Anyan Jones

I Am Shallow

2005-12-05T10:07:00.000-06:00

For any of you out there who were thinking that I am really deep and meaningful and totally above the trappings of this world, I'm here to announce that I'm not. I am shallow. I'm not completely proud of this fact, but i can't deny it any longer either. I came to this devestating realization yesterday when I sat in front of my t.v. for three hours watching the "America's Next Top Model" marathon on VH1. I did do other things during that time like read, cook, and cut two of my friend's hair... but only in the commercial breaks. And when my roomate had to have a study session in our room, I went downstairs to Jessica's dorm so that I could see what happened. Mostly i like looking at the outfits and the pictures that they take because they are usually really interesting and artistic, but i get drawn into the challenges and the drama of it all and seeing pretty girls cry at the end of every show makes me kind of sad for them, just before i start laughing. I know that it can be traumatic to find out these kind of deep dark secrets about someone you thought you knew, i can almost hear the gasps and head shaking as I type, but oh well. That's just who I am. I am Shallow.

Blind Date

2005-12-03T23:18:00.000-06:00

Well, our "sorority" a.k.a. social club had a function today in which we were all set up on blind dates. It was called the ice breaker function because the activity du jour consisted of ice skating!! I met my date, Jason, before leaving and he is someone i have seen around campus but never really knew. He is from the coolest state around (get it...a"round".like round on the sides and hi in the middle..for OHIO) so we had something to talk about right away. I was so excited about ice skating because it has been a really long time and i have wonderfully glamorous memories from skating rinks, but when we walked in it was smelly and ugly and old. I remembered it all being a lot cooler when i was younger, but oh well. Unfortunately both pairs of skates that i tried hurt me so badly that i couldn't stay out for too long, but there were some definite highlights to the whole experience. First one of my friends took out a little boy and sent him flying on accident and then later ran into an old lady and bust her hip...okay i lied about the hip part but it was hilarious nonetheless. Then i saw a chain of about eight youngsters starting a train, so i joined them...i felt like Wil Ferrell in "Elf", alas the chain was soon broken by a total lack of coordination (unfortunately i didn't really help at all). I finally decided that i would go to the side of the ring and just watch because my calves hurt so badly where we tossed food over the glass and the people on the other side tried to catch it with their mouths (you've probably played this game before, but it is a lot more interesting on ice). My favorite part of the whole day has to be, though, as we were driving and Jason saw a sign which said "singles hotline. free info. call 225-love" so after a little bit of coercing he called but when he revealed that he was twenty the girl on the other line, Amy, said you have to be twenty-five. So he promptly called back and said "I changed my mind, I'm 25" to which she responded "then you have to be thirty!" and hung up on him!!! He got rejected by the singles hotline!!! We couldn't let this go, so on the way back to campus we called a couple more times until we finally got our free info!! victory is ours.

I Can't Win

2005-12-02T10:01:00.000-06:00

I'm sitting in the library right now and i'm sweating profusely. You might be wondering why? maybe i just worked out or had a hot flash or something...if you thought that then you would be wrong because the only reason why i am sweating is becuase it is so cold outside! come again. yup, you heard me, its freezing outside so of course i bundle up only to go inside a building where the thermostat is turned up to 80 degrees. i can't win.

Driving "Home"

2005-11-29T10:14:00.000-06:00

Something about being in a car and knowing that there is no escape for at least the next 10 hours does something to me. I am typically a very "normal" person, but put me behind the wheel and i become the most obnoxious person ever. I am either completely out of it and look like i am void of any emotion or though, or else i am laughing hysterically. I can't help myself, everything just seems so hilarious when there is no end to the torture in sight. I realized yesterday that I do the same thing in classes. We were learning about glaze calculations in pottery class which seems straightforward enough BUT NO!! It was so confusing and long and tedious and i wanted nothing more than to punch myself in the eye so that i could go to the nurse, but instead I became overly enthusiastic and was laughing at EVERYTHING! I'm sure that everyone must have wanted to punch me too, too bad they didn't, then i would have had a real reason to go to the nurse.

A Vision

2005-10-26T00:00:00.000-05:00

I had a vision tonight as I was praying with a friend. It was of hands that were reaching up to God and His hands were reaching down to pick them up and pull them up out of what they were trapped in, but in order to take His hands they had to let go of the things that they were holding onto. It really encouraged me to let go of anything that is preventing His powerful hands to lift me up, because THAT is His good and perfect will for me. (Psalm 40:2) How desperately He longs to set our feet on the solid rock and to save us from ourselves and this world.

"alycia is"

2005-10-24T10:15:00.000-05:00

Okay, i was looking around at some very entertaining people's blogs and found a pretty fun google activity.
You type in "[your name/nickname] is" (make sure to put the quotation marks) and see what cyberspace thinks of you...

Alycia is...
"currently pursuing her bachelor of science degree"(how did they know?)
"a wonderful teacher" (um...)
"a gifted detail person who is motivated to be excellent" (if its on the internet it must be true)
"the SHIZNIT!" (definetly)
"an enthusiastic flautist"(never knew)
"content to let her lab partner do the dirty work" (ha ha)
"a very beautiful woman" (of course)
"31 inches and 22 and1/2 pounds" (i wish)
"a very nice woman" (awwww)
"a lesbian" (WHAT??)
"involved in reconstructing evolutionary relationships among groups of anthropods." (wow)
"quiet and unassuming" (?)
"the ultimate place for comfort food" (hmm)
"available"(true)
"quite the traveler"(true)
"multi-talented and an asset to any team she works on. "(TRUE)

oh, the hilarity.

Corn Maze

2005-10-21T17:59:00.000-05:00

i think the phrase "corn maze" is funny. in spanish, maiz (which sounds a lot like a country way of saying maze) means corn and so in my mind it sounds like "corn corn" which is slightly redundant. anyway, i'm going to one tonight and i'm so excited because the weather is perfect for it...it is cold and overcast and actually feels like fall. And i'm excited because i will be meeting some new people and hopefully having some fun and i'm kind of in a peep meeting mood. Tomorrow i will be walking (not running) in the race for the cure...that should be interesting, i will be walking to honor all of the cancer survivors and then i will keel over dead on the side of the road because i am so out of shape. Hopefully i won't bring shame upon my friends and family.

FLANNEL

2005-10-10T08:53:00.000-05:00

IT'S FALL (my favorite season of all time) and everyone seems to be breaking out the flannel... and I LOVE IT!! seriously, the more you look like a lumberjack, the more i will be secretly in love with you from afar. Something about it is seemingly rugged and manly yet so cozy and warm. It makes a guy look strong and sensitive all at the same time. I can't really explain it but a few of my friends have already threatened to disown me because of it. Something inside me gets really excited everytime i see someone wearing it (oh bestill my beating heart) and i think that very soon i will be needing to add some to my own wardrobe. Or maybe i will just settle for some flannel sheets...we'll see.

It's been a long long time

2005-10-08T13:38:00.000-05:00

well, if any of you have given up hope that i will ever post again and have stopped checking my site...too bad, but for those of you who have been faithful, look at your great reward! okay, so a couple of lines isn't that great of a reward, but i finally have a computer...a beautiful computer...and so i can post to my hearts content (don't get your hopes up too high though, i still have a life) but i have been becoming quite the little nerd lately. and since i hear that nerds will someday rule the earth, i think it's about time that i started my nerd boot camp. (my drill sgt just happens to be josh)

Let Me Tell You 'Bout My Best Friend

2005-03-10T17:30:00.000-06:00

yes, I'm talking about Sarah Ander--i mean, Penly. I've been visiting her and her hubby for the past few days and i'll be here till sunday but let me tell you, i forgot how much we laugh at eachother. Today we went to trashcan mountain...i mean Mt. Trashmoore. yes, a mountain actually made of trash. Which in and of itself was hilarious and then her husband, Justin (who i will refer to as J-dog from now on) kept trying to get her to run down the side of it. Well this ended up with a lot of drama and screaming until finally she sat down three year old style and refused to move...so he drug her on her butt and it was hilarious. then she had so much fun that she made me do it too. While she was distracted by me sitting on the side of the hill laughing her grabbed her from behind and started running, but i guess that her feet couldn't keep up with her and so i see these arms flail up into the air and this big bush of blonde hair go flying as she falls over sideways and starts rolling down the rest of the way...all the while J-dog just keep on running and looks back at her like "what happened?" I know that it can't nearly be as funny reading about it as it was to watch it happen but i seriously almost peed on myself. Then this afternoon she was singing an Ashlee Simpson song so i punched her in what i thought was her thigh, but it was actually her knee and i could hear it reverberate from the coffee table so she punched me three times to "make it even" which isn't even AT ALL, so we got in a good old fashioned fist fight. The whole while J-dog is sitting next to us flipping through the chanels. I love you Sarah, but i wouldn't fall asleep tonight if i were you.

Busted

2005-03-02T20:27:00.000-06:00

Yup, my pooter has been busted...no, not for posession of illigal narcotics like i always suspected, it's just broken. hence the no updations. Anyway, I'm headed home tomorrow, whatever home is. WOOT!!

Bikini Bootcamp

2005-02-03T21:27:00.000-06:00

So I'm talking to my Dad while walking around in wal-mart. We have been planning to go to a "health and wellness" place over the spring break which I like to refer to as "fat camp". So anyway, we are talking about fat camp and it turns out that the one we wanted to go to didn't start on the right day for our schedules, so he is looking up our other options while talking to me on the phone and I'm half way listening until he says...
"Well, here's a place called Bikini Bootcamp"
I cracked up laughing so hard that the people in produce probably thought I was crazy. I could just imagine my dad, the always official businessman, telling his coworkers "Sorry, fellas, I'm going to need to take a week off next month because I'm going to Bikini Bootcamp"
Too bad it was in Mexico.

2005-02-02T21:27:00.000-06:00

Happy Groundhog's Day!

A Crying Shame

2005-02-01T21:27:00.000-06:00

every time i stand
still i become
a crying
shame filled tears hide
behind doors i dare
not open
yet i listen
and on the other side
my heart is breaking
my grip is failing
me a failure
new hope and newer glory
found
but i'm the lost one and losing
fading
into that broken background
that cuts deep
under the skin that never was
thick enough to listen
yet i trust
in satisfaction i have not tasted
and i release
what was never mine
but will always be

do you ever feel like you've just had the wind knocked out of you? that's how i've felt ever since i woke up.

It Was a Cup Thrower

2005-01-30T21:27:00.000-06:00

Whenever I see really bad movies...Especially really bad romantic movies I have this funny habit of screaming at the t.v. and throwing things at it in the middle of my ranting. Well, the past few times that this has happened, the closest object to me was an empty cup, so of course I threw it then had to retrieve it so that I could throw it again later on in the movie. Well, one day I was asking a friend about a particular movie and I asked her "Was it a cup thrower?" and because she always watches movies with me, she knew exactly what I meant (I love it when that happens) and now, somehow the phrase has spread like wildfire and whenever someone mentions a movie with horrible dialogue, disappointing plot or terrible acting they call it a "cup thrower". I feel so influential!!

God Provides

2005-01-25T17:12:00.000-06:00

God Provides Financially...
I had to pay dues and a few other things this monday for my sorority but pretty much i only had three dollars to my name, well, that doesn't quite cut it but for some reason i wasn't freaking out. I didn't know what would happen but i was prepared to find out. Then i walked over to my mailbox just before my night class and inside was a card from my Grandma with 50 bucks inside (more than enough)! Does God have good timing or what?

God Provides Rest...
That monday my roomate and i stayed up way past our bed time talking about the mysteries of the universe and relationships etc. and it was an awesome conversation and really revealing to us both, but the next day i was super tired. I went to breakfast early with a friend and then had to go to chapel and class but by the time i was walking to my classroom i felt like i could have passed out. Well, i stroll up to the room and there is a note on the door...yup, my three hour class has been cancelled which equalled a two hour nap for alycia.

God Provides Sanity...
I am a scatterbrain, i know that and am thinking about going to group help sessions, but i lose things ALL THE TIME! well, its only the second week into the semester and i had already lost my i.d. card which pretty much is your ticket to anything and everything on campus (at least as far as food is concerned). a week and a half had gone by and i still hadn't found it so i'm headed over to the business office to get a new one, but i only have so much money left over from the card and i HAVE to buy a canvas for painting class that day, its either buy a canvas or buy a new i.d. and the need for the canvas was more immediate, however as i'm paying for my canvas i am playing with the side pocket of my purse and what do i find?...MY I.D.!!! I wanted to kick myself for having put it in the side pocket that i never look in, but i was too thankful and excited to be mad.

God Provides Laughter...
I have been praying for refreshing and renewal for myself and many of my friends lately. I am expecting this deep overhaul and this momentous occasion and as I'm waiting for the answer to my prayers i was talking to my "Kindred Spirit" (the one who still hasn't posted anything on her blog) who lives in Virginia. She called me last night and we ended up talking for two and a half hours and we laughed so hard i thought that my face was going to break. We talked about moms and boys and life and God and all of our old favorite songs and things to do and when i got off the phone with her, i realized...I had been refreshed! God had completely renewed my joy and filled me up with such edifying conversation and i couldn't help but overflow to the rest of the people around me. He used her to give me perspective, confidence, love, but best of all laughter.

so the bottom line is...God provides.

My Stupid Older Brother

2005-01-24T22:42:00.000-06:00

My stupid older brother is a hacker. He hacked into my blog tonight and left this stupid post. I'm so mad at him.

A Lesson From Amoebas

2005-01-20T21:27:00.000-06:00

"Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley did an experiment sometime ago that involved introducing an amoeba into a perfectly stress-free environment. Ideal temperature, optimal concentration of moisture, constant food supply- the amoeba had an environment to which it had to make no adjustment whatsoever. So you would guess that that was one happy little amoeba. Yet, oddly enough, it died. Apparently there is something about all living creatures, even amoebas, that demands challenge. Comfort alone will kill us. "
John Ortberg

Do You Know Where Your Midgets Are?

2005-01-19T21:27:00.000-06:00

If you are missing any midge...i mean, little people, you should probably try looking at my school. I saw three of them galavanting in broad daylight today. They are trying to blend in with the other students, so they didn't walk together, but they couldn't fool me. I think a conspiracy is a brewin'. You better come get your midge...i mean, little people, and soon, before things get out of hand. I don't want to have to deal with the aftermath of another bite and run incident.

The Sweetest Thing

2005-01-18T23:52:00.000-06:00

I remember a time when I was living in Costa Rica that I was forced to live in perpetual fear. Why? you might be asking yourself...Well, there were these geese that would wait at the edge of the property for you to cross the line onto "their turf" and if you did they would either chase you away or try to rip your flesh from your bones. These weren't some cute little geese that you would throw some bread to and feel like you are in the middle of some sentimental movie, NO, they were the kind that you could imagine singing songs from West Side Story and pulling a switch blade on you while you have your back to them. Anyway, because they were such a threat i would walk the children to school in the morning and pick them up after it let out in the afternoon and i would carry a big stick with me just incase the Goose Gang tried to pull any "funny business". Well, one day i went into town and since i didn't see them anywhere i just assumed that they were killing a wild animal or something and went on my way without my giant stick. Well, I got out to the main road and into town just fine but when i turned the corner to go back down the dirt road leading back to the orphanage, I saw them walk one by one out from behind the bushes. I couldn't believe it, I was being ambushed! I stood there in shock for a few moments weighing my options...
1. try and outrun them?
nope, i had tried that before and it hadn't worked, it just made them angrier.
2. try and find a stick to fend them off with?
nope, i don't think the neighbors would have looked kindly on my tearing off branches from their trees.
3. go back into town and hope that they were gone when i came back
nope, i needed to get back to start dinner, and i wasn't going to let some stupid geese run my life!

Well, it looked like i was just going to have to get mauled, but right as i was about to start running and hope that i kicked them on the way, a man came around the corner and said to me...

"Hey, wait, don't go by them, they will bite you"
"I know but i don't have a choice"
"Well, what if i distract them and then you can sneak by?"
"ARE YOU CRAZY!! Do you know how mean and dangerous these geese are?!?!"
"Yeah, well, i'm wearing jeans and you are only wearing a skirt so it will hurt me less"

Before I could protest, he started walking towards them and his plan worked because their glares were redirected onto him and they attacked with a vengence. I looked at his face which was twisted with surprise and as he was yelping out in pain he looked at me and told me "RUN!" so i ran...but i looked back and i could tell that the poor guy had no idea what he was getting into because they practiacally knocked him over and i could see them swarm around him in a cloud of feathers and screeching. His feeble attempts to kick them away were of no use but there was nothing i could do but run. So i did, and i got back to the home safely, but I have never forgotten his sacrifice for the sake of a stranger in a strange land. Anyway, that is my story of the nicest thing that anyone has ever done for me...and i was wondering...
what's yours?

(i really hope that that is what he said, because if i just misunderstood him, i would feel really bad)

Sell Your Soul for a Pack of Camels

2005-01-16T01:25:00.000-06:00

Well, the decision wasn't really up to me whether or not I would be sold...it was up to my "friend" who I trusted to keep me safe from the scary Egyptian man. We were buying hookas (i don't really know how to spell that, but they are those big pipe things that you see in national geographic or in the home of "snoop dog") and the salesman kept staring at me so i asked my "friend" to offer me his protection. The man was talking about how beautiful my eyes were and my hair...how he has never come across anyone as beautiful as me, you know, the usual...but then he started talking about my worth. I've always thought i have a pretty good self worth but he completely turned it against me. He told me that he would offer me all of the camels that his father owned in exchange for...ME!!! As i am standing in shock and indignation and my jaw is not yet recovered from hitting the floor, my "friend" looks at the guy and asks "Well, how many camels does your dad have?"

Turning Japanese

2005-01-15T22:17:00.000-06:00

Japanese people have the coolest holidays ever. In January they have "Coming of Age Day", in April is "Greenery Day", "People's Day" and "Children's Day" back to back in May, "Ocean Day" in July, and my personal favorite "Respect for the Aged Day" in September. They also celebrate the Emperor's birthday in December (I wasn't really aware that they still had an emperor or that it was a requirement for them to be born on December 23rd...a little unfair if you ask me) Anyway, who wouldn't want to be able to celebrate all of those awesome holidays? That's why I've decided to convert to japaneseism. And you can't stop me so don't even try. I will, of course, miss groundhog day, and national clean your desk day, but that is a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

Crime Pays

2005-01-14T01:32:00.000-06:00

As an R.A. I am required to be a person of the utmost character and trustworthiness...HA, i can't believe that they fell for it. This week I have made it my goal to steal one important thing from each suite and then this weekend take pictures of all of them galavanting together across campus. So far i have a posable "piderman" doll (even his fingers have joints...how cool is that?) and a hula dancer doll which looks suspiciously like a middle class american male, still in his plastic case. They will all be writing notes to their owners and sending them through campus mail on monday...I CAN'T WAIT! whoever said that crime doesn't pay, obviously never had this much fun.

Arch Nemesis

2005-01-13T15:32:00.000-06:00

Before my college years I had never had an arch nemesis. I was not always well liked, but being a fairly agreeable person, i almost always liked everyone else. There was the odd instance of someone who would step on my heels or try to make me spill things on myself but never any personal enemies...until NOW. There is a girl who for now will go under the alias of "Miss Muffet" and from the very first day of freshman year I have disliked her. I dislike almost everything about her, but especially the way that she talks to people. It is almost as if any social interaction brings her pain and disgust, and there is a certain condescending tone that she takes with EVERYONE that reminds me of those people who shout at the top of their lungs very slowly at people who speak another language. Needless to say, I've had a class with her almost every semester (yes, God has a sense of humor) and i thought that this one would be different...I hadn't seen her around campus and so I thought that maybe she graduated. However, today I walked happily into my painting class which lasts 3 hours every other day, it is one of my last classes and so i was about to breathe a sigh of relief because she hasn't been in any of my other classes and she would NEVER be in an art class. Home free! I come through the door and turn to find a seat and who do i find standing there? MISS MUFFET!! She isn't even an art major!!! What is she doing in MY art class! I was outraged. It used to be that my art classes were my refuge but now she has infiltrated even my safe haven. I must take action... Although she seems impenatrable, I WILL find her weak spot and be the one to bring her down!!!Having an arch nemesis is so much fun!!

Tote Monkey

2005-01-11T13:49:00.000-06:00

I have a friend named Fil. Okay, his name isn't Fil, it's Aaron but at this point it doesn't really matter what his real name is because he will henceforth be known as... "Tote Monkey!" He has been gone for too long now and having him back at school is like finding an old sweater that you forgot fit you perfectly. Tonight i decided that everyone should have their own tote monkey and here's why...
He is quite a helpful human and is always willing to carry something to its destination even if you have both hands free and don't really need his assistance at all. He is the type of person that you can cut a big chunk of hair out of the back of his head and he shrugs it off and acts like it was nothing because he doesn't want you to cry. He is also talented in so many different ways and he is willing to share his talents with others but not just so that he will be liked (in other words, ladies, he's got lots of skills...and girls only go out with guys with skills). He's not scared of people who have opinions and he isn't afraid to have them either. And he is probably one of the bravest people i know...not just because he walks around in the forest with wild bears and wrestles disgruntled campers, but because he plows right through all of the walls that you build around your heart and doesn't even flinch at what he finds inside. Even though he is allergic to cute i think that that the good far outweights the bad and so if that isn't enough to convince you that you need a Tote Monkey! then maybe the fact that he doubles as a flotation device in case of an emergency will "seal the deal".