tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45682554218882043382011-10-10T13:03:53.356-06:00Because nerds are funnier.Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.comBlogger381100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-68086384354139140572011-07-07T00:15:00.000-06:002011-07-07T00:15:47.076-06:00

Little Stinker is about Percy the fish, who is small and plain, and likes to blow butt bubbles. I love children's books, especially when the moral is "You may be small and ugly, but that doesn't mean that you don't also stink."

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-13386210632828698542011-01-06T22:40:00.000-07:002011-01-06T22:40:56.954-07:00

Thank you to everyone who made turning twenty-five good!

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-63666555657874461682010-11-23T22:28:00.001-07:002011-01-18T13:48:42.220-07:00

I know you've received a lot of letters lately imploring you to continue your recent good work in the Pacific Northwest. But Snow, I think you deserve a few days off. No, seriously, take a few days. I'm not suggesting this just because I've been sledding in both a real sled and my car and found the first mildly more fun than the second. I'm not saying it just because you and I have had our

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-19141176348690188082010-08-27T09:04:00.000-06:002010-08-27T09:04:28.154-06:00

Such as Is the Sun Emitting a Mystery Particle? and Was Darwin Wrong? Read and discuss. Go!

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-8047323510880701092010-08-27T08:50:00.001-06:002010-08-27T08:50:41.800-06:00

This is a little partial story I wrote for a kid at work. The prompt was "Write a biography." What my student should have said was, "Write an accurate biography." Enjoy. Theodore Roosevelt was a president of the United States of America. What most people don't know about him is that he was also President of the International Association of Ninjas. Teddy, as he was known in the dojo, was an

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-10989938638441677732010-07-05T13:02:00.001-06:002011-01-18T13:59:51.126-07:00

Unfortunately, I forgot my real camera, so all my pictures from the Emerald Downs fireworks show on the third were taken on my phone, thus the terrible resolution. On the bright side, my phone has some functions my real camera does not, enabling me to do this: On the fourth, we didn't have any fireworks, so Jason, Eric, and Dean shot shotgun shells at glow sticks. The theory was that when the

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-70713523274967681162010-06-22T23:04:00.000-06:002010-06-22T23:04:53.124-06:00

What this book really sets out to do, though it takes a lot of detours on the way, is to redefine the word "loner." The author, Anneli Rufus, says we only use "loner" in bad ways. I agree with her. Almost every criminal--serial killer, school shooter, or otherwise--is labeled a loner, Rufus points out. When someone is weird, we call him or her a loner. We would never put Michelangelo in the same

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-77545834193181044562010-05-29T20:47:00.001-06:002010-05-29T20:50:26.490-06:00

Or rather, What I Read, because I'm done with it now. Finding this book was one of those rare instances where I broke my own rules and bought a book before I knew that I would love it. I was at Half Price Books the other day, buying Dracula, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Cry, the Beloved Country for a dollar each (I love clearance) when I ran across The Eyre Affair, also on clearance. The summary

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-15371741182965291072010-05-26T13:16:00.001-06:002010-05-26T13:16:53.965-06:00

In an effort to be true to myself and also to write more and about things that I like, I'm going to try some new things. Right now I'm going to try a What I'm Reading post, which I may continue to write. Let's see how it works, shall we? Some of you may know that before I was ready to formally declare my nerd status with an English major, I studied anthropology (the social science, not the

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-2319766761132600142010-05-26T12:34:00.002-06:002010-05-31T10:37:10.247-06:00

In keeping with trend--the anytime-I-make-an-effort-something-goes-terribly-wrong trend--when I tried to go to see my parents in Bellingham at the beginning of the month, I was delayed by a lady jumping in front of a train. She didn't jump in front of my train--they don't usually let passengers on freight trains-- but my train was delayed by the incident, and for a while, my mom and I were

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-60045500940221689392010-04-24T16:55:00.000-06:002010-04-24T16:55:58.878-06:00

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-23304601554856620762010-03-08T14:10:00.003-07:002011-01-18T14:12:48.101-07:00

This weekend we went to Bellingham to surprise my dad for his birthday. He was asleep when we got there--it was closing in on 11:30 pm--but my mom made me wake him up so he would know what I came for. What followed was this conversation: Mom: Wake up, honey. Someone's here to see you. Dad: What? Me: Surprise! Happy birthday! A minute of chatter including "thank you"s, etc. Dad: How long

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-16065501819970229532010-03-03T10:36:00.006-07:002010-03-03T10:51:36.930-07:00

We went tadpole hunting yesterday. I've been wanting to since I told Jason about how my brothers used to go catch tadpoles and snakes in the swamp behind a park near our house. (The swamp was conveniently located behind a fence with "No Trespassing" signs on it.) I think they even took me with them once. So now that we live back in Washington, on a piece of land that comes complete with a swamp

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-68196734000686903702010-03-01T15:27:00.002-07:002010-03-01T16:18:00.549-07:00

You may have noticed some interesting happenings here at Tina Reigns. The layout experimentation, for instance. Or the infrequent postings. These are all outward manifestations of recent changes in my circumstances and my knowledge. Let me explain.You may know that for the last almost three-ish months, I've been teaching, which is not what I intended to do when I said goodbye to BYU. I wanted to

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-23013681628227860862009-12-07T17:49:00.003-07:002009-12-07T17:50:10.644-07:00

Winter: 1Tina: 0

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-57174553229399335672009-10-15T14:06:00.003-06:002009-10-15T14:59:04.921-06:00

I have really vivid dreams. It used to be that I slept so deeply that if I dreamed, I didn't know it. But since I've been married, I remember my dreams every night. I didn't realize this until I started telling my husband about my weird dreams--they are always weird--and he commented about how often I dream. I didn't believe him, so I started keeping track and found out that he was right. I dream

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-24824233620943218472009-09-19T13:25:00.003-06:002009-09-19T17:33:59.600-06:00

Last night Jason, Traci (his sister and now mine!), and I went to the cheap theater to escape inevitable encounters with certain persons. But that's not the point. The point is, we took candy! Yes, I always sneak outside food into theaters. Cuff me, officer; I'm a criminal.Back to my point. We took candy, specifically, Dove chocolates. And you know how I love Dove chocolates. All that creamy

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-28731399718298261362009-05-22T18:57:00.006-06:002009-12-04T17:35:56.876-07:00

I try not to get into fads too much, and not for the reason you might think. Though I like being original just as much as other people, I am not about to sacrifice my Harry Potter collection on the altar of Individuality. No, I don't like getting into fads because it is too detrimental to my bank account to keep Practical Tina—a version of myself I dislike only slightly less than Fitness

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-63051226329937096212009-05-21T15:44:00.000-06:002009-05-21T15:45:46.479-06:00

"I have always imagined that Paradise will be some kind of library." — Jorge Luis BorgesAmen, Jorge. Amen.

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-64022819471222169352009-04-17T20:29:00.003-06:002009-05-01T11:43:26.263-06:00

Our other sucker fish disappeared the other day, which is sad because I was starting to get attached. I'd named him Jaws.I know; I'm a little teary too.I'm beginning to think that some of the water from the Bermuda Triangle was rerouted to our kitchen sink in Utah. But if that's the case, why isn't Amelia Earhart swimming around in our fish tank?The more likely theory is that the apartment

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-8444126341176687082009-04-02T20:59:00.005-06:002009-04-06T21:52:50.274-06:00

(So, I'm going to tell what happens in the movie. Normally I don't do this--not for books, not for movies, not for anything--but I feel like I have to. So know that if you read this, it will spoil the movie for you. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!)So, we went and saw Knowing today. You've probably seen the previews. Nicolas Cage, a page full of numbers, prophecies of disaster--is this ringing any bells?

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-73910837673560982652009-03-24T18:28:00.005-06:002009-03-25T07:41:56.702-06:00

A play, in one act.Scene 1Scene: JASON is at the computer, silently reading. TINA is on the couch across from the computer, rereading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The clock reads 5:30.Silence, except for the clock ticking away the seconds TINA should be spending writing her paper for her Shakespeare class.VOICE (singing faintly, from above): But I won't hesitate no more, no more--VOICE

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-65864128113045921282009-03-23T19:56:00.004-06:002009-03-23T20:19:00.615-06:00

See what I mean about being our own circus? (See my first post.) Now if only I could grow a beard, we'd be in business.

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-75884252087862880002009-03-20T15:31:00.002-06:002009-03-20T15:34:40.658-06:00

A conversation, via text, between me (Tina, 5'3") and John (oldest brother of Tina, 5'6") on John's birthday.Me: Happy birthday, biggest brother! I hope it's a good one.John: Biggest brother? Are you calling me fat? You jerk!Me: Do you prefer that interpretation to the one in which "biggest" was a taunt about your height? Since it's your birthday, I'll let you choose.John: Well played. A+.

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-60808328435464646802009-03-13T16:39:00.005-06:002011-01-18T14:29:59.445-07:00

King Lear is the tragedy of all Shakespeare's tragedies. All the evil forces, all the bad acts, all the betrayal of the other tragedies combines together in this play to make you feel that life may not be worth living after all. And yet I still found Lear extremely funny. Top three reasons I found King Lear funny: 3. No one insults like Shakespeare, and he outdid himself with Lear. Ex. "And

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-73489141618457097592009-03-03T20:59:00.005-07:002009-03-03T21:40:53.798-07:00

I don't fear very much, but I do fear homeless people. I know, this is unfair. I shouldn't fear someone because he or she is unwashed or maybe smelling of substances of questionable legality. And, in reality, that's not why I fear homeless people. It has more to do with the truly insane ones that I met on the docks of downtown Seattle when I was five and separated from my family. But that's

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-82522002343488379072009-03-01T19:49:00.006-07:002011-01-18T14:33:44.668-07:00

I’ve formerly recommended Wilkie Collins’s books based solely on my experience reading The Moonstone, which I quite liked. And I promised an update when I finished reading The Woman in White, Collins’s earlier mystery novel. Here’s my consensus: Is it possible for me to grow up to be a 19th century male writer? Because I think he’s my new hero. Collins’s novels aren't action packed, especially

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-67473241465755251822009-02-16T12:41:00.003-07:002009-02-16T12:45:23.340-07:00

I don't usually do these types of question deals, but this one was pretty funny, so I thought I'd try. And it turned out pretty funny. To do this yourself, you're supposed to copy the list of questions and erase my answers. Then, for the answer to the first question, you press play on your music player while it's set to shuffle. For the answer to the next question, you hit "next."If someone says,

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-88198986445009419342009-02-12T21:55:00.003-07:002009-03-01T20:01:29.142-07:00

Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone. Read it; it's fabulous. Especially if you have a fondness for nineteenth century writing, which I do. Writers in the nineteenth century preferred character development over plot, so the book sometimes moves slowly, but the characters who narrate the story more than make up for the pace.Also, it's considered to be one of the first mystery novels. Actually, he wrote

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-57796637540702015042009-02-09T21:35:00.005-07:002009-02-10T18:10:48.547-07:00

No, I am not changing my name (as I should have a year ago), nor am I undergoing surgery of any kind. I just thought I would let you all know that, according to the extremely reliable phone of my sister-in-law Traci (http://runningstray.blogspot.com/), I no longer exist.It's true. Every time she tries to type my name into her phone (for a text message or just to add me to her contacts list), the

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-24113667756581542172009-02-07T22:59:00.002-07:002009-02-07T23:02:14.989-07:00

I get really random, really bad cravings. You’d almost think I was pregnant, but I’ve been this way for my whole life. Also, I never crave gross combinations of foods. I never want pickles and fudge ice cream, for instance. At least not together. But these cravings, they’re instantaneous. And relentless. One minute I’ll be a normal girl in her early twenties, and the next minute I’m a rabid

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-21156774099141991522009-02-06T17:55:00.010-07:002009-12-04T17:47:58.891-07:00

The sad tale of our many aquatic friends is long and complicated (and also a tragedy) so I will pass on relating the whole story for now. Suffice it to say, since November, we have been the owners and protectors of two small scum suckers. That sounds like an insult, but it is merely the truth.Anyway, after our last eight fish died (that's the tragic part), I was trying to distance myself, in case

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-22021514258677814572009-02-04T20:23:00.010-07:002009-02-06T23:13:08.198-07:00

This semester I have drawn the short straw and am stuck in classes with all the anal students and irrelevant commenters. This doesn't always bother me as much as it is this semester, but then, usually I only have one irrelevant commenter in one of my classes, and the obsessive compulsives keep their disorders to themselves.My technical writing class, however, brings out the worst in all people. I

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-55882990380480807102009-01-30T21:17:00.004-07:002009-09-19T17:33:46.183-06:00

Today I received the ultimate crappy Valentine's Day candy sentiment from the master of all crappy candy sentiments, Dove chocolates. A group of girls presented about theater in my Shakespeare class, and as a treat, one of the girls handed out the little Dove chocolate miniatures. You know, the kind that are usually square, with a worse-than-fortune-cookie sentiment on the inside of the wrapper?

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-90315224431881694652009-01-28T15:21:00.004-07:002009-01-30T21:38:04.663-07:00

Jason got a job this week, after being unemployed for six months. Unless you've spent six months wondering how you were going to pay rent, insurance, tuition, and still eat, it would be hard to understand how I feel right now.He texted me with the news on Monday, just before my eleven am class. I heard the little tinkle of notification and thought, "I'd better turn that off before my next class."

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-58963825639235726612009-01-19T20:28:00.003-07:002009-01-19T21:00:02.066-07:00

This past weekend I was in North Carolina for my brother Jeff's wedding. I love to travel, even though I haven't done much of it, and I'm a big fan of my new sister-in-law, so I definitely didn't mind the trip. Plus, I absolutely loved NC. It's beautiful, not that I expected anything else. It reminded me a little bit of home (Seattle) because of the dense trees and abundance of water, but it

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-71338476711901717892009-01-15T21:17:00.008-07:002009-02-06T23:18:51.201-07:00

So, in a continued effort to keep an interesting blog, I'm keeping my eye out for interesting material. For instance, as the only English major in a writing class of 24 exercise science/engineering/pre-med/pre-dental students, I often find my classmates' approach to writing, and the class in general, funny. Part of it is the earnestness with which all pre-med students take any question or

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4568255421888204338.post-60591159364120445572009-01-13T22:20:00.003-07:002009-01-22T18:07:20.314-07:00

I never really wanted a blog. To be frank, I think that there are too many bloggers out there that have nothing to say but still say too much, and I didn't want to be one of them. So I've been waiting patiently for there to come a time in my life when I had something to contribute.This is not that time.I also didn't want to be totally cliche and create a blog just after I got married so everyone

Tinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05557364507462181019noreply@blogger.com0