Tracie's List of Songs You Should Know and Love and Better Listen To Or You'll Be Banned as My Friend/Sister for LIFE

The Uncomplete List of Tracie's List including lyrics that make the song amazing. Get ready to find yourself through these songs.

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

1. "Breathe Me" by Sia.
2. "Wreck of the Day" by Anna Nalick
3. "Miss Halfway" by Anya Marina
4. "La La La" by The Bird and The Bee
5. "Look at her Face" by The Coral Sea
6. "Warwick Avenue" by Duffy
7. "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" by John Mayer
8. "Gray or Blue" by Jaymay
9. "Green Light feat. Andre 3000" by John Legend
10. "Play" by Flunk
11. "The Show" by Lenka
12. "Love Lockdown" by Kanye West
13. "You Are Goodbye" by Holly Conlan
14. "Boys With Girlfriends" by Meiko
15. "Dead and Gone" by T.I. Feat. Justin Timberlake
16. "Dice" by Finley Quaye
17. "If You're Out There" by John Legend
18. "Maybe I'm Amazed" performed by JEM, written by Paul McCartney
19. "Raise it Up" by The IMPACT Repertory Theater feat. Jamia Simone Nash
20. "Falling Slowly" by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
21. "Live Your Life" by T.I. Feat. Rihanna

If You're Not Informed, You Probably Shouldn't Help Decide Our Next President

I'm really irritated/annoyed/irked when I ask someone who they're going to vote for President, or if they've watched the latest debate, or if they agree with Obama and McCain's policies or if they like Palin or Biden better... and they have no clue. They didn't watch the debate. They don't go online and read about the issues. They aren't involved. They don't know Sarah Palin is Alaska's Governor. They don't know Joe Biden is from Delaware. Geez, people! Get it together!

If you don't know about each candidate, then you shouldn't vote.

There's still time to repent. Go watch all the debates online. Go online to each candidate's website and read about their policies and what issues are important to them. Form your own opinions. Don't parrot what you hear on FOX News or CNN. As my new employer would say, Just Do It.

Read about McCain and Palin here.

Read about Obama and Biden here.

Go! Run! Hurry!

(If you're computer illiterate, email me and I will help you find the debates online.)

I WANT TO FIGHT YOU: You're a loser, baby.

My roommate/best friend Brittany is the coolest girl ever. I seriously love her so much. She is so funny, so nice, so entertaining, so smart, so beautiful, and so ambitious. She has always wanted to work in the medical field---something I think is really amazing, coming from a family of nurses and a dad who has been in Pharmaceutical sales for the last 25 years. Those medical classes are complicated. Soma = Body, Lip = Fat, Gloss = Tongue. (Some medical jargon I've picked up as a nurse's daughter and exercise science major's best friend/roommate.)

Brittany was studying in the Wilk (building on BYU Campus) for a test last Friday night. She's studying all by herself at this table in this area where no one was at. This typical BYU male student sees Brittany, a breathing female, and decides to capitalize on the perfect opportunity presented before him. He goes and sits down by her and starts talking to her. Brittany doesn't care, because 1. She's dating the coolest guy from Italy. And 2. She's studying for a test she wants to get a good grade on. But, Brittany is nice, and doesn't tell Annoying-Boy to leave. (We're working on that, right, Britt?). So he asks her all the classic "Where are you from, what's your major, what do you want to do with your life" questions, and she tells him she wants to be a doctor.

This kid, this scrawny little nerd from I-don't-know-where, proceeds, for the next 45 minutes, to tell Brittany that she is a bad, bad person/woman in the LDS Church, for wanting to be a doctor--- her family should be the most important thing in her life, and how is she going to raise her kids when she is in medical school? How is she going to be there for her kids if she's working? Shouldn't her husband be the primary bread winner? He told her that she's not being a very good member of our Church since she wants to go to so much school, and will OBVIOUSLY neglect her family. And on and on and on.

WELL, GUESS WHAT, YOU NINNY??? LIFE DOESN'T ALWAYS WORK OUT AS PLANNED, DOES IT??? People ACTUALLY DON'T fit into the perfect LDS Mold of "Dad w/ good job-Mom-kids-great life-no trials". Britt's dad passed away 3 years ago. Her mom is now the head of the household. What would her mom have done if she didn't go to college?? Huh? Huh? Huh?

What if this? What if that? Why can't Brittany be a doctor and still be a good mom/member of the LDS church? Why does she have to stay home with the kids to do that? Why can't she work 2 or 3 days out of the week if she so chooses? What if she never gets married (Not gonna happen, but good for my argument.)??

By the end of the conversation (Britt actually listened to his narrow-minded rant, whereas I would have kicked him in the shins, then told him to get the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks out of there), Britt wanted to A. Cry and B. Punch him in the face.

Seriously, Dimwitted Cretin. Can't you do anything better with your life than force your intolerant and parochial view of life on my friend Brittany, who is the most amazing person ever, who is one of the strongest members of the Church that I've met, who is such a good, compassionate person, who has the brains to get into medical school and do well and make hundreds of thousands of millions more dollars than you, you little, puny, unsubstantial English major with no plans after your April 2009 graduation or Friday Night Date? Shut up, open your eyes, and get a life.

I love Brittany. And I will fight anyone that gets in her way.

The end.

Where's Tracie?? Part 2: Free Nike Woman

I'm sitting here at a computer on campus, staring at this website, feeling like a stranger. I haven't posted anything in almost a month. I don't "work" for 9 hours a day as a receptionist with nothing to do anymore. Sad, but true. I have been so busy with work and school that I haven't had time. Also, my computer at home is not working. That hinders my blogging as well, but I've been able to read more than I usually do (good for my vocab, bad for my social life). Where have I been? I'll tell you where I've been.

1. I was offered a job with Nike as a correspondent for them!!!!!!!!!! I am so incredibly excited/grateful/nervous/confident/blah blah blah. I get my own blog on their website. I will let you know what that web address is as soon as I get it.

2. September has been an interesting month for me on a personal level. I won't go into details, but I am so grateful for the California legal system and my amazing lawyer, David Leon. Seriously, if you ever need anything to do with family law, I recommend him. I give him 5 thousand million billion stars.

3. I have missed school. I love it here at BYU. I can't believe I was away for almost a year. Yeah, it's very annoying to see all the happily married 19 and 20 year olds, girls who are younger than me and PREGNANT, or even better, already have 2 kids (No offense to my friends who are happily married and young with kids).
But I love my job (Graphics Artist/Operator for the BYU Daily News) and I love my major (Broadcast Journalism) and I love reporting and I love my classes (especially Ruth Todd Jones' class... love her!!) and I love my roommates (Britt, Carrie, and Sadie), I love my friends, I love making new friends, I love meeting up with old friends from Bakersfield, I love running, I love Nike, I love life!

In conclusion, I would like to leave you with some words of wisdom/lessons/cool things I have discovered over the past 30-something days:

1. Clean your room and you clean your life.
2. Having a loft with a TV and couches makes for a great place to send your roommate and her boyfriend when you don't want to see them being kissy-kissy lovey-dovey.
3. You can eliminate the words "very" and "really" from your vocabulary and not die.
4. Homemade cream puffs and banana bread come in handy when you're hungry and don't want to go to the store.
5. If cleanliness is next to godliness, then Brittany my roommate/best friend is celestial (and it almost lowers my self-esteem because I think... why can't I be that clean? Why can't I pick up my clothes every day? And then I get over it and go do something else, like read or run. And the room stays moderately messy.).
6. I am still the best at Mario Kart, N64 Version, no matter who I play. (Any takers? Any takers?)
7. It's harder to run in Utah than it is in California because of something I like to call ""higher elevation".
8. My brother James is really smart. (Yalie)
9. My puppy Annie still loves me the most out of anyone in my family. Even when I leave for school, she still loves me most.
10. You can avoid people you don't want to talk to by pretending to talk on the phone. (Make sure it's on silent so it doesn't ring).
11. Never give your keys to Brittany unless you want her to lose them (it's an innate characteristic of hers to lose keys. It's an innate characteristic of mine to find Brittany's lost keys within the first 30 seconds of my search).
12. If you miss the sun and California, just head over to your local tanning salon for some much-needed therapy.
13. I know the most talented singer-songwriters in all of America (big generalization, I know, but it's true): Spencer and Issac Russell. LOVE their stuff. I can't wait to review them for Nike.
14. Utah has better weather than Bakersfield. During the month of September, however. I probably won't be so quick to compliment Utah's weather when the snow comes. Ok, I KNOW I will NOT compliment Utah. In fact, we become mortal enemies when those white flakes start falling from the sky. But, I have a really cute white winter coat with a fox-fur collar (I didn't know it was real when I bought it!! Don't red-paint me, PETA! I'll go adopt 5 animals, right now! I'm such a hypocrite!!), and I'm excited to wear it.
15. When your parents buy your car from you, you save a lot of money.
16. I can live off of $20 worth of groceries a week.
17. My parents and I get along wayyyyyyyy better when we are not living under the same roof.

Ok, that's it for now. I have English 316 right now, and I better get to class. I haven't been on Google Reader yet, so, friends and family, I will catch up sometime within the next 48-72 hours.

P.S. I get to be on the sidelines for the BYU v Utah State game in Logan tomorrow.
P.P.S. I don't know if I can run a marathon next year.
P.P.S.S. Who wants to teach me how to snowboard this year? I will be reviewing all the ski resorts for Nike and figure I should actually know how to board and/or ski before I go review.
P.P.P.S.S. Who's going with me to see CELINE DION in Salt Lake in November???

Tracie's Music Review: "Ain't No Sunshine" by Tyrone Wells

Tyrone Wells. Tyrone Wells. Tyrone Wells. Tyrone Wells. Please be green-eyed with envy I heard his voice live last night, from about 3 feet away from the front. Pictures to come. And I love my new friends Bobbi, Kalli, and Janna Bowman. And thank-you, Bo, for introducing me to Tyrone Wells AND your awesome cousins. And I love small concerts in small venues. And I'm so sorry you couldn't be with us, Jill.

This is my favorite cover he does. It's absolutely amazing. He holds this super long note at the end and I'm always afraid he's going to pass out. I LOVE IT. And I heard it live. (Jealous? Bitter? Resentful? Invidious?-- Dictionary dot com it if you don't know what that means) Okay, press the play button.

Where's Tracie?

Okay fans, (all 3 of you), it's been forever since I have been on here. I know you've been crying yourself to sleep. But guess what?? I have a life now!! HA. No offense to anyone who's on the internet 24/7. Well, maybe a little offense. But my summer job is over, I no longer sit and stare at a computer screen for 9 hours a day and I'm living the high life as a senior at Brigham Young University (Check us out, we're ranked for football!! Yeah, you're jealous.)

Okay, so last Friday my dad drove me to Provo, UT. I was originally supposed to meet Monica and Brooke in Las Vegas for a girl's weekend, but my parents decided that they wouldn't support me in spending a weekend in the City of Sin, and would only take me to Provo, no where else. Seriously. And I'm really 22. Not 12. They forget that sometimes. (Not that I minded the free groceries, Target Shopping Spree, and sushi at Happy Sumo/Eating out everywhere GOOD... thanks Daddy!!)

So ANYWAY, as I was saying, we arrived in Provo after about a 10 hour drive at 10 PM Mountain Time. Brooke and I had a girls night at her grandma's HUGE house in Provo. Then Brittany my bestest friend, my Dad, his friend from Utah, Jim, all went to the BYU football game. Talk about BORING! I haven't actually sat and watched a football game in forever. Usually I'm down on the field doing something for broadcasting. I don't know how you people do it. It's so boring sitting in the stands. Seriously. I hated it. I'm never going back. It's field-time or no-tracie-time at football games from now on... I wouldn't be opposed to a box seat, however.

We went to the Tree Room up in Sundance after the game. Brooke joined us for that. Don't worry, Brittany's boyfriend, Robert Redford was there.

Jim: Hey girls, guess who just walked in?

Me, Brooke, Brittany: Who? Who??

Jim: I think his name is Robert Redford?

Brittany: (Major Silent Shriek and Freak-Out)

Brooke and Tracie: Minor Silent Shriek and Freak-out)

Me: Brittany, are you okay?

Brittany: You don't understand!!! He's wooed 3 generations in my family!!! My grandma, my mom and me!

Ha. I love that. My friends are so funny.

So after a fantastic dinner at a 4-Diamond restaurant, Brittany, Brooke, and I went and had another Girls Night at her grandma's house.

My Daddy left on Monday and I was real sad. But I'm getting back into the college groove. Yay for 5th year seniors!!

P.S. Sometime SOON, I hope, they will announce the Five Finalists for the Nike Field Reporter. Cross your fingers for me!!

Next post: I will tell you about the COOLEST project I will work on of my entire life. It's seriously the best thing ever. You're gonna be so jealous. I already know it.

Maybe this woman owns the "Get'R Done Hair and Nails Salon" in Oildale, CA.

I was driving around the beautiful town of Bakersfield, CA, and I saw this license plate:

I had to re-read it several times to make sure I wasn't hallucinating from the heat. And then I promptly took a picture on my phone. ("Ooooo, I should blog about that!" moment)

Just in case you didn't get that, the letters are:

"G-I-T-T-R D-N".

I try really hard to convince my friends from the rest of Southern California that Bakersfield is not as bad as everyone claims it to be. But seriously, White-Trash-Woman-Driver, you make us take a million steps backwards in that battle, (not to mention the Battle of Stop Making Derogatory Comments About A Woman Unless You Are A Woman Talking to/Gossiping About Another Woman) when you drive around with the Most White Trash License Plate of the Century. Congratulations.

Legacy Photography/Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me

"You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you, You're so VAIN (you're so vain) I bet you think this song is about you, DON'T YOU, DON'T YOU."

That's what I'm humming to myself as I write this post. As if you can be anything OTHER than vain when you post glamour shots of yourself. I do it, however, out of the goodness of my heart (and she's humble, too) to promote the amazing photographers from LEGACY PHOTOGRAPHY, Ilcy and Stacy (located in Bakersfield, CA). They shot the best pictures I have ever taken... better than my senior portraits, better than myself, better than my mom when I was little, and a MILLION TIMES INFINITY times better than that guy in Salt Lake who did my head shots 3 years ago (If I ever remember his company's name, I'm going to write a scathing review).

Ok this one is a little tricky: go to the upper right corner of the page, click your mouse, and hold down the button as you drag your mouse over to the left. You might have to re-click to make the page you just dragged stay down.
See?? It's like reading a book---- Or..... you can just double click the corner of the page you want to turn. That might be easier.

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Pictures courtesy of:

They specialize in:

Weddings

Special events

Self Portraits

Family Portraits

You name it!

Visit their website:www.Myspace.com/legacyphotobakersfield/

or contact Ilcy @ : legacyphotography_07@hotmail.com

Does service/good welfare/shameless promotion of the best photography company ever cancel out vanity? I hope so. Shoot, I've seen the movie Se7en. I know what happens to those who are vain.

Thank-you For Not Driving.

WARNING: This post contains a pledge, which if you read, or even take a peek at, or just skim quickly, you must follow, or the Spirits of Tailgaters Past will haunt your life FOREVER. FOR-EV-ER. FORR-EVV-ERR.

You know you do it. I know you do it. You know I know you know you do it. We've all done it. You merge onto the freeway. Careen over to the far-left lane. Set your cruise control at "85". And some Mormon, I mean moron (for reference when I'm driving on Utah Freeways, boo to everyone who drives the speed limit in the far left lane!!!) in front of you is in the fast lane going a measly 62 MPH. You pull up close behind them, flash your lights and do the "No-no-no" Mom Hand Signal. And. they. don't. move. So you move closer to them. And closer. And closer. And finally you're so close to the car in front of you, you can read all their bumper stickers very clearly ("My Grandson Was Child of the Week at Provo Elementary". Or "The Closer You Get, The Slower I Go". Or "Go Ahead and Honk, I Can't Hear You"). And they still. don't. move. And we inch closer and closer and closer until we're fed up and we change lanes to indignantly speed around them. You KNOW you do it too! But, there are rules, right? You ONLY tailgate at certain times. Like when someone is going slow in the fast lane (I'm talking to YOU, I-15 Riders of Utah and Salt Lake County). Or someone who doesn't go the speed limit in residential areas.

But here's where my beef lies: people who needlessly tailgate. I see cars who pull up too close behind me to "encourage" (yeah, encourage... it's a bit more like INTIMIDATE) me to go faster. WELL, GUESS WHAT?? I CAN'T!! THERE'S TRAFFIC!! Can you open your eyes for, like a SECOND, and see that everyone else is going at a steady pace of 55 MPH on the freeway, there are too many cars on the road to pass anyone, and it's doing you no good to ride my car's booty??!?? So get OFF my tail, because all you're doing is making me ANGRY. 'Cause I'll slow down. And ride my brakes. And then speed up so you can't pass. And I'll play this cat-and-mouse game with you until you stop. And I don't care what faces you make at me. Or gestures you give. I don't put up with Tacky Tailgaters.

(Please raise your right arm and repeat after me)

In the name of my Fellow Drivers of the World. I, [Insert your name here], vow to never be a Tacky Tailgater. I promise that I will only Tailgate under said Tailgate Rules and Regulations (see Paragraph 1-2 from above). And I'll also ALWAYS signal when I switch lanes. And I swear I'll never slow down to a full and complete stop just to turn into a parking lot, or onto a street. And I promise when I'm old and senile (no offense Grandma), I won't drive. And if I do, I won't self-righteously drive in the fast lane going 55 MPH, even IF I've paid my tithing for the month and I want to obey all traffic rules so I can be One-with-God and think everyone going over 60 MPH is of the Devil. And I'll stop at every stop sign. And I will also follow the lane assignments given on the following picture made by Tracie. And I pledge these things in the name of glory, good citizenship, and for all those who've been wronged on the road.

LANE ASSIGNMENTS:

15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10: Sequence of numbers, or real ages of Chinese Gymnasts?

A little late, I.O.C., a little late, but we'll take it.
IOC orders investigation into He Kexin's age. Article on Yahoo!
But if He Kexin helped win the team Medal, shouldn't they disqualify her score? Re-count, anyone?

This is funny:

This is also funny:

And another: