It's October 25.

It's October 25.

I'm excited.

Taylor Swift's Speak Now is released today.

I will be purchasing the cd at Target on my lunch break.

I'm lucky enough to be located 1/2 mile from Target.

I have to admit I was a little worried about how well I'd like the album based on the pre-released tracks so far:

Mine, Speak Now, Back to December, Mean.

The only one I really liked right away was "Back to December." Taylor Swift's slower songs are always my favorite.

Tonight I went and previewed the songs on Amazon. I am once again truly excited by what I heard.

So...here's til noon Monday when I shall make my way to Target, purchase the cd, and then spend the remainder of my lunch break in my car listening.

It shall be splendid.

Graduates don't use pencils

BYU,

I received the Alumni Questionnaire you send to each BYU graduate three years after graduation. I am one of those graduates. That's right, I haven't graced your campus as a student since December 2007.

But here's the thing. Since graduating, I have moved on to the real world—a world where we write on computers or phones, maybe even with pens (I even use an erasable pen for editing).

So when your questionnaire requires that I fill in my response with a pencil...I'm a little stumped. You see, I don't regularly visit a testing center that requires a No. 2 pencil to grade my bubble sheet. (Not a Scantron, thank you very much Bud.) I don't EVER use a pencil. Most notes I take on a computer or with a pen on a sticky note. A pencil?? What IS that?

I searched my room for 15 minutes trying to find one. I found one from a Relief Society package I got last week. But I don't have a pencil sharpener. I'm stumped.

Maybe my not being able to fill out the questionnaire will help you categorize me as a BYU graduate:

• I am not married and thus do not have kids who may more regularly use a pencil.
• I do work in the industry I graduated in (Communications)—an industry increasingly welcoming technology and the Web and saying goodbye to things like paper...and pencils.
• I am confident in my ability to stay informed on developments in technology.

My favorite question on the survey:

If I were starting my college career over, would I choose to graduate with the same major?

Definitely Yes

I love what I do. I couldn't have asked for a better degree combination to fit my skills, interests, and career goals.

That's right, I'm Karianne Salisbury

BYU Graduate

B.A. degree in Communications: Print Journalism

Emphasis: Design and New Media

Minor: Editing (magazine track)

Next up...an MBA degree?? We shall see.

back to blonde

I've been talking about it for more than a year.

I've failed in my plan to do it in the past.

But folks, it's true. Karianne is back to blonde.

Getting my hair cut or dyed is one of those things I talk about all the time but that take me a long time to actually get around to.

I'll often place it on my To-do list for months at a time. But since my sophomore year in college, my hair has been really dark. I like my hair really dark. (See pic from freshmen year...and that I do really talk about this a lot.) So when my hair would lighten and grow out, I've often thought about going lighter again...just to do something different.

But it's easier to go dark than it is to go light. So when I'd go in for a hair appointment and ask about going light, they'd tell me it would be a process since I'd have to take many steps to get to that blonde point.

I'm not patient for something like that.

So I simply go dark once again. My hair has been growing out for a while now and since I'm not one who is uber on top of my hair maintenance, I have done nothing to it for about two years (aside from cuts). This time in 2008 really probably was the last time I died my hair. When I moved into my current ward in 2009, I had maybe 2 inches of root growth. Now only the tips of my hair had any dye. Soo...this would be one of my few opportunities to go blonde. I had light hair. I wasn't itching to go dark.

And I did it. You'll have to see it in person. :)