Best of 2012

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas - I've definitely enjoyed my break by spending time with family, holing up like a hobbit watching Netflix and reading from my new Kindle Fire, and attending awkward, impromptu high school reunions, where I have to explain what I've been doing for the past year to people I didn't think I'd ever see again.

I always love the end of another year because it's a time to reflect on everything that's happened and it gives me an excuse to do one of my favorite things - make "Best Of" lists! I love making lists in general, and "Best Of" lists are the best kind. So without further ado...

Chelsey's Top 10 Moments of 2012

10. Learned to surf. 

(Just to warn you, a lot of these will come from my time spent in warm, beautiful California this summer.) I was terrified at first because I'm the least coordinated person known to man, but I managed to stay up for a few seconds!! Hahaha. Definitely one of the cooler things I've gotten to do.

Also one of the last times I got to see this girl before she left me for the Lord in Pennsylvania.

 

9. Attended the Sundance Film Festival for the first time. 

As a movie buff, this is something I'd been wanting to do for a while but didn't get a chance to until this year. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see any celebrities (I realllly wanted to see Aubrey Plaza and Jake Johnson, but alas) due to the Nightmarish Blizzard the first weekend, but I got to see some cool exhibits in Park City and of course, watch some great films. Check out Safety Not Guaranteed and The Queen of Versailles as soon as you can. Trust me.

8. Went to a bajillion theme parks.

Ok, only four. But I went to a couple of those more than once, so it pretty much adds up to a bajillion. I LOVE roller coasters, so Six Flags Magic Mountain was probably my favorite of the bunch. Knotts Berry Farm was great because there were practically no lines, and Disneyland was of course magical and twee. And it's always a source of nostalgia to come back to Kings Island, the place where I experienced my first case of ride-induced nausea. Even if that ride is no longer in operation (RIP Son of Beast).

7. Road tripped to Las Vegas for the WCC Basketball Tournament. 

Ok, so BYU didn't end up winning, but I had a great time nonetheless. I went with Jessica and Kristen (miss you both!), and we had a great time in Vegas. Although I still can't believe I paid like 10 bucks to ride a roller coaster at midnight. Definitely fun, but was money that could have been spent at Thunder Down Under. (I kid, I kid...)

6. Lot and lots of awesome concerts.

Foster the People. Imagine Dragons. Ingrid Michaelson. Lonestar. Neon Trees. Fictionist. AWOLNATION. Young the Giant. And of course, The Killers. I forgot I went to so many good concerts this year. I even got paid to go to one of them! And all with fabulous people. 

Lonestar at the State Fair

Rooftop Concert with Fictionist

Imagine Dragons

The Killers

5. Chelsey takes on Hollywood. Or rather, Burbank. 

This summer my entertainment geek flag got to fly free as I unashamedly became part of the studio audience on The Price is Right and Conan. That high five from Coco himself just might be the highlight of the year. And who can forget the Warner Brothers Studio Tour, where I basically shelled out $50 to touch the Bat Mobile, and it was totally worth it. Other Hollywood highlights include comedy shows at the UCB and movies in the El Capitan Theatre.

4. Adventures in San Francisco/PRSSA National Conference

I had the pleasure of visiting The City by the Bay not once, but twice, this year. For my internship we got to spend a weekend there and check out the sites, including a boat tour around Alcatraz. I also got to attend the Public Relations Student Society of America's National Conference there, which was a blast and a half. I got to hang with my BYU PR family and eat lots of delicious clam chowder. And see the Tanner family house, a definite highlight. There was also a big bridge someone told me was pretty important. I don't know, all I remember was all the running to catch transportation.

A major award!

3. A coupla job promotions

2012 was a good year for my bank account. I became a supervisor in the ticket office and an account director in the Bradley PR Agency. A great honor, but of course, that also meant more responsibility, and I'm not sure I stayed completely sane throughout the semester. Jury's still out on that one.

 

2. West Coast buddies

The people in my L.A. ward were surprisingly more friendly than I expected (let's be real, I was expecting 90210) and I met some really awesome people during my summer there. I miss them lots and lots but I'll always have great memories of dance parties, movie premieres, beach get-togethers, hikes, Dodgers games, and delicious chicken-and-waffles to remember them by. And who can forget those West Hollywood nights with my best tour guide.

1. Summer and internship in Los Angeles

I got to intern with an awesome agency, Edelman. I got to work with some pretty rad people. I lived in L.A. for basically free. And I learned a lot. It was a pretty swell summer.

These guys were ok.

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Check out my pop culture Best Of Lists here.

Crazy Beautiful Life

Wow, I just realized I didn't post at all in October and pretty much all of November. Sorry about that? I've just been pretty crazy. Crazy busy, that is. For real, I think I've been out of Provo more than I've been in it this semester. And I've definitely only gotten about 30 hours of sleep a week. Senior year, baby.

Here's a quick recap of my life:

I turned 21! I didn't do much for my birthday (it's not a big deal in Mormontown) but I did have friends over for some delicious ice cream cake. My phone's camera pooped out at the very beginning of the party so I didn't get to take many pictures. But people did come, I swear.

In mid October I went to the Public Relations Student Society of America's National Conference in San Francisco. It was seriously so much fun. I kind of love my major and loved the opportunity to hear from the best in the biz and to network with the PR crazies at other schools.

I also enjoyed hanging out with these thugs. The people in my major are the best. We're all one big, happy, Twitter-obsessed family.

The beautiful Golden Gate Bridge. Photo credits all due to Alyssa Call. She's amazing.

No joke - the BYU kids brought the party to the dance floor. Said one kid from UCLA, "No way you guys are sober and dancing like that..."

The Full House house! Preston had the biggest fangirl moment of us all.

Love these girls. #winning

We won the Teahan Award for best newsletter! Woo. #nickbarnesego

Public Relations has been crazy in general. As Account Director for Bradley, I'm in charge of  several awesome accounts, including Dixie State College. We got to travel down to their campus in St. George to conduct focus groups and interviews about the potential name change as they transition to a university. The opinions we heard were...enlightening. People are certainly passionate about the issue.

The awesome Dixie State team, including my estimable British boss and Michael Cane impersonator, Lincoln.

Other news: Kristen finally left to Brazil for her mission! I MISS YOU K-HOOPES.

Halloween! At school I dressed up as Annie Edison...

...and a West Coast thug for the parties. Also pictured are my baby roommates as a horrifying clown and Chihiro from Spirited Away. They're pretty cool too, I guess.

I'm still angry at the punk that did this to my pumpkin. I will find you. And bad things will happen!

Basketball season's finally begun! I'm on the 6th row or so in this picture I think. Also, I called dibs on Zylstra. And no I will not hear reason, such as "He's already married," or "He's not as good as Tyler Haws." He has a brilliantly adorable smile, so all other arguments are invalid.

Two weeks ago I had my very first big girl job interview in Madison, Wisconsin. I haven't heard from them yet, so I don't want to say too much, but I think it went pretty well! If anything it was good experience. And free food.

Also this year I got to go home for Thanksgiving! We traveled to Chicago for the actual day of thanks, and I saw a lot of extended family I haven't seen in a while. Here's my awesome cousin Jonathan. I'll add more pictures once Aunt Christine uploads them :)

Other things:

• Per usual, I've seen a lot of movies lately. In order of preference, I've seen Wreck-It Ralph, Lincoln, Pitch Perfect, Argo, and Perks of Being a Wallflower.
• Who wants to see Life of Pi, Skyfall, or Silver Linings Playbook with me? Also taking applications for someone to snarkily tag-team it with me to Breaking Dawn Part II. 
• The Vampire Diaries has been so good this season, you guys. 
• February 7 is the new October 19. 
• Cyber Monday: just purchased Gilmore Girls: The Complete Series for $85. Totally worth it.
• Yes, the title of this post is based off a Ke$ha song. A pretty good one too. 
• Songs I've been obsessed with:
• Kill Your Heroes by AWOLNATION
  
• Stubborn Love by The Lumineers
 
•  Pretty much the entirety of Mumford and Sons new album, Babel
• Killers concert on Friday. I've only been waiting six years for this. 
• Oh yeah, this thing called the national election happened. Billions of dollars spent and nothing really changed. Still not saying who I voted for. 
• Books I'm currently reading and loving:
• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? And Other Concerns by Mindy Kaling. Girl is seriously my soul sister. She gets me.
• Son by Lois Lowry. Final book in The Giver series, and probably the best one after The Giver.
• The Diviners by Libba Bray

I probably won't post again until Christmas break. But just know that I will be going crazy with finals and with Christmas decorating and cheer. If you come over to my apartment and catch me hanging stockings and jamming to the Justin Beiber Christmas album, you are not allowed to judge me.

xoxo,

chelsaat 

"There is no sunset so beautiful that it is worth waking me up for."  - Mindy Kaling

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Fall TV time. Yes I'm obsessed. No I won't apologize.

So here it is, in case you were wondering (and you all were!) my fall TV schedule. This is by days they air, not by days I'll actually watch them. (Come on, I do have somewhat something resembling a life.)

Bold indicates a new show, which I usually give about six episodes to determine whether to continue on with it. Last year only New Girl, Once Upon a Time, and Revenge made it all the way through. We'll see who makes it this year.

Sundays

The Amazing Race (7 p.m., CBS, returns Sept. 30)
Once Upon A Time (7 p.m., ABC, returns Sept. 30)
Revenge (8 p.m., ABC, returns Sept. 30)
666 Park Avenue (9 p.m., ABC, debuts Sept. 30)
Homeland (9 p.m., Showtime, returns Sept. 30)

Mondays

How I Met Your Mother (7 p.m., CBS)
Revolution (9 p.m., NBC)

Mondays are pretty lame.

Tuesdays

Raising Hope (7 p.m., Fox, returns Oct. 2)
Ben & Kate (7:30 p.m., Fox) - Favorite new comedy pilot of the year
Go On (8 p.m., NBC)
Happy Endings (8 p.m., ABC, returns Oct. 23)
New Girl (8 p.m., Fox)
Don't Trust The B---- In Apt. 23 (8:30 p.m., ABC, returns Oct. 23)
The Mindy Project (8:30 p.m., Fox) - I love Mindy Kaling, so I really hope this show is good.
Parenthood (9 p.m., NBC)
Vegas (9 p.m., CBS)

Wednesdays

Arrow (7 p.m., The CW, debuts Oct. 10)
The Middle (7 p.m., ABC)
Survivor (7 p.m., CBS)
Modern Family (8 p.m., ABC, returns Sept. 26)
Nashville (9 p.m., ABC, debuts Oct. 10) - New guilty pleasure. Calling it.

Thursdays

30 Rock (7 p.m., NBC, returns Oct. 4)
The Vampire Diaries (7 p.m., The CW, returns Oct. 11)
Up All Night (7:30 p.m., NBC)
Glee (8 p.m., Fox)
The Office (8 p.m., NBC)
Parks And Recreation (8:30 p.m., NBC)

Fridays

Community (7:30 p.m., NBC, returns Oct. 19)
Fringe (8 p.m., Fox, returns Sept. 28)
Grimm (8 p.m., NBC, returns Sept. 28)

Saturdays

Doctor Who (8 p.m., BBC America)
Saturday Night Live (10:30 p.m., NBC)

One Month Down

There's an epidemic that seniors tend to get, this thing called senioritis, and I can assure you it is very real. I'm still dedicated to my jobs and PRSSA and things that pertain to my future, but when it comes to my classes...eh. I think I've opened my textbooks like 3 times.

But you know what, I've already had more fun this first month than I feel like I did my whole last semester. Maybe it's because my bucket list gave me motivation, but I've just been a lot more spontaneous this year. And I love it.

Here's what I've been up to:

1) First item off my bucket list checked: Floated the Provo River. I went on an absolutely gorgeous day, and I'm so bummed that I forgot my camera. But just know that it really did look like this and it was so relaxing (Even though I ran into like 10 fisherman. But don't worry about that.). I definitely want to go again in the spring.

2) Two job promotions! I am now a student supervisor at the ticket office and an account director at the Bradley PR Agency. It's been hard work at times (record-breaking soccer games, for instance) but also a lot of fun. It's nice to see your efforts rewarded once in a while. And I get paid to do the things I love in Bradley, I love everyone I work with, and I get free stuff at soccer games. Win-win-win.

3) Rooftop Concert Series. Second one down on my PBL. The New Electric Sound and Ficitionist played and it was a blast. The scenery was gorgeous and the music was great. Provo really is a pretty cool place when you go beyond campus and the "bubble." Really, go to Center Street sometime and walk around. You'll feel better things. I promise.

Went with my girls Hillary and Cori. Love the mountains in the background.

Fictionist

Also this happened.

4) I got a car! Before Shirley left on her mission (Miss you, girl!) she sold me her 2001 Daewoo Nubira. It's nothing fancy, but it gets me to where I need to be. The best part is that I don't have to bum rides off people anymore. I've hated that I've had to do that for so many years.

His name is Clooney. As in George - older but still reliable.

5) Love/hate relationship with the football season. I always like going to the games, even though the two home games so far have been pretty lame and the away games have been super frustrating. The free food that comes from working at the ticket office doesn't hurt things either. Oh, and hanging out with this girl is always a good time.

6) Speaking of good times with Kristen, we, along with my other friend Brooke, went to see Lonestar at the Utah State Fair. Lonestar was fun and personable and I actually knew more of their songs than I thought I did. Also I guess they played in Salt Lake on Sept. 11, 2001? So it was a special day for them, they said. Before that though, we loaded ourselves with fried food, petted a few goats, and went down a giant slide. Because what else do you do at a state fair?

Yes, that sign on the right does say fried green jello. I was not brave enough to try it.

I was brave enough to try the Twinkie, Oreos, and cheesecake, however. The Oreos were my favorite. And I only felt a little bit sick afterward.

WHEEE

Pretty good-looking country bunch.

Our attempt to get a picture with Lonestar. The ushers were pretty rude and tried to hurry us through, but the band members were good sports. I appreciate the guy behind me at least trying to get in the picture, haha.

7) I've tried to be more social this year by going to various parties and dances. Whether hosted by my ward or by friends, I've done my best to attend and have a good time, whereas last year I'd find ways to get out of it. Probably my favorites so far have been dancing crazy at Mark's wedding (can't believe he's the first of us GMSA crew to tie the knot!) and surprising Kelly for her 22nd birthday. And scaring everyone off with my ghetto moves.

The newly engaged, newly 22, Kelly Lopez!

8) And probably my favorite part of my senior year - my master bedroom. Not only is it huge, it has its own bathroom and is on the top floor of a lovely townhouse that is only about 3 minutes from campus. I am living in style, my friends. Sure, it isn't exactly cheap, but hey, all I did this summer was save money. It's my last year, and I deserve it. Right?

Welcome to my humble abode.

Yeah, there's a lot of pink. I had to stick with it. But on the other hand, I'm getting quite proud of my movie collection.

I LOVE having my own bathroom. So, so much.

And that's about it for now! I'm actually really excited for this semester. I'm going home for Thanksgiving for the first time ever, I'm going to San Fransisco for the PRSSA National Conference, I'm going to some awesome concerts, and I'm turning 21 in just a few weeks!

Notice that none of those things included school.

Senioritis. I'm tellin' ya.