The Lost Art Of Long Names

A lot of people ask me why I introduce myself as Alexandra, and not a shorter name. To be honest with you, I like my long name better than any shortened version of it. Zandra, Z, you can call me what you'd like, but sometimes I wonder, where has appreciation for long names gone?
Nicknames have taken over. I have never met someone who had gone by Timothy, or Jennifer, or even another Alexandra. Instead, shortened version have replaced these pretty names. Every chance I get, I call people by their real names. Dustin, if you're reading this, the moment you started going by Dustin and not Dusty, I took it. I don't know what it is about long names, but I just love it. (This does not mean I don't like short names... In fact, I could never call my friend Alex by her full name, Alexandra. Her nickname is more of her name than Alexandra is!)

My name is Anne Alexandra Magdalen Ouida Houston Seal.
Anne - Hebrew, meaning gracious and merciful.
Alexandra - Greek, meaning protector and defender of mankind
Magdalen - English, meaning woman of Magdala (or tower)
Ouida - French, meaning famous warrior

I feel as though I take those meanings upon myself. I am a part of my name. If you know me, you know how closely I pay attention to meanings. I think they are important. I love the thought behind a chosen name.

Question of the blog:
I know a few friends that have always gone by their full names, and a nickname sounds so foreign to them. Do you prefer your real name, or your nickname?

Mean It

"One immediately alienates and destroys a relationship, the moment one removes any form of security in it. Simply nullify the meaning of trust, and this relationship will quickly become history"

Not The Kind

Friendship

"And the possibility of going through life without the experience is rooted in that fact which separates Friendship so sharply from both the other loves. Friendship is- in a sense not at all derogatory to it- the least natural of loves; the least instinctive, organic, biological, gregarious and necessary. It has least commerce with our nerves; there is nothing throaty about it; nothing that quickens the pulse or turns you red and pale. It is essentially between individuals; the moment two men are friends they have in some degree drawn apart together from the her. Without Eros none of us would have been begotten and without Affection none of us would have been reared; but we can live and breed without Friendship. The species, biologically considered, has no need of it. The pack or herd-the community- may even dislike and distrust it. Its leaders very often do. Headmasters and Headmistresses and Heads of religious communities, colonels and ships' captains, can feel uneasy when close and strong friendships arise between little knots of their subjects."

-C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves (pg. 58)

Best In Acapella.

My type of Top 20.

All In One Blow

Well.... What was planned to be a hopeful day, turned out to be the following:
1. 4 applications for a morning job, but none are really hiring.
2. 20 minutes on the phone with State Farm, repeating the same 3 sentences over and over again.
3. 1 FAFSA, which only reminded me further about how poor I really am.
4. 1 extra night at work this week, followed by lecture.
5. 1 of my favorite people I will never see again. Rest in peace, Mary Howard.
It is 3:37, and I am ready for this day to be over. Maybe a nap and some quality time with God will lighten things a little. Until then, Be well, stay dry, and don't eat too much because then you'll get a stomach ache that feels like this.

Jobs Jobs Jobs

Top of the morning to you!
Well, I successfully survived my first night post-Paranormal Activity. Scariest movie ever.
Now I am off to find a second job... Will this day prove to be successful?
Mondays and Fridays, I must fill you with something! Wish me luck!

PS Start your day off with the cutest little singers in the world. How I would love to have his job.

F. The Note, That Is.

What the F! chord. I have a question for all of you guitar players: Did your baby pinky totally freak out when you first started to play? Because mine is totally out of control, especially when I'm trying to press it down on a string!
I'm practicing guitar... And I've totally got E minor down! Heh.. Heh..

To be honest, I'm having a rough time all around right now. I am in need of some real adventure. Where will I go this summer? WWOOFing is a big option. I am at the drawing board-stage of my master plan. I'll keep you posted, though!

Question of the blog:
If you could travel anywhere this summer, where would you go, and what would you do there?

Lazy Lucy

What is it with you, Zandra?!
I follow through on my promises... But there's one thing I constantly say that never gets done.

"Let's hang out!"

I don't know what it is, but I say that to SO many people, yet it never happens. I know that I could be busy every day, if I really made an effort.. So that's what I'm going to do.

Question of the blog:
What's you're weakness, doing the dishes, covering people's shift at work, or getting somewhere on time? What is one thing you say you will always do, but can never follow up on it?

Baby Booth

I make rash decisions at 1 am.
Another website has been added to my list of websites.
Do people even use DailyBooth? It sounds fun to me, and within two minutes of posting my first picture, I got two comments. Maybe this will be a good way to show my pictures to the world, and get my Flickr more views, because that thing is just useless right now.

So, if you know anything about DailyBooth, help me?
If it's anything like Twitter, I'm peacin' out quick.
http://dailybooth.com/aalexandraseal

Change. And School Again?! Really?

Yesterday, I chopped off my bangs. So now I have straight across babies again. yayyyyy!

On another note, SCHOOL STARTS TODAY. And I was so used to not being there.. Ugh. This will be a good semester though. Want to here my lineup?
Human Sexuality. 3 un.
Abnormal Psychology. 3 un.
Beg. Guitar. 1.5 un.
Mat Pilates. 1.5 un.
Let's do this.

Better Days

Wet feet, wide eyes, adventure.

Clear umbrellas and rain boots,
We trudge our way up to what scares me the most.
I'm more brave this time around,
more brave than ever.
My hands are cold, and I am shaking,
Holding still only as long as my shutter speed.


Friends from far away,
and lyrics running through my head.
Catch up on lost times,
I'm trying hard not to be scared.
This place is dark at all times,
sing me one last dying tune.


Capture what is left of the light,
we go quickly, not to miss anything.
Wet, lonely, abandoned.
You are the building that is fenced in.
All that remains is ghosts from years past,
and paint chipping away.

Taking The Bull By The Horns?

Okay, here we go, guys.
I apologize profusely for my lack of blog posts, and lack of complete interest in the recent ones, but I promise I'll try and be better, and funny, and cute, and whatever you want from me. I'm cutting myself open here, now accept me!

But on a real note, these are my 2010 New Years Resolutions. After days of editing and trying to figure out text that transfers from Word to Blogger, but here we are, with images of text and South Africa and such as! Enjoy.

(ps I see on this first one I forgot to crop the top of it enough. ocd ocd ocd)

(AHHHH WHY DID I NOT REALIZE THAT RED SQUIGGLE OF DESTRUCTION? Kill me.)

So there you go, in all its glory. If you have any ideas where we can share these New Years Resolutions together, or we can help each other with both of ours, let me know! If you haven't already caught on, I love new years resolutions (and I still spell resolutions wrong every time I type it). Also, I want to get better at cooking.. But I'm not going to spend more time adding another image for that one.

Question of the blog:
I had a very vivid dream last night, one that I was sure I would remember when I woke up. Unfortunately, all I can remember is rooming with this psycho girl and driving around really nice slums. Which type of person are you?
1. Dreams a lot, and remembers them.
2. Dreams, but can rarely remember.
3. Rarely dreams, and a miracle if you remember.

It's All Coming Together Now!

Love Games vs. Love Games

This morning, as I logged onto YouTube, I saw that Lady Gaga has a song called Love Games. You know what I instantly thought of? Why, my favorite love games of all, Old Gregg of course! Now if you haven't seen Old Gregg, I suggest you head over to YouTube and look him up. You will be (frightfully) surprised? Maybe that's not the right word for it.. Anyways, Enjoy this music video.



Also, could it be that Lady Gaga is Old Gregg in disguise? See above images for proof that may change the world as we know it. Let me know what you think.

Question of the blog:
Recent polls show that about 99.6% of my friends are closet Lady Gaga fans. What do you think, is she a new Madonna or just a very unique individual that should wear more modest clothing and stop singing about sticks? I vote for the latter.

Balance Beam Sort Of Days

Guys, I got a slackline for Christmas!
Excited? Yes. And you should be too, because if we are friends, then I want to play with you!

This was a day down in Long Beach where we slacklined at a park. My mom and little sister both tried for the first time that day. It was hilarious.

This was the same that Bella fell out of a tree from like 7 feet up. But it was funny, I have to admit...




Slacklining is just so fun. I can't even describe it! It looks so simple, but is so challenging. Both my older sister and I have this overwhelming urge to compete with ourselves, to know that we are better. It think that's why I've enjoyed slacklining so far. One day, one day, I'll be really good at it. Promise. Let's play together.

Okay, mooost aggravating night EVER!
To top it off, I want to punch Blogger in the face for not allowing my New Years Resolutions to transfer from Microsoft Word. Please don't abandon me, readers. I will blog asap. Promise.
Love you.

Hold Your Breath

"Need-love says of a woman 'I cannot live without her';
Gift-love longs to give her happiness, comfort, protection- if possible, wealth;
Appreciative love gazes and holds its breath and is silent, rejoices that such a wonder should exist even if not for him, will not be wholly dejected by losing her, would rather have it so than never to have seen her at all."
-The Four Loves p. 17, C.S. Lewis

Wooden Bracelets Will Be The Death Of Me

Have you ever been confronted with an experience where you thought that things would never be the same after? Whether it's physical, or emotional, or whatever, I KNOW you have. Know it. Here was my adventure over Christmas break, which is still peeling and dry and red.
What is this, you may ask? Well, my friends, let me tell you that two little wooden bangles DESTROYED my arm. Awesome. I wore these pretty bracelets and the next morning I woke up with hives in the exact forms of them. For those who don't know, hives and I, we have a history. After being bitten by a bug in Nicaragua, I had chronic hives for like 9 months after. This was the first time I've had hives in a long time, but I know how to deal with it, so I did as I always do. The next day they started blistering. GROSS. The next day it was even worse, all over my arm. GROOOOSSSSS. Isn't it just great when you are repulsed by your own being and can't do anything about it?!?! Sheesh. It is now January 9th, and a steroid cream and bandages and such as later, my arm is still weird looking.
Back to my first statement, I am sort of worried my arm will get a scar from this. Worst of all, I won't even have a cool story to go with it!

Question of the blog:
What is one of your greatest scars on your body? And are you the type of person to hide things like that, or show them off?

Stupid Stupid Stupid.

I am in no mood to write blogs today. Let's hope for tomorrow.

Bratz Dolls, Break Downs, and a Latte

Wow. Umm,... Sorry I haven't posted in days. A year, actually. Happy 2010 everyone, I hope you had a more eventful New Years than I did.


Basically what we did all night. Cry faces, Phantom of the Opera, Champagne, the works.
I have sooo much to blog about, so prepare for the following, plus more!
1. My hives.
2. New Years Resolutions.
3. Slacklining.
4. Christmas, church, photos.

And I've got some more up my sleeve, but I'm not going to give all of my secrets away in one swift blow! Don't be ridiculous.
I am now sitting in my favorite coffee shop in LA, Portfolio. After I drove Moorea's car about 20 feet before it broke down, I am a little shaken up and a bit frustrated to still be in Long Beach when I should be working tonight, and seeing my boyfriend in a few hours. I have plans, but I need to learn how to accept changes in my schedule, and accept them with a happy heart. New Years resolution worthy, me thinks.
I hope you are all doing well, I apologize profusely for the lack of posts. When people are actually home, I have things to do! But so many things I don't have time to blog about the things! What a vicious cycle indeed!

Question of the blog:
I know a few of you can't even remember your new years celebration this year. I ain't judgin! What was your most memorable new years?