"It's a potpourri."

(For anyone who was interested, the above quote was from a Seinfeld episode in reference to the smell of George Kostanza's parents' house.)

PS--This is like four blogs in one. Feel free to read only certain parts, or none at all.

I love my family
So I went to my grandparents' house today. It was fantastic. The dinner was tasty, as usual, and the strawberry pie was to die for. We quickly cleared the table to play Rook (a game that is the holy of holies in the Pedersen family). Halfway through the game, my aunt Shelly notices that there is water all over the kitchen floor. Apparently the dishwasher was disconnected. We quickly turned off the dishwasher, threw some towels on the floor, and decided we ought to get back to our game because there was no fixing that thing until tomorrow. So we left the mess--the game was much more important than a flood in the kitchen.

My aunt Sheila takes the bid and calls black trump. She asks brother-in-law David what "black" is in Spanish. "Negro," he responds. Grandma says, "Oh, that's an easy one to remember." [much laughter]

Becky eats a huge bowl of ice cream (yes, even after the amazing pie). She acts like a small child.
The next hand Grandma deals. It takes her a long time to peel each card off of each other. Sheila says she deals like a "'tard." Grandpa fiddles around under the sink with a flashlight and some sort of tool, then declares that he and Grandma are "suckers" because some man tricked them into buying that part of the dishwasher that caused the flood.

My family is insane. I adore them.

Facing East
EVERYONE NEEDS TO SEE THIS PLAY. It's in Salt Lake through next week. Go see it. I'll let you know when I find out for sure when I'm going, in case any of you want to come with me. But go anyway. I'm really excited about it.

Romance?
I think I have a crush. On a straight guy. I haven't dated anyone for almost three years. And even then it was a pathetic excuse for dating. I'm not dating this guy now, but I would if he asked. Too bad he won't be here for spring or summer.

It's weird...It's been so long since I've had "crush" like this...I don't really know what to do. And I'm frustrated with the lack of progress. Also I don't want to completely admit I "like" this guy because...well...what if it turns out like EVERY OTHER CRUSH I'VE EVER HAD?

Also, some might tell me to make a move if I'm sick of having no progress. Here's my problem with that---I initiated our first lunch. I frequently call him to do things. I try to let my body language show that I'm interested. I'm NOT making a move. If there's anything I've learned it's that one person should never have to do all the work in a relationship. He's outgoing, and good-looking, and could probably get any girl he wanted. So he can make the first move.

I think I'll have to wait until fall to figure this one out.

The way I am
I think I've annoyed the Jet several times as of late because my personality is somewhat...mmm...obsessive. Just little things--like not putting lemon juice on the chicken before it's served, and hiding my silverware and dishes from all of my roommates.

I don't know why I do these things. Sometimes, I just have to have things a certain way. There are certain things I can't allow to be imperfect, and sometimes I have to do things in a certain order. Again--I don't know why.

The hiding of the silverware and dishes is mostly because I'm highly suspicious of people in general. This is because people don't always do things the way I like. For example, I brought a toaster out here, and allowed all of my roommates to use it. It wasn't a marvelous toaster, but now, it is a sad appliance, partially broken, charred, and full of crumbs. It's not a big deal because I got the toaster for free, but I learned that I just don't do things the way everyone else does. Now, when using my rice cooker or fondue pot, I clean it immediately after, and then put it back in the box where it can be stored safely. The dishes are a similar story--a lot of our dishes are left out with old food stuck on them, or thrown into the dishwasher with all of the other food-encrusted dishes. I'd rather that not happen to my dishes, so I keep them separate. It's not like we don't have enough dishes for them.

I suppose I'm just very protective of my possessions. I'm afraid other people will do irreparable damage to my things and then I will be angry because that just causes a hassle. I realize I'm a bit over-the-top on this, and I often persuade myself to be nice and to just trust people. It usually doesn't turn out badly. And if I trust you once and you don't fail me, I'll be way less hesitant to trust you again. On the flip side, if you fail me once, I will likely never trust you with anything again. Ok that's not completely true, but I will definitely be really hesitant to trust you, and I will be insanely worried until you prove you haven't failed me.

Also, there are times when Courderoy irritates me because she can't find things. Like her keys, her phone, or her iPod. I can't live like that. Everything has it's place--keys go in the purse, phone is in the pocket or on the charger, iPod is on its stand, etc. When I can't find something that should be in its place, it drives me nuts. I got really mad the other day because I couldn't find a shirt. There are only three places it could have been, and it wasn't in any of them! I later found it just beyond my laundry basket. But still. I like to know where things are!

So I'm very particular. I'm sure this can be annoying, but I honestly don't mean to be. I can't help being obsessive. It's just the way I am.