Clothing item: Vans Era gumsole Accessory: WeWOOD date chocolate watch (My friends are hella awesome) Beauty product:Tinsel smoothing oil Movie: Camp Takota TV show: Parks and Recreation (It's like saying farewell to an old friend) Netflix show: Sherlock TV show I finally caught up on: Suits Game(s):Game of Phones (Everyone needs to buy this game) Book: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell Sweet snack: Scotcheroos Salty snack: On The Border Cantina Thins Food:Corn and potato chowder (Add in bacon, carrots and celery, it's even better) Album: Smoke + Mirrors by Imagine Dragons Song: Undone by Meghan Tonjes YouTube video(s): The Corn Challenge YouTube channel: KickThePJ Twitter account: Laura Chernikoff Kickstarter I backed: Julia Nunes + Feelings = New Album YouTuber I recently re-discovered: Bo Burnham Thing I made: Lorraine's birthday poster Instagram: Birthday selfie
Other notable things of February:
I scheduled repairs for my car all by myself (This really is a feat because, you know, anxiety and adultolesence are very real)
I applied to multiple jobs in all different places
I celebrated working at my full-time job for one whole year
Josh is a motivational speaker and former downhill ski racer. He also has one leg. He actually raced on the US Paralympic Team in 2006 in Torino. He's also a New York Times bestselling author. And he makes videos on YouTube.
I've spent a fair amount of time watching his videos and reading his book, Just Don't Fall. I highly recommend you read it. My favorite videos of his are called "________ for Math Nerds." That blank stands for basically anything Josh wants to be nerdy about. So there's Facebook, Twitter, Steve Jobs and Glee for math nerds, plus some others, all of which are hilarious.
So that's my plug for Josh Sundquist.
School doesn't start now until Tuesday and today I ordered my books off Amazon. My plan to was to just check them out from the library but the library doesn't have the most recent editions of the books I need, so that's a bummer. I also went to the library today to get the next Game of Thrones book but it was checked out! That was saddening. Instead I got a book called Word Freak. It's about competitive Scrabble. I'm pretty excited to read it. Another book I was sad the library didn't have is that one by Ransom Riggs that I can never completely remember the name of. Something about a home for peculiar children. But when I was in the campus bookstore I put Nerdfighter notes in copies of The Fault In Our Stars. I enjoyed that muchly.
I'm not sure what tomorrow will entail but it will be the actual weekend so I can't imagine it will be bad. At this point I'm thinking of going for a run. Or possibly out to longboard, though my parents are quite insistent that I get a helmet before I go out too much. Maybe I'll do that! I most definitely need to do laundry, that's for sure. My favorite shorts are dirty and it's been a beautiful day and the actual weekend should be as well. If I had a car I think I'd drive on down to southern Utah and go hike in Moab with my friends; that'd be lovely. Day trips to southern Utah are quite fantastic. Proof.
There's something I've been debating about lately, though, and this is what I'll end with. And that's how I should tag my posts during spring. Because I'm still used to labeling them "junior year," but I'm not really a junior anymore. I guess that would make me a senior but I've never been at school during spring so I don't know what year it counts for. I guess I'll just have it be "spring semester." And I just looked at some past tags I've used. Apparently I once labeled a post as "adorable boy is adorable." I have no recollection of this or why I did it. Huh, interesting.
As in, with my secret YouTube life. Well, it's not a super secret. Some people know it, people on this blog too. I don't link the channel hardly ever. But tonight that might have changed.
We had an activity at church where we showed all these little videos we made. I filmed/edited my group's video and the easiest way to share it w/ the people in charge was via YouTube, so I uploaded it to my channel a few days ago and linked to my friends in charge of the activity. I didn't think much of it.
Until tonight when we all got together to watch the videos and have a little awards ceremony.
You know how at the end of videos, a mosaic of related videos comes up? Yeah, my face was up there a couple times on the mosaic from other videos I made recently. And I feel like it stayed up there a long time, far longer than any of the other video ends did. I just kept saying to Becca, who was sitting next to me, "Exit the video, blank the screen, turn it off. Turn it off. Turn it off."
So we'll see if I have an increase in views over the next couple of days. It's not that there's anything embarrassing in the videos, it's just that I don't ever talk about my channel publicly. I have literally had zero roommates who knew/currently know the full extent of my YouTube use/creations. I'm just terribly scared people will start quoting my videos to me; well, scared might not be the right word. It will just be incredibly weird. Surreal is probably a better word. Some videos I'm quite proud of and I'm really glad I made them. Others are just super random and most people would not understand. Let's hope they find the good ones.
In other news, it's almost March, so that's pretty exciting.
So Wisconsin is full of Germans. I myself am easily over 50% German heritage-wise. It's awesome. Germans are so legit. And here's one reason why: St. Nick coming on the night of December 5th and finding treats the morning of December 6th.
I used to know the whole story of St. Nick and why he comes on the night of the 5th but I no longer remember. We seriously learned it in elementary school. A few times. From what I do remember, kids would leave out their shoes and then the next morning there would be little treats in them. And by little treats I mean candy and other things filled with sugar. Thanks to Wikipedia, I now remember that it has to do with the Feast of Saint Nicholas. I don't think I ever actually learned why he was a big deal and I don't really care to, though I probably should since it is my heritage and all.
And at 20 years old, I am proud to say that St. Nick still comes. And my 23 year-old brother feels the same way. Over the years we've gotten various toys and treats but a few things always stay the same: huge navel oranges and candy from a small candy shop downtown. Since coming to college, another thing has been included: a gourmet caramel apple from Amy's Candy Kitchen. These apples are beastly and easily weight a pound or two. Mine are always covered in dark chocolate and cashews. It is so goodly and delicious.
I'm not writing this to brag. Well, maybe I am a little bit. But basically I just wanted to publicly announce how awesome my parents are for still doing this stuff. My brother is practically engaged and I'm not exactly a kid anymore myself, yet they still keep it going. It's pretty much the best tradition ever, one that I will totally be using in my own family someday. And somehow every year I never cease to be surprised by how well my parents know me, especially my dad. An additional gift this year is wool socks. In my family, nice winter socks are sought after. It's totally normal, even expected, to get multiple pairs of socks for Christmas. In a package I received back in October, my dad even included a container of chocolate frosting, because I like to participate in the delicious habit of eating frosting with a spoon. Disgusting? Yeah, maybe a little. But so worth it. I don't think I've mentioned my love of eating frosting straight up in years, but my dad is totally on top of things.
Do you guys have any family/heritage/Christmas traditions? As finals approach, I know I will be even more thankful for these little tastes of home. Yeah, I'll be home 10 days from now, but that doesn't stop me from loving having Wisconsin things in Utah.
I decided tonight I would outline my plan for making videos this coming fall semester. I'm quite excited to get back on a posting schedule, even if it's just a rando little vlog about my week.
I probably don't take video making as seriously as I could but when it comes to school, it really is a time for me to have fun w/ my camera and talk about small parts of my life. YouTube is a pretty impersonal thing for me. I may talk about what's going on in my life but there aren't any "guest stars" and I don't really even film the events themselves; I just recap them. I've gone through 2 years of college without my roommates really knowing about my videos. I don't really know why I have never told them. Freshman year it was just a lot of pressure. Sophomore year I probably could have. I think this year I'll be pretty outspoken about it. Having guests is a good thing, right? I know my roommates will think I'm a little crazy but if they haven't figured that out already they never will.
A few of my roommates, current and past, follow this blog so I guess the cat is out of the bag: I make videos on YouTube. Here, go check out my channel: orangesho13es. Yes, it is a take off my favorite orange sneakers, though the channel existed much before I owned the actual orange shoes. I'm not looking for fame or fortune, both of which can come in some sense from posting videos. I mean, have you HEARD of Shaycarl or Michael Buckley? Those guys are doing pretty well off YouTube. That's not what I'm going for, though. My thing is just having fun and making friends, plain and simple. Becca thinks I'm crazy for making friends on YouTube but it's a reality to me. It's inevitable in posting videos.
Now, I only have 40 subscribers but that matters very little to me. I love watching my own videos, which may seem weird or even narcissistic but it's true. I like to see my own growth and progress, both as a person and as someone who makes videos. Having so few subscribers does make it difficult at times because it's kind of like I have no one to be accountable to. No one notices when you don't make a video. I've come to realize that this is the worst part of it. It's nice when people notice you, even in the form of liking a video. But for some reason I keep doing it: I keep making videos and looking for ways to have fun doing so.
As for my actual posting schedule: I'm going for posting one video per week. There won't be any set day like so many YouTubers have. I'll post when I can somewhere between Sunday and Saturday. Last year I only missed 2 weeks out of the entire fall and winter semesters. That's pretty good if you ask me. So one video every week. Sound good? Last year it was all about my iSight camera because it was convenient. This year I'm striving for more public videos. Maybe actual recaps of events I go to w/ footage from those events. Dare I even vlog in public? We'll see how it goes.
I found an unused 10 dollar iTunes gift card yesterday, I think it was from this past Christmas. Here are the 9 songs I bought (the 10th thing was Angry Birds which I have been playing incessantly) and a few other songs I didn't buy because they were priced at $1.29. (How annoying.)
1. Serendipity by Greg Holden - Greg is a fantastic artist I discovered on YouTube perhaps 2 years ago? It was soon after I feel in love with Julia Nunes. He satisfies my love of folk type music.
2. More Than Alive by ALL CAPS - I rave about ALL CAPS any chance I get. They're another band who have made a name for themselves on YouTube, but only because Kristina and Luke both had great followings from their respective Wizard Rock bands. Their songs are sweet and nerdy and just all around lovely. If you want good lyrics, ALL CAPS always delivers.
3. Time by Wade Johnston & The Navigators - Wade is another YouTube love. I found him because Julia Nunes mentioned him a ton; well, maybe not a ton but enough. He's adorable and from the Midwest so I can't help but love him. Also, his ukulele and great original songs.
4. Not Alone by ALL CAPS - You can tell I really love this band. This is my second favorite song that Luke brought to the table. I am always cheered up when I listen to this song. It's about friends and I sure do love mine.
5. Saved (Acoustic) by ALL CAPS - While the other two songs do have nerdy references, they are mostly the sweet/adorable songs that will always cheer you up. This one is chockful of nerd references and video game awesomeness. The acoustic version is a little different (read: a lot different) from the video but you get the idea.
6. Hey, Soul Sister by Street Corner Symphony - These guys were on The Sing-Off, the greatest vocal competition to ever exist. I am so incredibly in love with a'capella. I like the original version of this song but the a'capella-ness of it makes me really like it.
7. And Run by He Is We - Rachel and Trevor got pretty big this last year, what with Pure Volume really giving them a leg up and a free download of one of their songs from their latest album, My Forever, on iTunes. Last summer my friend Mikaela really got me into them so I feel like I've been following them for quite some time now; it's been over a year, I think. This is my favorite song from the newest album.
8. Wrapped in Piano Strings by Radical Face - This girl, Charlotte, posts amazing acoustic covers on YouTube. I'd never heard of Radical Face until she posted a cover of this song. Sadly, she took down her cover but it's still a great song by the original band.
9. First Day of My Life by Bright Eyes - I've had covers of this song by Julia Nunes and Blue Skies for a long time but never the real thing. Now I do. I heard this song for the first time coming back from church volleyball with my friend Margaret. I asked her what song she wanted to dance to at her wedding (mine is The Luckiest by Ben Folds) and she answered with this.
So those are the nine songs I bought! I'll just link you guys to the stuff I didn't end up buying and you can check those out as well.
Charlie McDonnell (I thought about getting a bunch of his stuff, I always do. Yeah, Charlie's a person, not a song.)
Watching Shay and his family will make all of your wildest dreams come true. And if not that, you won't stop smiling. That I can guarantee.
Isn't YouTube grand? I love it. Hopefully it can keep its community vibe alive. Shay, though easily a big time YouTuber, sure doesn't act like one. He's a down to earth guy who is just doing something he loves: filming videos and spending time with his family. Good on him.
I'm going to watch more 30 Rock now. Summer is a tough life . . .
P.S. I sent my first package ever today. It was to the boy in Scotland. It contains delicious Reese's Pieces, all the best pictures that chronicle sophomore year, and a sweet letter. I'm so excited for him to get it. I feel like it's been forever since I wrote back to him.
You know how in middle school, and some times even high school, when you have to write those essays on what something means to you? Like, what does FREEDOM mean to you? Or, what does FAMILY mean to you? So how about: What does fiveawesomegirls mean to you?
I feel incredibly nerdy and dorky writing this blog post. It's like: Here's a bunch of words and thoughts from my head about a VIDEO PROJECT on YOUTUBE. It also makes me look . . . dare I say it, obsessed? It's really not an obsession, just a great love for these five girls.
I came to watch fiveawesomegirls around March or April of 2008, so at the tail end of my junior year of high school. It was an incredibly stressful time as prom was coming up, as well as AP exams. In general, life was a little bit confusing and the looming thought of senior year and college was getting to be a bit much already. And then on the MuggleCast Fan Forums, yeah I'm bringing in MuggleCast, someone made a thread about Lauren's video "The Real Lauren". And that was all it took. Not long after I found my way to their inspiration: John and Hank Green. Then I was REALLY sucked in.
So here's a little summary: Without fiveawesomegirls, I would not have found YouTube so completely, meaning I would not have found John and Hank Green, meaning I wouldn't have become a Nerdfighter, meaning I would never have done a collab channel of my own nor would I have gotten the motto DFTBA, and without John and Hank I wouldn't have gotten Twitter, and without knowing who John and Hank are I wouldn't have read John's books and subsequently met the two of them, nor would I have gotten into the world of YouTube music, meaning my iTunes library would be quite empty, and I would not have been as excited as I was when I met Lauren this summer when she and others played a show in Madison, Wisconsin [I was so incredibly stoked] . . .
The list goes on.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that in a way, fiveawesomegirls changed the course of my life. Okay, maybe that's a bit drastic . . . But in a sense, that's what went down. I may have found YouTube in another way and made my own channel and found cool people to subscribe to but I doubt it would have been the same.
Here's to you girls: Kristina, Lauren, Kayley, Hayley, and Liane. Thank you for making all these week days so very awesome.
Today is awesome because I am going home in 15 days.
