Scatterbrained

My thoughts are everywhere right now. I have the attention span of a flea, and I can't seem to concentrate long enough on any one idea to actually write about it. Maybe this is a sign that I need to think some things through before I just blurt them all out.

Airport security is a bit scary right now. My family and I enjoyed very lax airport security this time as we traveled through security checkpoints at 4 different airports. I must admit that it was a welcome relief to be able to slide through. I remember this one time when I had a bottle of nail polish which I had forgotten to remove from my carry-on baggage and I was forced to drop it into the trashcan. I was furious. This time, no one commented on the tube of liquid lip gloss that I had left in my purse. Of course, relaxed security probably means that others with more malicious intentions could take advantage of this.

I'm still reeling from the amazing experience that was Wicked. The Dark Knight was too graphic for me, despite the amazing reviews it's received from both critics and friends of mine. Heath Ledger was far too good at his role for my peace of mind. Mama Mia was adorable, but dirty. Why do they have to put that kind of junk into movies?

I saw manatees and dolphins while jet skiing. That wasn't the fun part though. What I really enjoyed was attempting to push my jet ski up to 40 mph and riding, full speed, over waves on the way back to the beach. I went flying into the air, and Brooke assures me that she did as well, although I couldn't see her. She claims that she thought she was going to die, but I could have sworn that she was screaming in delight.

I finished two books while in Florida, and was very sad for them to end, although I really enjoyed the endings. The ending of The Host made me feel like something was missing. It had finally picked up after a very slow start, and I truly got to the point that couldn't put it down (my family can attest to this). I spent the entire novel wishing that I could get Melanie's point-of-view and that she would be able to reclaim herself, only to discover, at the conclusion of the novel, that she was never the focus of the story. She was the subplot that had already happened while Wanda was the actual protagonist. Eye Witness was intense to the end, and I finally put all the puzzle pieces together a chapter or two before the novel actually ended. It made me want to reconsider my decision not to go to grad school for special education after all.

I know it's selfish, but I'm really sad that a friend of mine is now in a relationship, because that means that there will not be time for me.

We have a sort of joke in our family about being "rule-breakers" versus being "rule-keepers." We were talking about how Mormons tend to be rule-keepers, and I tend to be a rule-keeper as well, but I'm starting to see that it's not very Walker-ish of me. Maybe sometimes it's good to be a rule-breaker. Rules are meant to be broken, are they not? Plus, we've come to the point in our society that there are so many rules that it doesn't really matter if you break a few here and there. However, if everyone came to that conclusion, wouldn't that lead to chaos? I know it's not a big deal, but at the airport, my dad pushed us up to the boarding line way before our zone was called, and I felt guilty. However, we were allowed to board the plane and we managed to find space in the overhead compartments for all of our luggage whereas those who boarded the plane later on had a difficult time with this. Rule-breakers...

My family was discussing nicknames the other day and I realized how many nicknames I have. My family (particularly my dad) has given me several (which you don't need to know). I also realized how many nicknames my family has given to other people. My dad has been particularly creative in nicknaming any boys Courtney and I date. I've been tempted to join that facebook group that is entitled something along the lines of "I call people nicknames which they will never know." I'd imagine that listening to our family talk would be somewhat like listening to people speaking in code with all the nicknames we employ.

So you see, my thoughts are all over the place. Maybe I'll elaborate on one of these topics someday. Right now it's enough to get the general ideas typed up.