I WAS ABOUT TO SHOOT THE TV.
But yeah, they are for real best friends. Don't believe me? Here's an awkward picture of Spence feeling JJ's baby kick:

JJ made Spence her baby's godfather. How cute is that? How is Spence supposed to carry out his godfather duties without JJ on the show? This is so depressing.

JJ can't be gone. Now that they are bringing her back again, it's rehashing all the pain I fought back the first time she left. If they are going to have her back for one episode, why not keep her? Ahhh.
Well, congratulations on getting this far if you have never heard of Criminal Minds. I applaud you. And even if you do like Criminal Minds, I blabbered on and on with this post, so thank you for reading. And if you somehow happen to be an executive at CBS or in any position of power to bring JJ back to Criminal Minds, please consider my rock solid reasoning. I know thousands of fans would absolutely love you.

How to Power Nap

I honestly think one of the greatest skills to acquire in college is mastering the art of the "power nap." It takes practice, and if you go too long without one, you have to get back into the routine, but it's so worth it.
The power nap is useful because once you're really good, you can take ten to twenty minute long, refreshing naps at almost any time. Just think about it: you're exhausted after a day of classes, but you have a meeting in less than an hour. What to do? Take a nap! And still have time left to get some stuff done.

The art of power napping is often lost because of people's misconceptions about the length of time necessary for a refreshing nap. People think that a good three hour nap in the afternoon is what you need to recharge after a long day. Wrong! Based on experience and studies that I have read but don't remember exactly, those naps only make you lethargic and make you lose sleep the following night.

Now, sites like this one explain the benefits of naps in detail as well as outlines the specific different kinds of naps. I'm not going to read that whole thing because I'm lazy. Look what I'm doing. Blogging about naps! How much lazier can you get?!
But, if you feel like educating yourself, there are plenty of sites about power naps. This idea is hardly original. This other site looks promising, based on my first impression. And it's not as long as that other one, which is always a plus.

So, how do you get to be a pro napper, according to me? Follow these simple steps:

1. Always Set an Alarm.  I usually fit my naps in between classes or other things I have to do. This means an alarm is a must. Figure out how long you want to nap (twenty to thirty minutes is usual), and set your alarm to go off ten to fifteen minutes after that time. Ex: I want to sleep for twenty minutes, and it is 3:00. I will set my alarm to 3:35.
You will know best how long it takes you to fall asleep, so always keep that in mind when setting your alarm. You don't want to set it for twenty minutes and wake up only to find that you were able to sleep for five.

2. Self-Control.  When your alarm goes off, GET UP. The temptation to just lay in bed for another few hours will be overwhelming. Do not listen to it. If you sleep any longer, your whole sleep schedule will get messed up and then you will probably die. Interesting fact: Did you know that you can die if you don't sleep for 10 days? However, the world record for going without sleep is 11 days. Doesn't that just sound terrible? Think about that when you are feeling selfish and wanting to sleep an extra hour and ruin your nap schedule. Just think about it.

3. Create an Environment.
   a. Location: Your nap is not the same thing as a night's sleep. It should not feel like it. If you have another place to lay down where you can sleep other than the bed you sleep in at night, nap there. If you don't, use a different blanket or something. I use my bed for naps, so I usually only sleep under one blanket during a nap, but I use all my covers for bedtime.
   b. Lighting: Don't turn off all the lights. It is not night time yet! I always keep one light on in my room so I don't get tempted into thinking I can sleep forever. Too many times have I woken up from a nap and realized it is completely dark outside. Then I never want to get up. It's a problem.
   c. Clothing: It's also probably a good idea to sleep in the clothes you are wearing so you don't get too comfortable. If you are in really restricting clothes, you can change, but jeans and a tshirt are perfectly effective for napping.
   d. Position: Finally, I sleep in a different position when napping versus when I sleep at night. To get to sleep at night, I lay on my back, but during naps, I always lay on my side. If you are able to do this, I highly recommend it as well. Anything to help your body distinguish between naps and actual sleep.

And once you've done all this, you have to gradually get yourself used to sleeping like this. The first time you try, it will be pretty difficult. You'll want to keep sleeping or you won't have really slept at all by the time your alarm goes off. Do not fret. You will get better. And the biggest benefit of a power nap is that you don't get that horrendous groggy feeling like you get from a three-hour nap.

I hope these guidelines sort of helped, and best of luck with your napping endeavors!

Forever and Ever and Everandeverandever

I just posted this video on Facebook, so posting it here might be a little redundant, but my heart is so rooted in this song that I don't care. If you've never heard this song (or even if you have a million times), you should listen to it right now. Stop what you are doing, and give eight minutes of your life to just listen.
Holy, by Matt Gilman (live, just how I like it):

And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,
"Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!"

Revelation 4:8

I first heard this song when I went to Onething, a conference in Kansas City with the International House of Prayer, during the winter of 2008. Actually, we spent the tail-end of 2008 there, and along with thousands of people, we rang in the new year worshiping and celebrating. It was such an amazing experience, and I would love to go again. 

It was during this particular song that God laid it on my heart that He wanted me to sing for Him. Not the biggest revelation in the world, but He really showed me that I can connect to Him through singing and that it gives Him joy.

I grew to love the kind of prophetic music that we sang at Onething. The lyrics are so simple and extremely repetitive, but they are rooted in scripture and carry such power. And because the songs were so repetitive, you usually never wanted them to end. That's exactly how I feel about this song. I have listened to this song on a loop so many times, it's almost embarrassing. Once, I listened to it over and over again during an entire bus ride back from Chicago. That's two and a half hours.

In this busy day and age, it's overwhelming to think of doing something forever. When I used to read that verse in Revelation about the four creatures saying the same thing over and over again, I thought that sounded like the most boring job ever.

Now I beg to differ. I often find myself longing for more worship, more music, by the end of a song at church or Large Group. When it's time to sit or leave, I feel like I could have kept singing for another hour. The thought of singing "holy, holy, holy" day and night, night and day, is the most comforting thing I can think of right now.

God has placed this desire in our hearts, to seek Him always and to worship Him for all time. I have just one other video, and this one is ten minutes, but it is just so beautiful and powerful that I can't not post it. It's Matt Gilman again, and this time, this song is from the conference I attended. I remember exactly where I was standing during this time. It was right after "Holy," when God had told me how He loved to hear me sing. So I sang my heart out with everyone else. I almost cried with every word. God is that amazing.

Tonight is All-Campus Worship at the University of Illinois. It's like a mini-Onething with all the campus ministries coming together just to worship for one night a semester. Unfortunately, it won't last forever. But Heaven will, and I will get to sing forever and ever and never stop. Because that's exactly what my soul is made for.

Can I Be In A Musical?

Please? Right now?
I miss musicals. I got to participate in three of them during high school, and musical season was always the best part of the year. I played violin in the pit orchestra for our production of Aida, and I fell in love with it. Also became uncontrollably obsessed with it. It's an amazing Romeo & Juliet type story set in ancient Egypt. With breathtaking music by Tim Rice and Elton John (same people who did The Lion King).
The next year, I wanted to be part of the cast, and we were performing Seussical.
I was a Butter Battle Cadet:

Ohh, yeah. Then, we did Cinderella the following year (our choir directors went through a kiddie musical phase in which they wanted to cater to everyone's little siblings for some reason). I was a "maiden," so nothing special, but still musicals were some of the best times of my life in high school.
I'm the girl in the green skirt with only one shoe who looks like I'm about to bring the terror:

Point being, I love musicals. And, I spent a good amount of my weekend watching and becoming obsessed with A Very Potter Musical and A Very Potter Sequel on youtube. And wishing I could be a part of the cast and relive my glory days.

First, I will say that if you are a Harry Potter fan and are not afraid of a little parody, A Very Potter Musical and its Sequel are for you. I highly recommend both because they are incredibly hilarious.
Draco is my favorite character, followed by Voldemort. They're all really awesome though.
Darren Criss, who now plays a strong supporting character (Blaine!) on Glee, plays Harry and also wrote all of the music and lyrics for both musicals (along with A.J. Holmes on the first one).
Seriously, guys. These musicals made my weekend.

But my point for this post is just to reiterate how much I want to be in a musical right now. We have productions here in college, but I don't have time nor do I have the talent to compete with theatre and music majors in auditions.
So I don't know how to remedy this dilemma. That's why I'm complaining I guess.
Honestly, I can't come up with a single solution other than to just get over it.
I can't get over it! I want to sing! Ahh. Nostalgia attack.

This post is getting embarrassing now. I feel like more and more of my posts are ending up like this. I promise I'll have some better ones soon. This is just the result of poorly planned procrastination. Ahaha, is there such a thing? Yes, in my opinion. And that's what I'm blaming for this sub-par post.
Now I'm going to watch Criminal Minds.