Day Three: Throw Away Something You Like (Anailuj)

I am a packrat. I develop emotional attachments to garbage, which I hoard, sort of like Smaug the dragon. Like Smaug, I'm also very unwilling to part with it. But I finally made the decision to get rid of some crap that's doing little more than take up space in my room. Even though I have some fondness for these items, I figured I'd feel better throwing them away. I'm changing my life here, best to get rid of some of the stuff lying around from my past:

1 green gift box shaped like a chinese take-out box. Super cute but has writing on it and can never be re-used.
1 key to my old car- Why didn't I give this to the dealer when I traded it in?
1 Lasertron "official membership card." Codename: Skwissgaar.
1 burnt-out red light bulb, awesome birthday gift from four years ago
1 thank-you card from a parent at my work. These are hard to get rid of because they usually say stuff about how great I am and how much the kid loves me.
1 Senior Prom place setting. I got the vegetarian dinner. I went with someone I'm no longer dating.
1 Frightworld ticket from last year. I went with someone I'm no longer friends with.

All in the trash can, crammed down there with coffee grounds and used tissues. Brief moment of regret! What if I want to remember these things when I'm old?!

Conclusions: If you want to start fresh you have to get rid of what's stale. If these things are worth remembering, I'll remember them alright. And in the meantime, my room is a tiny bit less cluttered.

Day Three: Throw Away Something You Like (Yellenahs)

I refuse to throw things away. Ever. I'm almost positive that I'm an even bigger hoarder than Anailuj. And Smaug.

I own:
Jeans with holes in the crotch (but they're my favorites!)
Science notebooks from the 7th grade (what if I need to refer back to them someday?)
Every single Christmas and birthday card I've ever received from anyone (I'll want to remember those days when I'm older!)

So this is a difficult task for me. I have this irrational belief that someday I will miss these things if they're gone. This is true for certain things, but not necessarily for the three tubes of old mascara I found while searching for something to throw away.

BUT I'M KEEPING THOSE. THEY ARE MINE AND YOU CANNOT TAKE THEM AWAY.

As this is a life-changing activity, I wanted the something to be important enough to be missed, but not so much that I will need it in the near future and not have it. I considered throwing away John, but the rent is due. And he may not appreciate such a thing.

In the end, I threw away this pink wood carving of my name. We got it at a flea market God knows how many years ago. I used to display it proudly on a shelf in my room. I'm now wayyyyy too classy for such a thing.



Now that I remember I ever had it, this will surely be missed.

P.S. Brian just stated that he doesn't like Seinfeld. I am shocked and awed by such blasphemy. We're watching it anyway.

Day Two: The Love of Your Life (Anailuj)

Anailuj has also decided to switch to first person because third person is making her feel a little schizophrenic. I gazed wonderingly at strangers all day.

Sports Fan: Sorry, but I can tell from the way that you've incorporated the logos of three different teams into your outfit today that all you do is watch ESPN. I need some ATTN, too.

Various Mellow-Looking Guys: You know this guy. He's a nice, decent guy. This is the guy you want to marry, but not really date. This is in no way his fault. It is yours because you're masochistic and immature, and like to date the wrong boys. You unfairly want him to just sort of remain available until you're finished running around with Tight Pants Guy.

Tight Pants Guy: TPG, I respect the boldness it must take for a guy to get up in the morning, look in the mirror, and think "Today I want to cram my junk into a tiny denim straitjacket." TPG is actually a genius. He knows that his skinny jeans will serve him dual purposes: 1) To attract ladies who love a man wearing jeans slim enough that they could borrow them, and 2) to kill all his sperm so that he does not impregnate any of those ladies.

Matt: Matt lives down the street from me. Matt has promised to go to the moon, write my name on it large enough for me to see it from Earth, and find me a massive moon diamond. If I actually believed that could happen, I would be carrying Matt's babies right now.

Yellenahs' Housemates: It's important that I talk about them because they're an increasingly important part of my life...
B-Dolla: Great taste in music, which is a Big Deal to me. However, I often find him difficult to locate, which could be problematic.
Aaron: Even though he's a harmless day-walker, he carries the ginger gene. Not willing to take that risk.
John: We would have lots of sarcastic babies with poor eyesight and braces, but they would make up for it by being incredible swimmers. If lucky, they would combine my English skillz and his Math skillz and get perfect SAT scores.

Soul Mate?: I was looking super cute in my red heart-shaped sunglasses. He was wearing large, square, bright orange sunglasses. For a moment we were alone in the airlock of the building as I was exiting and he was entering, and time stood still as our eyes locked and I knew that Orange Sunglasses might be my soul mate. But then time abruptly resumed its pace, and I, unable to react in time, lost Orange Sunglasses forever.

Conclusions: I believe that if Orange Sunglasses really is my soul mate, I'll find him again. I kind of dropped the ball on the "act in consequence" part of this task, but it's ok because I believe we'll be reunited if it's for realzies. Also, I'm a little superficial.

Day Two: The Love of Your Life (Yellenahs)

Today the book instructed us to gaze at everyone and ponder whether they may be our true love.

I have decided to switch into the first person. Just to keep you on your toes. Try and tell me to be consistent. Go ahead, TELL ME.

No.

My gazings...
Aaron (roommate) in kitchen, pre-coffee: Gazed for a moment, decided I don't want ginger babies. Also, he hates me.
Every male in my linguistics class: They are all comm majors. From Long Island. I avoided eye contact.
The boy who cringed when some girl mentioned the new Twilight movie: Despite the pipe cleaners artfully tied around his wrist and his olive green army issue coat, I think we may be soul mates.
Everyone else I passed on campus: Most avoided eye contact and/or gave me a dirty look.

Conclusion: I am scary and not worthy of love.

Day One

Today was warm-up day. The book gave us a list of simple activities that would only change our lives just a little bit. They included things like insult an insect, give pet names to your genitalia, and do one push up.

Anailuj decided to choose which of her toes was the prettiest. It's the one next to her pinky toe on her right foot. This toe is much more adorable than any other toe ever. Except it really isn't. This activity helped her come to terms with the fact that none of her toes are particularly attractive, though one is slightly less unattractive than the others. And that's ok. Because John's toes aren't that great either. Also she was very brave to post a picture of her foot on the internet. Hopefully there are no fetishists afoot....get it?



Yellenahs tried to say "yo" instead of "hello" today, but she failed when she answered the phone with "hello" once. This made Yellenahs realize that changing her life requires dedication. Instead she decided to tell someone her middle name. It is Nicole. The person she told said that she has a beautiful name. It was wonderful.

Anailuj and Yellenahs also stripped John of his socks in a fit of excitement and decided which of his toes is the prettiest. Most of his toes are in fact quite hideous, but the big toes were nice. Especially the right one. This activity didn't really change John's life much. He didn't actually think it was that much out of the ordinary. Though he did have some fun exploiting Anailuj's fear of feet. And almost broke Yellenahs' laptop.

Introduction

Please allow us to introduce ourselves.

This blog will involve the experiences of two friends who are changing their lives. We are fairly average college students, but I like to think that we are slightly more awesome than average.

Yellenahs is a 20 year old Virgo whose favorite color is purple. She has a fairly mediocre job working in retail, which she hates. She is in her third year studying art history and anthropology, which she loves. Perhaps the most interesting thing about her life is that she lives with three boys.

Anailuj is a 20 year old Leo whose favorite color is green. She takes care of little kids at a daycare, which is the best job ever. She is an English major who enjoys the works of Anne Rice, Jack Kerouac, and poems by Allen Ginsberg. Her favorite patterns include tie dye, paisley, and polka dot.

John is a 20 year old (soon to be 21) Libra whose favorite color is blue. He doesn't have a job that he gets paid just over minimum wage for like the others. He gets paid a lot more money to do nothing (they call it research). He is studying math and would like to someday be a lawyer, in order to support both Anailuj and Yellenahs (because they are liberal arts majors and will not be able to find jobs after they graduate). John is not actually changing his life or participating in the experiment, except for when he feels like it or we make him. He is, however, one of Yellenahs' roommates, and will probably be mentioned frequently. Especially since Yellenahs and Anailuj will probably be performing some of their activities at his expense.





We are embarking upon a journey that will take precisely 365 days. We will perform the daily activities outlined in This Book Will Change Your Life. Every day, the reader is told to do something that is generally out of the ordinary. We will then record our activities and thoughts here for your entertainment. The book promises that if you do exactly as it says everyday, it will not only change your life, it will also make you famous.

I guess we'll see.