How Things Change

A few years ago, I took a test to see my strengths and weaknesses. I then wrote this blog post detailing the results of said test. After running across this post today, I decided to take the test again to see if things have changed. They have shifted some, and I think it's interesting.

Top 5 Strengths:

1. Appreciation of beauty and excellence
2. Spirituality, sense of purpose, and faith
3. Curiosity and interest in the world
4. Gratitude
5. Zest, enthusiasm, and energy

Bottom 5 Weaknesses:

1. Kindness and generosity
2. Leadership
3. Industry, diligence, and perseverance
4. Self-control and self-regulation
5. Modesty and humility

Some things dropped out of my top five completely. Other things jumped up from the bottom. Yet other things changed position within the top or bottom five. I did my best to be brutally honest with myself when taking this test because I wanted real results. I don't think the results are perfect, but it's pretty uncanny how well it pegs me.

Random Music Moment

I'm bored. So here's a little music moment. These are the next twenty songs that come on my iPod. It's on shuffle, and I am playing my "Car Tunes" playlist, which basically excludes all of my instrumental music and soundtracks and any crappy music I may have.

1. "My Father's Father" by the Civil Wars, Barton Hollow
2. "Last Beautiful Girl" by Matchbox Twenty, Mad Season
3. "God's Been Good to Me" by Keith Urban, Be Here (Holy crap! Country! This is my iPod, right?)
4. "Sad Song" by Christina Perri, Lovestrong.
5. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)" by the Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
6. "Better Life" by Keith Urban, Be Here
7. "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, HIStory: Greatest Hits, Vol. 1
8. "Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise" by the Avett Brothers, I and Love and You
9. "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles, Little Voice
10. "Call and Answer" by Barenaked Ladies, Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits
11. "What Am I to You?" by Norah Jones, Feels Like Home
12. "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie, Classic Queen
13. "Little Lion Man" by Mumford & Sons, Sigh No More
14. "The Only Exception" by Paramore, Brand New Eyes
15. "I Came Here to Get Over You" by Brandon Flowers, Flamingo
16. "Humble Me" by Norah Jones, Feels Like Home
17. "Either Way" by Guster, Lost and Gone Forever
18. "Cecilia" by Simon & Garfield, Greatest Hits
19. "Cold as Stone" by Lady Antebellum, Own the Night
20. "You Can't Do That" by the Beatles, A Hard Day's Night

And there you have it. A glimpse into my everyday musical life. 

The Summer of Concerts

This summer has officially become a celebration of ridiculously awesome bands that I am more than willing to drop some cash on to see live. We all know I'm a giant fan of concerts, and this summer has only solidified that fandom. For the reals, people, there's nothing like seeing a good band live.

Concert #1: The Black Keys. May 3.

I didn't know all of the Black Keys' music, but I loved what I did know, so I thought, hey? Why not go to their concert? Cora and I had a blast. This was some serious dance music that got me movin' and groovin', despite my obvious lack of rhythm.

And here is a video (I apologize for poor quality—I had no wi-fi when I uploaded this from my phone):



Concert #2: The Civil Wars. May 24.

One of my favorite. bands. ever. And they did not disappoint live. They were incredible. Who knew that two people and a guitar could be so bloody awesome? But they were. I loved every second of that concert, and was quite sad that it didn't last longer. I sang myself hoarse and had a grand time with Cora, Aaron, and Roxanne.

And another video (one of five that I took, and I would have taken more if my arms hadn't gotten tired):



Concert #3: The Avett Brothers. June 28.

My sister and brother-in-law introduced me to the Avett Brothers, so it was only fitting that Cora and I attended the concert with them. It was outside, and it was a beautiful night in downtown Salt Lake with the sunset reflecting off the glass in the buildings surrounding us. And boy, do the Avett Brothers put on a show! It was so upbeat and fun, and they did a lot to get the crowd involved, which is always fun. They played for nearly two hours, and I loved every second of it.

No video here. I was enjoying myself too much to hold my phone up for an entire song. Kind of regretting that now, but oh well.

And there is more exciting news on the concert front. On Friday, tickets went on sale for a band that I very much enjoy listening to. And I just went ahead bought me some tickets.

Concert #4: Mumford & Sons. August 22.

Here's the thing: Mumford & Sons is a British band. They don't make it to the US very often, so when I saw that they had a tour coming up, I had little hope that they would play in Utah. Sure enough, the closest concert was in California. So I resigned myself to my fate of not seeing them live anytime soon.

And then I got an email from a website I belong to that tracks your favorite bands and lets you know when bands are playing near you. When I saw "Mumford & Sons" in the subject line, I assumed it would be a Nevada or another California show. Imagine my shock when I opened it up and saw Magna, Utah, listed there. That's right, folks—not only is Mumford & Sons playing in Utah, but they are playing IN MY HOMETOWN. In little ol' Magna, out in the middle of nowhere. At the Great Saltair, right on the lake. Could this get any cooler?! I submit that it could not.

So on August 22, I will be jumping up and down like a maniac to Mumford & Sons and relishing summer concert #4. And this time, I will actually take my boyfriend with me, instead of leaving him at home while I go off and do my thing.

Basically, this has already been the best. summer. ever., and the awesome just keeps on giving.

Interesting. Very interesting.

First of all, my vacation was fabulous. Excluding the day when my parents' rental care got broken into and two iPads, a Kindle, an iPhone, and a credit card were stolen. Not a good day. But the rest of the trip was wonderful and much needed. I loved spending time with my family, even though my nieces and nephews are crazy. Adorable, but crazy.

I was so happy to get home. And then, the night I got back to Provo, I dropped my phone in the toilet. Yes. That really happens, people, so watch out. I had to buy a new phone this morning, which sucked. A whole lot. But I will survive, and at least I now have another functioning phone. And most of my stuff was backed up, so I didn't even really lose anything. Hooray.

This post was not intended to be an update, however. I've just been thinking about some things lately. Ever since I started dating Andrew, I've been thinking about how interesting the whole situation is. I have been hanging out with Andrew since about January, when his apartment was put in my apartment's FHE group. Our apartments starting hanging out more and more, and we became good friends. I remember telling my roommates that I could see myself crushing on Andrew, but I never really let it develop.

So when Andrew suddenly started paying me more attention and asking me out the middle of May, it totally caught me off guard. I hadn't been looking in his direction at all at that point. There was none of the flirting and the wondering if he liked me and the agonizing over the minute details of our time together. And then he kept asking me out. And then he held my hand. And then he kissed me. He took everything out of my hands, which made things super easy for me. I didn't make any effort with him—I was simply myself. I didn't try to get him to make a move, I didn't play any games, I didn't spend my time wondering why he wasn't doing anything. When he first asked me out, I wasn't sure if I liked him. But then he swooped in with the full force of his gentlemanly charm and convinced me that he was worth it. And it worked.

It's such a stark contrast to everything with Der Junge. I did everything I could think of to get Der Junge to ask me out, barring simply telling him (because I'm chicken liver). I worked at that for months. And I would get so excited at the slightest sign of interest and so devastated at any sign of disinterest. I put so much effort into the possibility of a relationship, and it got me absolutely nowhere. It was incredibly frustrating.

So Andrew gets major kudos. He made the effort. He decided he wanted to be with me and he made it happen. In my mind, that is honest to goodness how things went down. And guess what? I am happy. I may have had my minor freak-outs because I wasn't sure if I was ready for a relationship, but I got over it. I'm having fun, and it's wonderful. This is how guys need to act in the dating world: Man up, ask a girl out, and convince her that you're worth her time. I'm not saying it will work every time, but hey, it worked for Andrew, so why couldn't it work for others too?

Life Is Funny

This will be a short post, but I have a couple of updates. And while I'm sure barely anybody ever reads my blog, I still feel obligated to keep it at least marginally up to date.

First of all, the Civil Wars concert was INCREDIBLE. I am two for two for awesome concerts this summer (the first being the Black Keys). I love Joy Williams and John Paul White. They were so awesome, and so cute and funny on stage. They sound just as good live as they do recorded. I was completely entranced by their music the whole night. I have pictures and video that will hopefully one day make it onto the interwebs, but that probably won't be for a while, seeing as how crazy busy I am right now. They will come, though, I swear.

Second, I leave for California at the butt crack of dawn the day after tomorrow. Woo hoo! I still have a zillion and a half things to do before then, but then I will be off for ten straight days of vacation. I am so excited, and I need this so badly. A break from life will be wonderful.

And third, but certainly not last or least or whatever else it may be, I started dating someone*. That's right, folks, the five-year drought is over! His name is Andrew. I kind of like him.

*No, he is not the guy I've written about on the blog before. That guy is a doofus and never made a move. Andrew made all the right moves and didn't play any games. Therefore, he wins.

I'm Going Crazy

There are 16 days until my family and I leave for California. As exciting as that is, I feel like I'm going out of my mind in preparation for it. Work is especially stressful right now. Here is a list of some of the things that I have done or still have to get done before I leave:

• end-of-the-month editing rush
• researcher grades (I have to get them done early, during [or before] the aforementioned rush)
• train on and start tracking researcher grades
• promptly ask a coworker to track some of the grades because I will be gone when they are due
• plan an editing training session so I don't have to do it the day I get back
• get my absence from the all-hands meeting approved
• report grades (this is more something I want to get done because they've been sitting in my inbox for over a month)

I know most of that doesn't make sense to anyone else. But it basically means that I have a whole lot of shiz to get done the next couple of weeks. And this is all on top of some new responsibilities that I've been getting used to the past little while (like one-on-one follow-up sessions and even a presentation for another team).

I have also found myself with something to do every single night this week. I have had almost no time to just relax and chill. Granted, most of what is keeping me busy has been fun, and I love hanging out with my friends. But I also need some downtime. Especially so I can finish this book I'm reading that's really super exciting. I need me time.

I'm also waiting for this weekend when I get paid and when my credit card turns over so that I can finally go and buy some things that I need for the trip, like new shorts and a new swimsuit and some little odds and ends. After putting over $1,000 on my credit card in two weeks (hooray for car repairs), I basically had no money left for anything else. A pay day is much needed.

I've been keeping a running list of things that I need to remember to take with me on the trip, and it's surprisingly long. So many gadgets and their chargers. I'm terrified that I'm going to forget something that I really need.

But I guess I shouldn't complain. All of this prep work will be 100% worth it when I finally find myself in Disneyland, playing with my nieces and nephew and laughing with my parents and siblings. Not to mention that squeezed in the middle of the madness is the Civil Wars concert next week (is it really just next week? Holy cow . . . the three months since I bought my tickets have flown by).

Basically, I'm super ready for all the prep part to be done and to be on my way to 10 days of sun and fun and no work and maybe a little bit of magic.

The Avengers

I have seen The Avengers twice now. Yes, it did just come out on Friday. Why would I see it twice already, you ask? Here are some legitimate reasons:

a) It is hilarious. Tony Stark is my favorite, because he gets most of the zingers, but everyone gets a chance to be funny.

b) The special effects are kind of really awesome. I mean, the Hulk finally looks believable.

c) All the actors worked incredibly well together. They had great on-screen chemistry, and their bickering and fighting were fantastic. (Yes, I did like the infighting. It was believable, okay? And it made the point when they finally come together that much sweeter.) Basically, all the casting combined worked super, super well.

d) And, most importantly, it meant I got to look at some incredibly attractive men for two and a half hours. Look at these guys. Seriously, just look for a second.

 What this picture doesn't show is how incredibly taut this man's booty is.

 Arms. Good arms.

I seriously just love this man to bits and pieces. He has a good face, too.

The arms, people! Look at the arms!!

All together, in one movie. And Mark Ruffalo is no slouch either.

And there you have it, friends. The four main reasons to go see this movie. If you're a guy, disregard the last reason, obviously, and replace it with Scarlet Johansson. I don't much like her (as an actor), but she's kind of smoking hot. If you're a girl, look at these pictures, drool a little, and then go see the menfolk in action. Totally worth it.