Ring Out, Wild Bells

There are a few phrases from a few high school teachers that have stuck with me throughout the years.

From APUS teacher, "Z": War makes good business.
From Modern World teacher, Thompson: Power destructs; absolute power destructs absolutely.
From TOK teacher, Mr. Hill: Don't be so open-minded that your brain falls out.

The one on my mind today is from Malone, newspaper advisor extraordinaire: People like lists.

He would say this to us almost every issue, but particularly for December. Not only do people like lists, they like Top 10 lists. Por que? you ask. They're fun. They're catchy. They're memorable. They're easy to read.

And so, without further ado, I give you

Allison's Top 10 Top 10s for 2010

Top 10 Books Read

1. Strength in What Remains -- Tracy Kidder

2. The Road -- Cormac McCarthy

3. The Help -- Kathryn Stockett

4. Day After Night -- Anita Diamant

5. Txtng: the Gr8 Db8 -- David Crystal

6. The Glass Castle -- Jeannette Walls

7. The Classics -- Caroline Taggart

8. Forest Born -- Shannon Hale

9. La's Orchestra Saves the World -- Alexander McCall Smith

10. The Hunger Games -- Suzanne Collins

Top 10 Songs Discovered

 1. Lovers In Japan/Reign of Love -- Coldplay

 2. Just Say Yes -- Snow Patrol

 3. Giving Up -- Ingrid Michaelson

 4. Vagabond -- Wolfmother

 5. Us -- Regina Spektor

 6. Be Here Now -- Ray LaMontagne

 7. Christmas Lights -- Coldplay

 8. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out -- The Smiths

 9. Naked As We Came -- Iron & Wine

10. Soul Sister -- Train

Top 10 Movies/TV Shows Watched

 1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

 2. (500) Days of Summer

 3. Psych

 4. Bones

 5. Modern Family

 6. Inception

 7. Toy Story 3

 8. Covert Affairs

 9. How to Train Your Dragon

10. Glee

Top 10 Blogs Stalked

1. C Jane Enjoy It

2. Nie Nie Dialogues

3. Nat the Fat Rat

4. DC Blog

5. The Anti-Austen

6. The Story Girl

7. Tired Mirrors

8. France Is

9. Heather's Happenings 

10. The Art of Adapting

Top 10 Restaurants Visited

1. Rooster -- Provo, Utah

2. Burdick's -- Cambridge, Mass.

3. Mo's -- Lincoln City, Ore.

4. Kashmir -- Boston, Mass.

5. Los Hermanos -- Provo, Utah

6. Sweet Cupcakes -- Boston, Mass.

7. Mike's Pastry -- Boston, Mass.

8. Roberto's Tacos -- Cedar City, Utah

9. Burgerville -- Lake Oswego, Ore.

10. Pho -- Orem, Utah 

Top 10 Experiences Had

1. Graduating from BYU

2. Publishing Stowaway Magazine

3. Visiting DC for Thanksgiving

4. Moving to Boston

5. Going to Vegas with my roommates

6. Attending numerous weddings

7. Seeing family in New York

8. Going to the Mitton family reunion

9. Traveling to Seattle for the Harry Potter Exhibition

10. Becoming friends with the Spokane boys

Top 10 People Met

1. Carter G ("Who's the cutest baby??")

2. Simon Winchester

3. Liz Ammons

4. Laura Workman

5. Melissa Manwill

6. Marv Gardner

7. Andy's girlfriend

8. Steve Mortensen

9. Baby Hunter

10. Sister Porter

Top 10 Talks Studied

1. "Things As They Really Are" -- David A. Bednar

2. "In the Strength of the Lord" -- David A. Bednar

3. "Remember Lot's Wife" -- Jeffery R. Holland

4. "Preparing for the Decade of Decision" -- Robert D. Hales

5. "Patience" -- Neal A. Maxwell

6. "Maybe Christmas Doesn't Come from a Store" -- Jeffery R. Holland

7. "Our Hearts Knit As One" -- Henry B. Eyring

8. "Finding Joy in Life" -- Richard G. Scott

9. "Beware of Pride" -- Ezra Taft Benson

10. "Have We Not Reason to Rejoice?" -- Deiter F. Uchtdorf

Top 10 Incidents Witnessed

1. SF Giants won the World Series

2. Cousin Nate born

3. Chilean miners rescued

4. Costa Rica's first female president elected

5. Dr. Dallin D. Oaks' book on semantic ambiguity published (finally!)

6. Google Books Culturomics created

7. Nutty Putty cyclers biked from Virgina to San Diego

8. Boise State beat the University of Utah

9. Rob Cornilles ran for Congress

10. Grandma Mitton received drinks before the end of Numbers dinner

Top 10 2011 Events Anticipated

1. Going to Mary's wedding (January)

2. Finding a job (January, hopefully)

3. Beginning my internship (January)

4. Having a spring break (March)

5. Attending Tyler's baptism, hopefully (April)

6. Playing with Megan, tentatively (May)

7. Exploring with Melis in Boston (May--August)

8. Deathly Hallows Part 2 (July 15)

9. Visiting New York for Thanksgiving, maybe (November)

10. Returning home for Christmas (December) 

Happy New Year.