"there's too many things i haven't done yet"

however, seeing sara bareilles in concert is not one of them. miss bareilles is probably my favorite artist. scratch that, she's definitely my favorite. and tonight, shea and i strolled to the heart of down town san diego to see her play at the house of blues. if i thought i loved her before the concert...man oh man, did i only love her bundles more afterwards. she was incredible. so sassy and fun, and so gosh darn talented. i just want to be her friend, for two reasons: 1) she's cute and likeable and funny and would make me laugh a lot, i'm sure and 2) so that she could sing and play for me any time i wanted. opening for her was greg laswell, whose music makes a regular appearance on one of my favorite shows--grey's anatomy. so how could i not love him too? it was a great night, filled with great performances, and shared with a great friend.

h.o.b.

greg laswell (he graduated from plnu!)
sara bareilles (her bass player graduated from plnu!)

the etymology of me

everyone has seen the cards before. you know, the ones with your name on it and a definition of what it "means." those cards have always told me that allison means "honest," and while i didn't necessarily believe it (not because it's not true, but just because those sort of things are gimicky) i never thought about what it might actually denote. that is, until recently. for my linguistics class, i had to do a little write up on the eytmology of my name...in other words, i had to find the real origin and definition of what it means to be "allison reinhardt." and while it would never fit on one of those little playing-card-sized book mark things, it will definitely fit on a blog post. so here she is, a little heart to heart on the meaning of reinhardt.

A Virtuous, Pure-Hearted, Strong Counselor

Ever since I can remember, I have thought my last name meant “pure of heart” in the German language—rein, meaning, “pure,” and hardt obviously translating to, “heart.” My dad told me this as a little girl, and what good little girl doesn’t trust every word her daddy says? Plus, who wouldn’t want to be thought of as pure-hearted? I pictured my ancestors being named for their innocence and genuineness. I quite liked this so-called meaning of my last name, and therefore never sought out to discover just how true the translation was myself. This ignorance and bliss was wiped away the moment I began my research. Look up the English to German translation of “pure of heart” and you will not get, “rein hardt,” but rather, “ein reines Herz” (“English German Dictionary”). Close, but no cigar. Rein does in fact mean, “pure,” and it’s possible that while hardt isn’t a literal translation it could be more of a phonetic transliteration of the English, “heart”. Still, I must admit that this new information left me full of doubts and questions. Has my whole self-concept for the past 10 years been a lie? What does my surname really mean?
It turns out that its origins aren’t quite as simple as an English to German translation. In fact, its origins aren’t even German at all. It is likely that Reinhardt is merely a German cognate of the French surname Reynard. According to A Dictionary of Surnames, Reynard came from the Old French words ragin, meaning, “counsel,” and hard, meaning, “hardy, brave, or strong” (449). While it might not be as poetic as, “pure of heart,” I can definitely accept, “strong counsel.” In a way, it describes me rather well. I have always considered giving advice one of my strengths, and love listening to my friends in their times of need, offering what words of wisdom I might have up my sleeve. The phrase, “strong counsel,” also describes my dad to the letter. He makes a living as a consultant, providing expert advice to his clients, while also providing fatherly advice to his children. Albeit his area of expertise is not in the etymology of names, he has rarely led me astray otherwise. And despite the fact that I am now privy to the actual meaning of my surname, I prefer a combination of the two meanings, picturing my ancestors as pure-hearted, strong counselors. After all, what is advice if it isn’t honest and genuine?
With the misconceptions about my surname now set right, I can move on to my given name. Bare with me while I take you back through its origins. Alli is a nickname for Allison, which is an alternate spelling of Alison. Alison is a Norman French diminutive of Alice, and Alice is originally a variant of Adelaide, representing an Old French spelling of Germanic ‘Adalheidis’ (A Concise Dictionary of First Names, 6-8). It would appear that my parents were unknowingly consistent in giving me a name with Old French origins to match with the Old French origins of my last name. Adalaide comes from the words adal, meaning, “noble,” and heid, meaning, “kind or sort.” It was borne in the 10th century by the wife of Holy Roman Emperor Otto the Great, as well as the wife of King William IV (A Concise Dictionary of First Names, 2). Clearly this name comes with some big shoes to fill, or, in this case, some rather large crowns. Seeing as I have a pretty small head, though, and have not even an ounce of blue blood running in my veins, I don’t think the name suits me in any reference to royalty. Instead, I might consider myself as noble in the sense that I have high moral principles and ideals, stemming from my relationship with Jesus Christ and my desire to follow His ways.
I started the day merely thinking of myself as Alli Reinhardt. Now, I see myself as much more—a virtuous, pure-hearted, and strong counselor. With all that to say, after learning this lesson in etymology, it appears I might need a lesson in humility as well.

Works Cited
"English German Dictionary." Reverso: Free Online Translation Service. Web. 18 Sept. 2010.
Hanks, Patrick, and Flavia Hodges. A Concise Dictionary of First Names. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1992. Print.
Hanks, Patrick, and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1988. Print.

i am
allergic to
avocados.

it's sad, but it's true. and i haven't always been; apparently you can develop food allergies as an adult. this allergy of mine is quite new. it's only been a couple of weeks since my last avocado, and i'm already having withdrawals. i love them. on sandwiches, on tacos, on chips, and even just plain. they're so darn yummy, and i miss them so darn much.

and although this avocadoless diet of mine stinks, i suppose it could be worse. at least i haven't become lactose intolerant or developed an allergy to grains. i can live without avocados (i'm not saying i like to, i'm just saying i can). but i simply cannot live without milk and cheese, pasta and rice. i just can't.

so while i'm so bummed that i can no longer eat avocados without my stomach feeling like it's going to explode, this whole ordeal has made me extremely thankful for all of the things that i can eat and drink. and who knows, maybe someday my body will become un-allergic to avocados. ...what? a girl can hope, can't she?

one, two, three, four, five, SIX FLAGS

six hours of driving. six hours at the park. six rides. whataya know, the night was just full of sixes at six flags. and also full of firsts, as i had never been there before. friday night was "naz night" at six flags magic mountain, meaning that they close the park for anyone and everyone afliliated with nazarene churches or nazarene schools. seeing as i go to point loma nazarene university, i obviously got an invite, as well as a discounted ticket. so after class we hopped in the car and onto the freeway, where we didn't go over 30 miles-per-hour the majority of the time. four hours later we hopped out of the car, into the eerily empty park (apparently there isn't an abundance of nazarenes in california), and onto the first ride of the night: tatsu. now, i've been on roller coasters before, but this was on a whole nother level. they strap you in and rotate you onto your belly so that you're floating through the air, superman-style. then they bring you up, up, up, and all the while you're forced to look down at the very distant ground below, hoping and praying that your harness holds tight. and before you know it, you've reached the top and woosh, you can't even see the ground anymore because it's all a blur and you're just flying through the air like some oversized, wingless bird, looping up, down, and around in circles and spirals. it's incredible. so was the picture of my face that it took halfway through. (if it didn't cost insane amount of money, i would have bought it and shown it to you all). after that we made our way through the park, seeing familiar faces here, there, and everywhere, eating ice cream sandwiches (thanks julia!), playing frisbee, and waiting in ridiculously short lines for more ridiculously crazy rides. and without the joy of rush hour traffic, we got back in half the time it took to get there, meaning i had to stay up only four hours past my bed time. all in all, i'd say it was a very successful night of sixes and firsts filled with new experiences and great friends.

happy birthday! (to my favorite boy)

no, that's not the boy i'm referring to; just his dog. (and don't worry dad, you're still my favorite man).

today was nathan's birthday! (that's my boyfriend, if you didn't know). he turned twenty, which means i'm no longer dating a teenager. (it's about time; i'm enough of a cradle-robber already). in honor of his special day, i made him some special treats: twenty angel food cupcakes and twenty cute coupons (done in masculine colors of green and blue, of course, to make up for said cuteness).

i had a wonderful time celebrating with him and his family (which included eating a delicious home cooked meal, laughing at mrs. styffe's inappropriate jokes, and singing "happy birthday" 37 times for each of his different desserts. ...okay, that might be an exaggeration, but still). this was the sixth birthday i've spent with nathan, and each year i become more and more thankful that he was born. (seriously, i don't know what i'd do if he wasn't in my life). so, one last time before the day is done: happy birthday, nathan! (love love love you!)