Cell phones: a fine example of technology that changes our lives in both great and terrible ways. I fought the trend until my sophomore year of college; then I finally broke down and got one. Mostly I did it because I never answered the house phone, and it drove my best friend crazy.

I don't use my phone all that much now, but I fully admit that I feel slightly emptier inside when I don't have it with me. And it really does make life more convenient in many ways.

But someone PLEASE explain to me how convenience translated into it being acceptable for people to talk on their cell phones in public restrooms. Or any bathroom truth be told. If nature's calling, you should not be trying to have two phone conversations at once!

I was in a restaurant bathroom a month or so ago, and the woman in the next stall was talking real estate on the phone to a client while she did her thing. I guess she wanted to take care of all her business at once. WHY!? WHY!? WHY!?!?!?

When I was in college I worked at the campus library for three years. It being a library, no cell phones were allowed except in the stairwells. I can't vouch for the guys, but many a girl found the most convenient door to slip through when her phone rang was the one with the little stick figure in a dress on it.

So on the plus side there, they weren't trying to multi-task, but it made it very awkward for those in there for more obvious reasons. I'm sorry but I don't think Suzie Q should allow her boyfriend, Jim Bob, to listen in.

Honestly, the whole situation brings out the minx in me every single time. Without being crass, let's just say that it makes me want to make every single step of the bathroom process as loud as I possibly can. An audience deserves a performance right?

Besides, it's either that or jump out of the stall, snatch the phone and flush it.

I am prone to unconventional crushes. I think I always have been, but I just pieced it all together tonight. I don't know why, but it appears I am not capable of having a normal crush. I can't really remember any. I do have a few specific examples of the strange ones though.

I blogged about one of them before. Some of you may vaguely remember my vocal soul mate: James Barbour. I had a crush just on the man's voice. I still really really do. Chills! James is good looking, but I don't even care. His voice just ... sends me. Talking or singing - it makes no difference. I am in love with that man's vocals.

I am also prone to crushes that disregard time itself. I can think of a number of movie actors I have developed crushes on when they were in the height of their careers. Now they're all either much older or dead.

My biggest crush was always Donald O'Connor. He is probably most well known for Singin' in the Rain, in which he played Gene Kelly's best friend. That was in '50s. And I adored THAT Donald. He died five years ago when I was in college. My dad called and told me about it.

And now my latest and greatest crush. According to my friends, I have a girl crush. This is a new term to me, but I guess it applies. I think it means I still like men, but I have a non-romantic crush on another female. This is very much the case now.

Ingrid Michaelson.

One of my best friends is a fan of hers. She has been introducing me to her music over the past couple of months, which I have liked a lot. Then Saturday night pushed me over the edge. Ingrid did a concert at Messiah College in Pennsylvania, and I went with said friend and my roommate.

And holy hell! I was blown away. Aside from being ridiculously talented, she is so down to earth and just plain hilarious. There was an improv rap, a little Vanilla Ice, a little Fresh Prince and more.

We even waited in line after the show to meet her, which is something I've never done. She is the first "famous" person I've met. Now I'm back home with a more intense love of her music and a fresh little girl crush.

So there you go. So far I've managed to avoid anything truly bizarre. I have no crushes on animals or inanimate objects, at least that I can remember. But who knows what little twist I'll put on my next crush. For now, I'm sticking with Ingrid.

So it is officially my birthday. I am now 24, and will never be 23 again. How can something sound so old and so young at the same time? To me it does, even though I am quite content at this point to get older.

I was thinking about my actual birth the other day, and technically, all these years I have been living on the West Coast, I could have gotten away with celebrating August 28 instead.

I was born on a Wednesday, August 29 at 1:14 a.m. EST (EDT?) in Tennessee. I believe I was my mother's fastest and most painful birth, at four hours. She didn't even have time to yell for drugs and there I was.

I have at some point lived in all four time zones that cover the continental United States. And in half of them my birthday is August 29 and in the other half it is August 28. In Nebraska it would be 12:14 a.m. Central Time, which allows me to keep my birth date by a mere quarter of an hour.

In Idaho, where I went to college, my birthday would be August 28 at 11:14 p.m. Mountain Time. And in California and Washington, where I lived as a kid, it would be August 28 at 10:14 p.m. Pacific Time.

I think to really milk the situation, I should live on the border between the Central and Mountain time zones. That way I would be able to shift back and forth and have two birthdays. But in all honestly, I don't think I want to celebrate twice a year. Once is usually more than enough for me.

I have never been fully sold on the idea of marriage and me together. I have nothing against marriage as an institution. I have no problem with all my friends getting married; I have issues with Autumn Lee Hill getting married. But at 23, I am so young that I have plenty of time to see if I ever meet someone who will change my mind.

However, for now, I feel that the video accompanying this post is an accurate portrayal of how I imagine I would be feeling if I did get that close to matrimony right now. Plus it's hilarious and worth watching.

This is from my latest musical discovery, Stephen Sondheim's Company, this particular version was at a concert/tribute for him, and the main part is performed by the very talented Madeline Kahn. Enjoy.

I made it.

After a few annoying days of throwing things out and packing things up, two long, expensive days (curse toll roads and a thirsty car!) of driving halfway across the country, and a few days of scoping things out and making sure I had a place to live, I've officially moved to Pennsylvania.

I have actually, physically left Nebraska, and I have no plans to return in the immediate future. Though I know I'll be back to VISIT my family. I did feel a little sad to leave Omaha, which surprised me. I guess that sounds bad, but as much as I love my family, I've never been the homesick type.

Anyway, my mom came out with me (and somehow I still ended up doing all the driving), and we stayed with my amazing friend Stephanie and her family for a few days while I made sure I had a home to move into when my mom left. And I do. It is really cute, right in downtown Gettysburg, and my new roommate, Audrey, seems really great. Stephanie hooked the two of us up.

I can give more details later, especially as the job hunt is just now beginning, but I am here and I am safe and I am very excited about jumping into this newest chapter of my life!

So yesterday. Yeah. Let me just say that for me, it was a mental and emotional (as much as I hate that word) HELL. An explanation to follow.

I've been in Omaha for several months now, temporarily staying with my parents. I finally decided it was time to leave, and things progressed to a point where I was deciding between moving to Pennsylvania or Utah.

Utah's pull: A job. I was in the process of applying/interviewing for a job where I would actually use my degree. I do have friends I love there, but the job was really the only reason I would move there. I really do not like Utah as a residence. That is not to diminish it's attraction in the eyes of others. I mean no offense, but I am just not a Utah kind of gal.

Pennsylvania's pull: I can't really explain that. I mean, one of my favorite people in the world lives there, and I love the East Coast, but there is also something ... intangible that is just drawing me there.

A couple weeks ago, I found out I did not get the job in Utah. They decided not to hire anyone new at all. That was fine with me. There is always disappointment if you get turned down for a job, but my heart was fully set on Pennsylvania already. So I gave my jobs notice, and my plans progressed from there.

Then yesterday happened. I had been all happy and excited to be moving, and only just a little anxious. Tomorrow is my last day at both of my jobs, and then I'm gone. But while I was at work, I got a call.

It was that Utah job. Someone was quitting, and they offered me the position. I asked for a couple days to think about. Then I proceeded to spend the next seven hours agonizing over what to do. I did my work of course, but all I could think about was what I was going to do.

It was the ultimate battle between heart and mind. Utah made more sense of course. I don't have a job lined up in Penn, and this would break me into my chosen field. Everything in my head said Utah. But every last inch of the rest of me screamed not to go to Utah. I couldn't stomach the idea.

I got off work and headed home, when I got a call. It was the Utah job. Apparently after telling this guy to hire me, his editor turned around and offered it to someone he already knew without telling this guy. So he retracted the offer.

Are you saying, "Are you freaking kidding me?!" right about now. That is what I yelled aloud in my car (with a choice replacement for freaking) when I hung up. I wasn't mad at the guy. I felt sorry for him, but I am not a fan of his editor at all.

If they had any inkling of what they put me through during those seven-ish hours ... man. I got so keyed up; it took me quite a while to calm down. I was just so frustrated and shocked and a million other things. I still am. I know this is a good thing in a way. It doesn't sound like it would have been the most reliable job, and now I am back to happily moving to Pennsylvania. But still ... aaaaaaaaggggggghhhhhhhhh.

OK, this is a really funny bit from Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta, "The Pirates of Penzance." I wanted to put it on my Facebook quotes, but you need the whole dialogue, which is too long. However, I wanted to have it somewhere. So I'm putting it here for your enjoyment.
General. Tell me, have you ever known what it is to be an orphan?
Pirates. (disgusted) Oh, dash it all!
King. Here we are again!
General. I ask you, have you ever known what it is to be an orphan?
King. Often!
General. Yes, orphan. Have you ever known what it is to be one?
King. I say, often.
Pirates. (disgusted) Often, often, often. (Turning away)
General. I don’t think we quite understand one another. I ask you, have you ever known what it is to be an orphan, and you say “orphan”. As I understand you, you are merely repeating the word “orphan” to show that you understand me.
King. I didn’t repeat the word often.
General. Pardon me, you did indeed.
King. I only repeated it once.
General. True, but you repeated it.
King. But not often.
General. Stop! I think I see where we are getting confused. When you said “orphan”, did you mean “orphan” – a person who has lost his parents, or “often”, frequently?
King. Ah! I beg pardon – I see what you mean – frequently.
General. Ah! you said "often", frequently.
King. No, only once.
General. (irritated) Exactly – you said “often”, frequently, only once.

Well I've said it before and I'll say it again: Patti LuPone is a goddess. That woman is absolutely incredible in everything she does. She won a Tony 28 years ago for Evita, and though she's been nominated since, she hadn't won again until tonight.

And what a win. She is playing Mama Rose in Gypsy on Broadway. And when she did her rendition of "Everything's Coming Up Roses" on that Tony stage, she got a standing ovation and brought down the house.

I am so excited for her, probably ridiculously so considering I don't personally know her. Aaaagh! Yay!

Also, I am very glad that Laura Benanti won Best Featured Actress, as she is truly talented as well.

OK, so if you want to get technical about it, I guess it ended when I finished all my classes and received my diploma two years ago. Wow, has it really been two years?

However, I still had one link to my college experience that I was recently forced to part with. That link was my college e-mail address. I got an e-mail last month saying that it was about to be terminated, and now it's gone.

I miss it, and I didn't even really use it anymore. I'd check it every month or so and delete all the student updates and junk mail. Mostly, I just used it for when a Web site required you to give an e-mail address and I didn't want them to have my main account.

For me, it was like that shirt a lot of people have in the back of their closets. You never wear it anymore, but you KNOW that the second you finally toss it or donate it you're going to want to wear it again. I took it for granted. And now that I don't have it, I want it!

So this marks my official and final farewell to college life. All I have now are the memories - if only I could remember where I put them.

So Tony nominations are out!! They've been out for a week or so, but this is the first chance I've had to write about them. I LOVE the Tony Awards. I sort of pay attention to the Academy Awards, but I don't watch any others. For the most part, I am an award show monogamist.

I only know a few of the nominated performers. The nominee I am most familiar with and the one I am most rooting for is Patti LuPone. This woman is incredible. I think of her as our generation's Ethel Merman. She too has a very big, very distinctive voice. And she's done some similar roles. Actually, she is nominated for playing Mama Rose in Gypsy, a role originated by Merman.

She was the original Evita, and won a Tony for that in 1980, she was nominated two years ago for her Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, and a few others. Stephanie and I also know her from a special performance of Leonard Bernstein's Candide, where she was amazing as the Old Lady. She was a mysterious woman with a drama-filled past and a single buttock.

Kelli O'Hara is nominated for playing Nellie Forbush in South Pacific. I like her because she seems nice and has a good voice. I know her already from A Light in the Piazza. Her co-star in both shows is Matthew Morrison, who is quite talented and easy on the eyes. She also starred with Harry Connick, Jr. in the revival of The Pajama Game. She was nominated for both shows.

Laura Benanti is nominated for playing Louise in Gypsy. She has only just recently come to my attention for starring as Julia in the musical version of The Wedding Singer. I actually really love that musical now; it is so much fun. She was nominated back in 2002 for playing Cinderella in the revival of Into the Woods.

I do have to mention Raúl Esparza, who is nominated for the play The Homecoming. I don't usually pay as much attention to the plays, but he starred in tick, tick...BOOM!, which I absolutely love and love him in, so I will be rooting for him. He's been nominated before for Company and Taboo, but hasn't won.

Though I don't know her as well, I want to mention Faith Prince. She is nominated for A Catered Affair. She played Adelaide in the 1992 version of Guys and Dolls. I have that soundtrack too and she does a great job; I guess she won a Tony for that performance too.

Tom Wopat is also nominated for A Catered Affair. I only know his name because he played Frank Butler to Bernadette Peter's Annie in the revival of Annie Get Your Gun in 1999 and was nominated for it. I have that soundtrack, and he has a nice voice.

Now about the shows themselves. The nominees for Best Musical are Cry-Baby, In the Heights, Passing Strange and Xanadu. Xanadu is a movie I've never seen. I've seen Cry-Baby; it's strange too, but does star Johnny Depp as the title character. I know nothing at all about the other two, But I've read very good things about In the Heights. I have no clue which will win.

The Best Revival nominees are more familiar to me. Grease is nominated, and though it's not my favorite, I believe it stars the winners of that TV show. Gypsy, Patti's show, is nominated. I know a few of the songs, but that's it. I'll know more once I get my hands on the soundtrack of Patti's version.

Sunday in the Park with George got a nod, which I think is great. It's a really interesting Sondheim show, but I don't think that it was received too well on it's first run, when it starred the amazing Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin. The other one is South Pacific. I've always liked this show, but never loved it. My only exposure has been the movie. I am excited about the soundtrack because of Kelli O'Hara and Matthew Morrison.

The Tony Awards are playing Sunday, June 15, so I have 25 days until the big event. I can't wait. And now, everyone knows not to bug me that night. I've already requested it off work! Go Patti!

Have you ever tried a food and been unable to decide with one bite whether or not you liked it? You took another bite and still couldn't tell, so you took another and so on and so on. Sometimes you can finish eating it and still not be sure you liked it. You've ruled out that you hate it, but do you actually enjoy it?

Well, that is me and the TV show The Office. I've heard all the buzz, but I never really felt compelled to watch it myself. I try to avoid watching new shows because if I do like them then that is just one more show I have to find time to watch.

But then a week or two ago, I noticed that my public library had the first two seasons on DVD. So I figured it couldn't hurt to check it out. It was free, which is often a good incentive.

So I started watching an episode or two each night after work, and I really couldn't say if I liked it. It's possible I really hated it, but I kept watching anyway. By the second to last episode of the second season, I still hadn't formed an opinion.

I like aspects of it; I don't like others. I'm a fan of Steve Carell, but the character of Michael Scott is SO annoying that I have a hard time watching him. I guess his acting is too good for me.

However, I think what really kept me watching was the Jim and Pam storyline. What can I say, I have a romantic side deep down. And with the extreme cliffhanger ending of the final episode of the second season, which I won't spoil for anyone who might have not seen it ... I think I'm hooked. I am going crazy waiting until I can get my hands on the third season.

I don't hate The Office. I don't love The Office. But I am watching The Office.

Want to learn something I bet very few people know about me?

I breed alpacas. That's right. Autumn Hill Alpacas, check it out folks. This is not a joke. Although, technically I am not associated with this company in any way shape or form, name aside.

As the word Google evolved into a verb, I joined the ranks of the curious and used the search engine to "Google" myself. However, I am a very difficult person to Google.

I've always been told my name makes me sound like an apartment complex or housing development, and I've never disputed that. It's very true, but I love my name so I don't care. But apparently, I am not the only person who thinks Autumn and Hill go well together.

When I Google "Autumn Hill" I get a whole list of companies. It turns out I am quite the entrepreneur and I never knew it. Along with my alpaca farm, I own my very own vineyard, landscaping company, nursery, graphic design firm and equestrian center. That is not including the other animals I breed (like llamas) and various farms I own. At one point I had a nursing home as well, but when I checked today it was no longer listed. Sorry to all the octogenarians out there.

While I love the fact that my name is associated with something as random as alpacas, it is interesting to think that proving my existence on the World Wide Web takes a lot of work. If you add BYU-Idaho after my name, you can find a couple of hits with old Scroll articles I've written, but that's it.

So while you may never get anything on me from the Internet, please do think of me for any and all of your alpaca-related needs.

Not too long ago on Facebook my status made mention several times of a performer named James Barbour. Many people asked me who he was and what I meant by my comments. This is my explanation.

It is no secret that I am a huge fan of musicals. I recently "discovered" the musical "Jane Eyre," and was introduced to James Barbour's voice through that. And there was just something about it that freaked me out. And by that I don't mean it scared me, it just made me freak out each time I heard it.

There are a lot of shows I love and a lot of performers I consider to be nothing short of amazing, but I have never reacted that strongly before. I really did scare myself a bit, because I didn't understand the reason. I still don't understand why, but I have at least temporarily coined a term for it.

James Barbour is my vocal soul mate. Something about his voice just...just resonates within me, in a way no voice has ever done before. I don't know how else to say it, as all my knowledge of words has failed me in trying to explain the pull his voice has for me.

I am sure this makes me very strange, which my father has confirmed, but it is what it is. My father did point out that soul mates has mutual connotations, and I highly doubt that were James Barbour ever to hear my voice it would affect him the way his does me. But until I come up with something better, I am sticking with soul mate.

For those of you who are curious to hear the voice that makes me shriek and shiver involuntarily each time I hear it, I am providing you a chance. I am including a YouTube video of a song I think he really shines in. Please ignore the clips attached to the song, they have nothing to do with it.

Finale (There's Always a Tomorrow) from Frank Wildhorn's Dracula, performed by James Barbour and Kate Shindle

I was driving home from work the other day, and somehow my thoughts strayed to laughter. I love to laugh, whatever the occasion, laughing is just fun. But more than laughing what I love is making others laugh. There is a natural high involved in hearing a sincere laugh from someone as a direct result of something I said or did.

On that note, I wouldn't really say I am a funny person — I am no comedian. The times when I try to be funny are the times I most definitely fail. I had to recognize that a big part of the reason I make people laugh is because I'm such a klutz.

I have always been an extremely awkward person. I have many good qualities and abilities and all that, but grace is one thing I have never been blessed with. It has always seemed that, physically, things that seem to come naturally to everyone else never quite do for me. Things like, well walking, playing any sport and most especially dancing. I love to watch old movie musicals with the likes of Fred Astaire, along with newer shows like "So You Think You Can Dance", and part of the reason is that I have an immense respect (and envy) for how those people seem so at ease with their own bodies.

But going back to my earlier point, this extreme lack of grace leads me into a large number of interesting situations. Not a day goes by that I don't trip on nothing, run into everything and everyone, and have something I touch fall down three or four times in a row as I try to stabilize it.

If the only laughter I elicited was from people who were laughing directly at me because of something foolish I'd done, I doubt I would feel such euphoria. But I think the fact that I have grown past the point of embarrassment and reached a place of acceptance makes all the difference.

I know I'm accident prone, and even I think it's funny. When I manage to get poked in the eye by the lid of someone's baseball cap at work, I laugh as hard as anyone else because it is funny. I mean, what are the odds?!

Well, I just got home from work, and it is today for about 10 more minutes, so I had better make this quick.

Let's see. Today was the 14th day of the month of February of 2008. It was a Wednesday. It was my friend Michelle's birthday. It was the day I chose to use my 10% coupon at Target and buy myself some towels for the bathroom I don't actually have yet. Oh yeah, and according to some of my tables, it was also Valentine's Day.

I most definitely am not a fan of this holiday, but neither am I of the party that calls it Single Awareness Day and boycotts all things pink and red. People who know me know that I barely muster up excitement for Christmas or Halloween or even New Year's, so no one can be surprised that I don't attempt awkward cartwheels on this day.

I have never celebrated Valentine's Day--I have never been in love. But I don't think this makes me bitter. I am only 23, and I have no intention of getting married until I am in my 3os at the earliest, so it doesn't bother me that love has never come my way.

Tied in with those facts is that I am pretty simple; I believe in love but I am not all that romantic. And I don't think Valentine's Day is romantic. Shouldn't the unexpectedness and thought of the gesture be what make it romantic? Where is that if once a year (twice if you count anniversaries) you tell your partner to BE ROMANTIC, with an implied or else.

Either someone is already romantic, or they aren't. If they are, then this will just be one more romantic day. If they aren't, then I would think that making them be so for one day would either depress you more for the other 364 days they don't do anything, or it wouldn't mean as much because you know they are only doing it because it is expected on that particular day.

So there's my opinion on this day. Some of it I didn't realize was what I thought until I sat down to write this and it just flowed out. So to everyone out there, Happy February 14th. And to those whom this day means something more to, Happy Valentine's Day.

When I started this blog last month, I did it mostly out of curiosity. As I was setting it up, I really started getting excited about it. All these ideas started flowing through my head about so many future posts and topics I could write about. Unfortunately as with many of my best thoughts, they flew out of my head shortly after never to be thought again.

I was so excited about it, and yet a month and a half later and this here is my third posting. I realized that I suffer from a fear of blogs. Yes, I, Autumn Hill, am intimidated by my own blog.

I get frustrated because either I don't necessarily want this to become my online journal, and because I am afraid that as I write down my thoughts on paper they won't make sense to anyone who happens to read them.

Pinpointing my hesitation hasn't cured it. I am not miraculously going to start posting a thought-provoking piece each night without fail. But this is my vow to myself: I will get over myself and just start writing. Only my friends will ever find this blog on purpose, and if they know me at all they know that I often don't make sense in person anyway. So my blog should bring no surprises.

Already, expressing my nerves has generated one new posting. Who knows what will come next...

I would never presume to call myself an athletic or outdoorsy person. I am not lazy, but I don't actively pursue sports and camping and hiking and the like.

However, I am finding that I might not be one of those people who can work in an office and sit at a desk eight hours a day, five days a week. Something I like to call a butt job. No, this blog is not about plastic surgery. My rear end is my own original, but it is so very sore.

This is forefront in my mind as I re-enter the world of temping. The work is easy, the money isn't bad, and I enjoy having a steady, consistent income after working as a server full time for nearly a year. Yet, that is where the pros end on my list.

I have found a good medium for now. I cut back to serving 3-5 nights a week, and while I have a lot less free time, it creates a good balance in my life. A few days a week I sit at a desk from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., grab a quick dinner, then go to the restaurant and don't sit down again until around 11 p.m.

I worried I would get burned out, but just today I discovered that staying late at work for an hour or two left me feeling more exhausted than I am when I get off work at night after running around catering to diners' whims for several hours.

Something about sitting around leaves me sore and tired, and running my tail off leaves me energized and tired in a good way. I find more satisfaction in what is considered to be the more physically demanding job. But why does it seem like my butt job demands more of me?

All this leads me to wonder where my career path will take me and how I will handle it. I want to work as a copy editor somewhere, somehow, whether it be in journalism or not, but that often requires a desk, which involves a chair and a bottom. I plan on serving as well for many years to come, but I won't always be able to, and I wouldn't want to do that forever anyway.

How do I find a happy medium between doing what I love and saving my body from the demands of sitting all day? Having worked a 9 1/2 hour day at the office today, I am too tired to focus on the answer tonight. I just want to put the question out there to be answered at a later date.

So...I have a blog. I don't know what to do with it yet, but I have it.

Yes, I am one of those people who will fight technology for awhile, but will always give in eventually. First, it was the cell phone. I made it to my sophomore year of college before I finally got one of those, and while I don’t use it much I would feel odd without it. Then it was Facebook. I waited until a year after college to join that, and now I love it. Now it is the blog.

The next step of course is to actually use this blog, which will be quite an achievement for me. I have a lifetime's worth of journals where only the first 10-15 pages of each have writing on them. I think it will be interesting to see how often I actually post here, and the direction my posts will take.

This post is just to get my feet wet. This is me jumping the intimidating hurdle of what to write on the first "page". I am officially welcoming myself to the world of blogging.

*On a side note, I just want to say that I have never had to write the word "succumbed" out before, and I was very proud when I double checked and had spelled it right on my first try!