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.

Provo Bucket List

So it's finally hit me, as I sit here at the Dayton airport waiting for my flight, that next week will start my last fall semester of college ever. Maybe it was my mother's tears as she lamented getting old. Maybe it was those emails from BYU about graduation deadlines that I actually have to pay attention to now. Or maybe it was visiting my high school friends at OSU and all of us saying we couldn't believe it's already been three years since we left Loveland. Regardless the reason, this is it. I am officially a college senior. Two more semesters, and I am outta here.

I'm not really the type to get sentimental about these things (me at high school graduation: "See ya, suckers!" Also, "Do you all not realize that we look like freaking Hogwarts students?? Just me? Ok, cool.") but I definitely don't want this last year to go to waste. After all, college is supposed to be your last few years of freedom before the real world. Or so they tell me. So I'm going to live it up.

Hence, the Provo bucket list.

Provo, Utah, isn't the most exciting of places, to be sure. But it's certainly unique, and it's been a good host to me these past three years. And since I don't plan on sticking around much longer after I graduate, I'm planning on getting all that I can out of Provo before I leave it for good. So here it is:

Chelsey's Senior Year Provo Bucket List

Provo River

1. Go to Seven Peaks waterpark

2. Float the Provo River

3. Waterboard on Utah Lake

4. Attend the Rooftop Concert Series

5. Try all the different flavors of cupcakes at The Cocoa Bean

 

This will happen

6. Go to the homecoming week activities

7. Go to a rugby game

8. Attempt to ski

9. Hike Bridal Veil Falls

10. Complete the kong cone challenge at macey's

11. See a show at the Scera

12. Eat at the Communal

13. Attend a Real Salt Lake game

There it is. Think I'm missing anything? (I've already hiked the Y and have no desire to hike Timp, so no need to mention that.) I'll let you know when I check things off the list. And if you want to do any of these things too, please let me know! I would love having a partner-in-crime as I take over Provo.

What would be on your Provo bucket list?

Goodbye California

My last few weeks in California featured friends, family and lots of roller coasters. Here's an update of the finale of my amazing summer:

Shirley came to visit! Here we are getting our Latina on at Olvera Street.

I went surfing for the first time! I was actually able to get up on the board! For like 5 seconds. But still! It was a blast.

Trip to the Getty Museum.

Favorite painting by Monet

And Van Gogh

Trip to Knott's Berry Farm. I'm gonna miss this girl when she leaves for Philly on her mission.

WB Studio tour. Where basically all my nerd dreams came true. Like TOUCHING THE BATMOBILE

Chilling on the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. set

And seeing Stars Hollow, Rosewood and Bluebell. And yes I watch all those shows.

The next week Kristen came to visit and we went to Six Flags

And ate at one of my favorite local eateries Roscoes. Yes, that tastes as good as it looks.

Went to the LA temple. Kristen's gotta get ready for her mission to Brazil! (Everyone is leaving me...)

Walked down Hollywood Blvd and caught a movie at the El Capitan. Here I'm stalking America's new power couple, Dora and Captain America. So adorable.

Keep in mind that I have size 11 feet. Most impressive, Mr. Smith. After all, you know what they say about men with big feet...

After my internship ended, my family came to stay for my last week in Cali. We kicked things off with a cheesy Hollywood tour. Here's us in front of the sign.

This is someone famous' house. Ellen's, I think. By the way, Michael Jackson's old home is on sale for $25 million, if anyone's interested.

Great seats at the Dodgers game!

Hollie's first Dodger dog

Aaaaand... Disneyland! The happiest place on earth.

Even my mom went on a roller coaster! i was so proud.

Mitch geeked out in space land.

One last dinner at Roscoe's with some of the wonderful friends I made this summer. I'm gonna really miss these guys.

So that concludes my wonderful time in California. I had an amazing internship, learned  a lot, had some great experiences and met a ton of awesome people. Although I think the highlight is still high-fiving Conan O'Brien, haha.

So now I'm in Cincinnati for the rest of the week and then it's back to Provo. For my SENIOR YEAR.

This week in pop culture

What I've been obsessed with lately. 

They're scared of the vampires!

Buffy/Angel

I realize I'm like a decade or so late on this, but I'm finally catching up on Joss Whedon's masterworks, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and its spinoff Angel. It's kind of been my summer project. I just got finished watching , "Once More, With Feeling," the season 6 musical episode that many fans and critics regard as one of the best Buffy episodes ever, and I knew it was time to blog about how dang awesome this show is. Really. If you haven't seen it and were like me, being slightly turned off by its geeky fans and demons/vampires premise, then get over it and watch it. It's a much deeper and smarter show than you would first think. Not only does it break every cliche in the book, it also explores some really beautiful themes, such as what it means to live and love and be a leader. Everything's a metaphor for something else. It's both hilarious and dramatic and sometimes downright terrifying. Angel is probably the darker of the two shows, but I'm really digging it as well. And the acting is superb. James Marsters. Enough said.

Anyway, here's a list of my current favorite episodes so far, if you're interested:
- Passions
- School Hard
- Hush
- The Body
- Once More, With Feeling
- The Plyea arc on Angel 

Oh, the only thing I'd recommend is to just get through the first season quickly if you're not that into it. It grew on me halfway through that season, but season 2 and beyond are just leagues above it.

Well, hello there.

SYTYCD

Season 9 baby! I'm so obsessed with this show. The top 20 finally performed this last Wednesday, and they were all superb. I love reality shows where the contestants actually have talent. This was probably my favorite dance from the episode:

Cyrus is probably my favorite guy. He's not the best dancer, but he's just so eager to learn and has such a positive attitude it's almost infectious.

And of course I love the ballroom best friends Lindsay and Witney, representing dear Provo and American Fork, Utah, respectively.


















 You all should check out my friend Callie's blog, where she has a weekly in-depth review of each episode. It's great stuff.

Moonrise Kingdom

I'm a big fan of Wes Anderson (The Royal Tennenbaums and Fantastic Mr. Fox are among my favorite films) so I was pretty excited to see this movie. (Even if it was in hipster territory Pasadena at the Arclight. By myself. Don't worry about it.)  And I loved it. It's very Wes Anderson-y, quirky, colorful, and a little bizarre and absurd, but full of heart and a genuine romanticism. It features two outcast 12-year-olds who fall in love and escape their situations and even though their respite is brief, it was still poignant and special, a chance to get away from their problems and the world. I remember feeling like Susie at that age, so maybe that's why it stuck with me. It's an absolutely beautiful film, both in content, acting, and especially the cinematography and set design. Here's the trailer, in case you haven't seen it.

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

Another thing I should have read years ago. This deeply moving novel about a boy who "dares defy the universe" by refusing to participate in his school's cultish chocolate sale is both tragic and makes you think. It had me in tears and was definitely not what I was expecting. You all need to read this book.


This song, that I've loved for months now and totally geeked when I heard it on the radio:

And this song. 

The good ol' us of A.

Happy Post-Independence Day, everyone! A WWII veteran just spoke to us at church today, so I'm still feeling that warm patriotic spirit. Also, I've been catching up on Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, and I just finished season 5, episode 19, where Anya announces her revelation that she’s not just human, but American, deeply enamored of "the good old us of A" and I thought that was very appropriate and also funny. Of course, she's more enamored with the concept of capitalism than democracy, but I digress. Anyway, yay America! Here's how I celebrated this week:

Dodgers vs Reds game! I was so excited to see my boys play. Even though they lost. I still love my Reds.

Shame on the Dodgers ticket office for spelling my hometown wrong. Low blow.

Fourth of July started at the beach. It was kind of cold but still pretty relaxing.

Brooke and I

Followed by a barbeque at the Womansion. Pinata and all.

And then fireworks at the Rose Bowl! One of the better shows I've been to for sure. And it was free because we found these sweet spots outside of the stadium.

Although this punk kept trying to play the Star Spangled Banner on his electric guitar and he was so baaaad. Like bleeding ears bad.

Friday night I went out with my friend Justin and we walked around The Grove and the Farmer's Market. It's a really beautiful mall where they have outdoor concerts.

And a pretty fountain.

And then we walked down Hollywood Boulevard at night. Justin was an awesome tour guide. He even knew where to park for free! And our waiter at Umami Burger recognized him from taking the Blazin' Challenge at Buffalo Wild Wings. Small world, even in Los Angeles.

Hollywood Blvd at night is crazy. It's like Times Square. You've got the crazies, the clubbers, the tourists, the druggies asking you to borrow money for weed. Definitely a unique spot in America.

Oh America. You are very special. And I love you.

And to end, here's a music video from one of my favorite bands, Imagine Dragons. "America":