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Tuesday, May 8, 2012

It's not Goodbye, It's just Until Next Time

I'm leaving. But not forever. Just for 18 months. I'm leaving to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (aka The LDS church or the Mormon church). I'll be "stationed" in Long Beach California area, spreading the gospel.

This means that I won't be able to post on here. However, my brother says he'll keep it posted occasionally. The posts just won't be my usual drooling over attractive men, ranting about TV and movies, sighing over romance stuff. It'll be more about my experiences as a missionary. I don't know how often there will be posts because as a missionary our time is limited and my focus will be more on communicating with my family.

However, I will be back. My estimated return date is November of 2013. I plan on continuing this blog because I'll still be the Hopeless Romantic. It'll just be a little older and wiser Hopeless Romantic writing.

I am excited for this opportunity I have to serve for the Lord for 18 months in California. I want to thank you all who have taken time out of your busy days to read my dorky posts. Thanks, it means a lot to know that someone is reading my stuff.

It's not goodbye, it's just until next time. See ya!

Until Next Time,

Sister Hopeless

Monday, May 7, 2012

A Stark Comparison

I'm a little hopeless. Strike that. I'm A LOT hopeless. My parents took me to see The Avengers on Friday and I absolutely loved it. It was so good. Plus, when you put a cast of mainly of attractive guys who are buff, I'm going to like the movie. :) I'm just cool like that.

The Avengers = Awesome

Anyway, since seeing The Avengers, I decided that I needed to see both Thor and Captain America before I leave. So that's been my goal this weekend. Thanks to Redbox, I've been able to see both movies and I greatly enjoyed them. And now, I have to re-watch Iron Man and Iron Man 2 because I have a mad, mad crush on Tony Stark... despite some major character flaws.

I was enjoying Captain America, when Howard Stark appeared. Now, my initial reaction is that Tony Stark is a little more attractive and a lot more arrogant. Not that Howard Stark isn't arrogant but his is more of self-confidence with an edge. Unfortunately, we don't get a lot of Howard Stark because the movie is about Captain America. However, we do get a little taste and that's all we need. :)

As I've had to contemplate this post, I have come to realize that although Tony Stark is his father's son, he also is a manifestation of all his father's more... undesirable traits. For example, Tony is arrogant, a womanizer, too smart for his own good sometimes, narcissistic, unwilling to take responsibility (sometimes)... and because don't know all that much about Howard Stark... that's really all I have. I should also say, these aren't necessarily bad traits, well most of them anyway, but Tony Stark has them in spades. Probably due to his upbringing as a boy genius from an extremely wealthy family. And a bit of estrangement from his father (if I'm remembering correctly).

About the estrangement between Starks... I can't help but wonder if it had to do with the fact that Howard saw a lot of himself in Tony. Maybe it was to protect him. And perhaps, because we now know about Howard's involvement with Captain America and S.H.I.E.L.D. (before it was S.H.I.E.L.D.), he was trying to keep his genius son away from that? I'm not sure that we'll ever know... but maybe we will.

The point is that their relationship wasn't the greatest and we don't know anything about Tony's mother. And when did Howard settle down to have his family? And will Tony do the same? (If you've seen Iron Man 2, you'll have the same hope I did that Pepper Potts will finally stop Tony's womanizing ways.)

Writing this post seems to bring up more questions than answers. There is nothing wrong with that, especially because our information on Howard Stark is so limited. He only shows up in the one movie with Captain America and even then the movie is not about him as the Iron Mans are about Tony. [Side Note: I think it quite interesting that Captain America has the opportunity to work with both Starks. I wonder what his thoughts on them are. Hmm?]

Also, the Stark men make engineering seem hot. I love seeing Tony as Iron Man but I love him more when he's all smart and engineer-y and scientifical. I don't know what that means but it's a very attractive quality about him.

Despite claiming that Tony got all his distasteful traits from his father, there are some good ones he inheritated. Once he realizes that his weapons are being sold to the enemy, Tony works on stopping it. And he's loyal to friends... when he's not dying and drunk. Howard Stark went searching for Captain America after he went down in the bad guy's ship in the antartic (or wherever). I believe Howard developed a friendship with Steve (Captain America) and I have hopes that Tony will too.

I don't believe Tony Stark is a bad guy. Sure he's not the greatest guy ever but he's got good intentions... mingled in with narcissism. And I know Howard Stark is a good guy who wanted the best for his son... however misguided his intentions.

This wasn't quite the comparison I had intended but it's hard to compare evenly when we know very little about Howard and we know so much about Tony. But I noticed similarities between father and son in their respective movies and I felt like exploring it a little.

I exhort you all to see The Avengers and any other of the Marvel movies. They are awesome. But that could be the nerd-girl inside of me screaming "I LOVE YOU, TONY STARK!".

Howard Stark
Tony Stark

And because I can't resist... Tony Stark's arms


Until Next Time,

The Hopeless Romantic


Saturday, May 5, 2012

Why I Want to Marry A Hot Guy

This post is really about/dedicated to my awesome friend, Michelle (whom I have mentioned many times on this blog). We were discussing the very attractive prince on Mirror Mirror (which we both loved! Because it's a movie that appeals to girls like us... girls who still have a 12 year old girl trapped inside us.) :) Mirror Mirror is the kind of movie that gets poor reviews from the general population but for me, I love it. And I plan on purchasing it someday.

Anyway, not the point. Back to Michelle. We were talking about hot guys and Michelle piped up, "I want to marry a hot guy, but not because I'm shallow." Of course, whenever you say something like that, it seems kind of shallow but Michelle is not shallow! However, we all have our shallow parts... the shallow end leads to the deep end in the pool right?

In Utah, being a 26 year old woman and unmarried leads your married friends and your family to pity you. As you get older and remain single, the more pity you get. In normal Utah Mormon culture, many girls are married by the time they hit 21. (This is a very general statement- obviously this is not the case for everyone but it certainly feels very true.)

So the older you are, the less likely it is for a relatively normal Mormon girl to meet a relatively normal Mormon boy. The boys your age tend to marry girls younger than you. And for some boys, there's a reason they're not married. If you get my meaning. (Psycho!)

Okay, so here's Michelle's reason for wanting to marry a hot guy. And it's not just so she has the right to ogle him anytime. (That would be awesome and less awkward than getting caught mid-ogle by some guy you don't know.) It's a little about vindication. For example, if you marry someone who has a personality but not necessarily "the looks" then people cluck their tongues and shake their head. "Poor girl, she settled because she got married when she was old." (This is not true and in both my defense and Michelle's defense we're not saying that looks are everything... this is purely hypothetical.)

But if you marry an attractive guy with a personality, then it's sort of like "Look at me, I got married at 27 and a half and my husband is hot! You don't have to get married when you're a 19 year old co-ed. And you don't have to settle."

There you go. That's the why Michelle wants to marry a hot guy. I know that this whole post seems a little shallow. But honestly, if you're a Mormon girl over the age 21 and not planning on a mission, you get a lot of flak about why you're not married, why you don't have boyfriend, why you aren't going on a mission, blah blah blah. Then you get pity because of your single-ness.

We're all allowed to have that part inside us who wants to show people that we're not hopeless, "sweet spirits" that need to be set up on blind dates or join dating websites because we don't have a husband yet. Sometimes, we have something else in store for us before we get married or maybe that guy is busy at the moment. Sometimes, we just need to be patient and not give up hope. You're not a freak or hopeless just because you're not married a 21.

Okay, I hope that those who read this post don't find offense in anything written. It's not supposed to be offensive or shallow or make me and Michelle seem like we're ditzes who just want a hot guy (not opposed to the idea of a hot guy but looks aren't everything).

So, I hope it isn't taken negatively. It's just the thoughts of a single girl living in a world where getting married is everything.

Until Next Time,

The Hopeless Romantic

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Stupid Girls Being Stupid

Girls are stupid. Yes, I include myself. Also, this is very general. I'm not saying that every girl in the world is stupid... because they're not.

I guess I should start over. Fictional Girls are Stupid. I talk about fiction a lot, don't I? (Maybe my next blog should be called "A Real Life Girl Living in a Fictional World." Hmm... that has a nice ring to it.)

Anyway.

I was reading a book. And I realized a pattern in a lot of books I read. Girls are stupid. And they always doubt themselves and they doubt affections/feelings of the guy involved. The thing with the guys in these books is that they're usually very sincere. Just because they don't come right out and say "I like you" it gives the girl the license to torture the readers as they lament their life.

Take for example this book I've read several time. The main character spends the entire book crying because the man in her life doesn't love her. When in fact, he really does. He just isn't confident enough to say it out loud. But his actions speak louder than words. But the girl just keeps crying. (There are other elements to the book that have caused me to read it more than once. This is just an example of a stupid girl.)

Let's go more specific.

Somewhere along the line, I realized that my love for ABC's CASTLE has surpassed my love for FOX's BONES.

So I've been a little crazy about CASTLE.

And that's what we're going to talk about. Stupid Girls on CASTLE.

Enter Kate Beckett. The ultimate Stupid Girl. I mean, who would pass up on Richard Castle. Here is this rich and famous, attractive writer who is following her around and she is perpetually annoyed with him. I'm not saying the Castle is perfect. He's arrogant, a little reckless, and totally in her face. But he also likes her. A lot. And he doesn't necessarily hide it, at least in the beginning. Of course, in the beginning, it was more of the conquest of Beckett than of undying, eternal love. *snicker*

But somewhere along the way, Castle's feelings did change into something deeper. And Beckett was still perpetually annoyed at him. (I know that this is not necessarily "Beckett's" fault because she is at the mercy of writers.) Underneath the perpetual annoyance, is (hopefully) something deeper... like love.

However, she's being stupid about it.



Why do girls have to be so stupid? If you're being chased by a boy that you like and he likes you... why do you push him away? Why do you burst into tears just because he flirts with you but doesn't say "I love you." Boys are scaredy cats too! We expect them to be strong and confident but it's scary to put your heart on the line, especially to a stupid girl who spends so much time pushing you away because she's scared too.

Love isn't supposed to be easy... but Stupid Girls certainly make it harder than it needs to be.

*Deep breath*

Okay, I just wanted to rant a little. And I've done that. Again, I want to include myself in the Stupid Girl category. However, I am at a point in my life where I can just stand outside the box and look in and see that I'm being stupid.

I don't give up hope. We'll all meet that special someone who vanquishes that Stupid Girl inside us all. That keeps me going on.

Until Next Time,

The Hopeless Romantic