I'm not the biggest fan of the Harry Potter movies. I am a complete and utter fanatic when it comes to the books (I read them at least once a year, often twice--I've totally lost count of how many times I've read them), but the movies just never really appealed to me. But this one--this looks absolutely phenomenal. I'll be in line for the midnight showing. Sorry the video's a little cut off...that's the best I could do.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
This Will Be Totally Wicked
Pun intended. Tonight I'm going to see Wicked with Maren and my mom. I've got 15 minutes left at work, and about 45 minutes before Maren and I leave for Salt Lake to get my mom and get some food before the show. I'm so excited I can't even contain it.
Maren and I are pretty big fans. Maybe we should wear our costumes.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
What a Doozie...
For the past week and a half, I have been having some car issues. I was on my way to my internship in Bluffdale when my "check engine" light came on and the temperature shot through the roof. That was scary. So my dad came and checked it (because he's so amazing) and my radiator was pretty dry. Okay, it was completely dry. I'm utterly useless when it comes to cars, and I forgot to check my fluids. Yes, I'm a typical girl in that respect.
Anyway, my dad said the car would probably be fine from there, and just to worry about overheating if my car started steaming. Well, the next day when I pulled into work in Orem, my car was steaming. Joys. So I called my dad again, and he was working in Provo that day anyway, so he came and put some more fluid in and told me that it was probably good now. Except not.
It kept steaming. I kept babying it, and making sure it had enough fluids, checking it before I drove it anywhere, filling it some more when necessary. But it was still running, so I was careful and kept using it, though I didn't want to drive it too far for fear of it dying on me.
And to add to my car woes, on Sunday when I went to check the fluids before work on Monday, my tire was flat. Woot. So Brandon was a gem and helped me change it (thank goodness for good guy friends). On Monday (and now we're getting to the good part) I emailed my managing editor at Paper Crafts (I still love that I have a managing editor...so cool!) and told her that I couldn't come in because I was driving on a donut, and driving 50 on I-15 is so not fun. Instead, I drove over to Discount Tire and got my tire fixed. (Luckily it was free because I've bought tires from them before.) (Do you think there are enough parenthetical statements in this paragraph? I apparently don't.)
I drove home on my newly fixed tire and pulled into the parking lot at the BC. But when I got out of the car, I heard a funny noise and smelled a funny smell. I looked down under my hood, and a bright green puddle was forming right by the front driver's side tire. Now, I may not be a car expert, but I was pretty certain that it's a bad thing when fluid drains out of the car on its own. I called my mom, and then called my dad, and checked some hoses to see if I could see a cracked hose, and my dad said he would come down and look at it. He did, and couldn't see anything. We would have to tow the car someplace and have them look at it, and since it was probably a radiator problem, it could cost up to $500. He basically said that my 1991 Honda Civic wasn't worth the troubles and asked me if I was okay with buying a car earlier than I anticipated. I didn't really have a choice, so I said yes.
Then my mom came down to lend me her car for a little while, and now I have to buy a car ASAP. Which basically means in the next couple days. I am excited about getting a new car, but I'm not excited about the payments, and I've decided that I hate looking for cars. It's really stressful.
But right after my parents left, I was trying to turn on my laptop, and it wouldn't work. It had been having some problems on Sunday when I was trying to use it, but I got it to work again. I tried to get it to boot up, but it started making an ominous ticking noise. Jonathan informed me that the last time he heard that noise was when his external hard drive died. Lovely. I tried looking up the disc utility, but my hard drive didn't even show up. I called my incredibly computer-savvy brother, and he said I was screwed. My hard drive has died and joined my car in technology heaven. The hard drive took all of my pictures, music, and writing/school work with it. Hooray.
So in the same day, my car and my laptop (my three-month-old laptop) died. It was quite the day. Tears were inevitable. My friends were really nice and took me to Spoon Me for frozen yogurt and a dollar movie. I needed it. That day sucked.
Thankfully my MacBook is still under warranty, so I just have to take it in to the Apple Store so they can fix it. I'm going to see if they can save anything from my hard drive, but I doubt they'll be able to. Luckily, I think I have access to all of my music through friends and CDs, and a lot of my important documents are on my flash drive. But my pictures are gone for good. Sad day.
Anyway, my dad said the car would probably be fine from there, and just to worry about overheating if my car started steaming. Well, the next day when I pulled into work in Orem, my car was steaming. Joys. So I called my dad again, and he was working in Provo that day anyway, so he came and put some more fluid in and told me that it was probably good now. Except not.
It kept steaming. I kept babying it, and making sure it had enough fluids, checking it before I drove it anywhere, filling it some more when necessary. But it was still running, so I was careful and kept using it, though I didn't want to drive it too far for fear of it dying on me.
And to add to my car woes, on Sunday when I went to check the fluids before work on Monday, my tire was flat. Woot. So Brandon was a gem and helped me change it (thank goodness for good guy friends). On Monday (and now we're getting to the good part) I emailed my managing editor at Paper Crafts (I still love that I have a managing editor...so cool!) and told her that I couldn't come in because I was driving on a donut, and driving 50 on I-15 is so not fun. Instead, I drove over to Discount Tire and got my tire fixed. (Luckily it was free because I've bought tires from them before.) (Do you think there are enough parenthetical statements in this paragraph? I apparently don't.)
I drove home on my newly fixed tire and pulled into the parking lot at the BC. But when I got out of the car, I heard a funny noise and smelled a funny smell. I looked down under my hood, and a bright green puddle was forming right by the front driver's side tire. Now, I may not be a car expert, but I was pretty certain that it's a bad thing when fluid drains out of the car on its own. I called my mom, and then called my dad, and checked some hoses to see if I could see a cracked hose, and my dad said he would come down and look at it. He did, and couldn't see anything. We would have to tow the car someplace and have them look at it, and since it was probably a radiator problem, it could cost up to $500. He basically said that my 1991 Honda Civic wasn't worth the troubles and asked me if I was okay with buying a car earlier than I anticipated. I didn't really have a choice, so I said yes.
Then my mom came down to lend me her car for a little while, and now I have to buy a car ASAP. Which basically means in the next couple days. I am excited about getting a new car, but I'm not excited about the payments, and I've decided that I hate looking for cars. It's really stressful.
But right after my parents left, I was trying to turn on my laptop, and it wouldn't work. It had been having some problems on Sunday when I was trying to use it, but I got it to work again. I tried to get it to boot up, but it started making an ominous ticking noise. Jonathan informed me that the last time he heard that noise was when his external hard drive died. Lovely. I tried looking up the disc utility, but my hard drive didn't even show up. I called my incredibly computer-savvy brother, and he said I was screwed. My hard drive has died and joined my car in technology heaven. The hard drive took all of my pictures, music, and writing/school work with it. Hooray.
So in the same day, my car and my laptop (my three-month-old laptop) died. It was quite the day. Tears were inevitable. My friends were really nice and took me to Spoon Me for frozen yogurt and a dollar movie. I needed it. That day sucked.
Thankfully my MacBook is still under warranty, so I just have to take it in to the Apple Store so they can fix it. I'm going to see if they can save anything from my hard drive, but I doubt they'll be able to. Luckily, I think I have access to all of my music through friends and CDs, and a lot of my important documents are on my flash drive. But my pictures are gone for good. Sad day.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
I'm Going There Someday
I was talking to an old high school friend on Facebook the other day, and it turned into an interesting conversation. I hadn't talked to her probably since choir tour nearly four years ago, and after the initial "How are yous" and "What are you up to latelys," the conversation inevitably turned to my dating life (or lack thereof). She has been dating a guy for three years now, so she felt the need to pass on some of her expertise.
Her first bit of advice surprised me. She is not LDS, but she lived in Utah for a long time and had enough LDS friends to understand the religion and the culture. She told me that she tried dating a lot of the "straight Mormon boys," and she found them to be the "dirtiest" of all. (I'm not exactly sure what she meant by "dirtiest.") I responded by saying that there are plenty of dirtbag Mormons out there (I've certainly dated one). And I do believe this is true. Just because a person is LDS, that doesn't automatically make them a saint. I've known plenty of girls who have dated Mormon boys who turned out to be jerks, and I've known plenty of guys who have dated Mormon girls who ended up being manipulative witches. It goes both ways. But that's certainly not the case for every Mormon girl and boy.
Her next bit of advice made me realize just how little she knew about me and about how little she understood or respected my religion. She told me to not make the religion thing such a big deal. I kind of laughed and said, "But the religion thing is a big deal. It has to be, because the temple is my only option." She said, "Well, yeah, but I was thinking of something like My Big Fat Greek Wedding. If he loves you enough, he'll do the marriage thing your way." Unfortunately, my dear, it is just not that simple.
This conversation got me thinking about the temple, and all that marriage in that holy place entails. Every time I go to the temple, I'm reminded of just how important it is. The temple is the only place on earth where we can bind both on earth and in heaven. "If he loves you enough, he'll do the marriage thing your way." That's the problem. It can't be my way. It must be His way. That statement should read, "If he loves the Lord enough, he'll do the marriage thing His way." The same must be true for me.
Sure, it's true that not all Mormon boys are great guys. Some really are jerks, and some just aren't right for me. But I know that somewhere out there, there's someone who is a nice guy who is right for me. Sure, limiting myself to LDS people shrinks my pool, and it might take me longer than I want to find him. But I'm sure he'll be worth the wait.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
We're All Adults Here
*Disclaimer: (and warning) You are about to read an angry, venting, ranting, raging blog post. But I would like to now state that this has nothing to do with anyone living in the BC, or even in the Provo area. So no need for any of my Provo friends (who are the majority of who read this blog) to get up in arms about anything I might say, because it is not about you. When I say "a friend," I really do mean a friend, not myself. Just so you all know. And yes, I know this is a very long disclaimer. I'm done now.
We are all adults here, right? We're all 20-somethings who are on our own, making our own way in the world, making our own decisions, dealing with our own responsibilities. Most of us handle our work, school, church, and financial responsibilities with maturity, even when they get complicated and stressful.
So why can't the same be said for our personal relationships, whether those be romantic relationships or strictly friends? I have a friend (I swear this is not a euphemism for me) who I have known for a very, very long time. We went to elementary school, junior high, and high school together, and have stayed very close since we graduated high school and went to different colleges. She is absolutely amazing. I love her so much. She is such a good friend, because she cares so much about the people in her life, and she shows that in her actions.
I have seen people take advantage of her caring nature, and they do their best to manipulate her into doing things for them and sacrificing what she wants because she wants to make people happy. She's a peacemaker, and some of her "friends" seem to take that as a weakness, a spot they can use to make her do what they want her to do. And I hate it. Some of the stories she tells me make me absolutely livid.
But this latest one put me over the edge. The complete immaturity of her "friends" has me itching to drive to Cedar, smack these two people across the face, and give them a good talking to, just to let them know that someone is on my friend's side.
So this friend has liked a boy for a while now. Quite a while. And recently he has acted in ways that have given her hope that his feelings toward her were changing. She told me about all the things that he was doing (we have a good time swapping boy stories), and it certainly seemed promising to me, too. He was flirting, and usually that's a good sign, right?
Well, apparently not in this case. This boy (and I'm emphasizing boy here) apparently told one of her friends that he doesn't like her "like that." Okay, whatever, that's life. But instead of just telling her, "You know what, I like you a lot, but I just want to stay friends," he went about it in a way that turned him into (in my friend's words) a douche.
From what I have heard (and yes, I know I'm only getting one side of the story, but I trust her when she tells me these things) he has been completely and totally immature and childish about this whole situation. Instead of being an adult and talking with my friend, he has decided to plot with her roommate as to how he can make my friend stop liking him, without jeopardizing the friendship. Their plan: treat my friend like complete dirt for three days, so she can "get over" this boy. Well, it worked, but I don't know about the status of their friendship. And to throw the roommate in the mix is just absolutely ridiculous!
How juvenile is it to think, "I don't want to tell her the truth, because that would be too difficult for me. I don't want to have that talk, so I'm going to act as though she's the annoying, tagalong friend who got invited out of pity, and spend all my time talking to her roommate. But I still want to be her friend." Good laws, boy, grow a pair and talk to her! She's an adult, just like you (are supposed to be)! Yes, "the talk" is going to suck. Yes, her feelings will get hurt. Yes, she will probably take a few days to start acting normally again. But it will all be to your benefit. Because instead of thinking of you as a coward and a jerk to boot, she'll think back and think, "Wow, that took a lot of guts to talk to me. And now we can be friends without all this awkwardness." But no. You missed that opportunity by plotting, and by talking to her roomates about her, when she knows full well you were doing it. (For pete's sake, the kitchen isn't that far away from her bedroom. If you're going to talk about someone, be smart about it, at least!)
It just really makes me angry when people can't just act mature about their interactions with the people around them. Sure, I'm guilty of it at times. We all are. But some things are more serious than others, and toying intentionally with someone's emotions is one of them. Just because you're afraid of how someone will react to the truth doesn't mean the truth isn't the best option. It usually is. So next time you're faced with the prospect of a not very fun conversation, a potentially awkward conversation, stop for a second and think about what would be most beneficial for the person you're talking to. Stop being selfish and do what's right. We're all adults here, so act like it. We can handle it.
So this friend has liked a boy for a while now. Quite a while. And recently he has acted in ways that have given her hope that his feelings toward her were changing. She told me about all the things that he was doing (we have a good time swapping boy stories), and it certainly seemed promising to me, too. He was flirting, and usually that's a good sign, right?
Well, apparently not in this case. This boy (and I'm emphasizing boy here) apparently told one of her friends that he doesn't like her "like that." Okay, whatever, that's life. But instead of just telling her, "You know what, I like you a lot, but I just want to stay friends," he went about it in a way that turned him into (in my friend's words) a douche.
From what I have heard (and yes, I know I'm only getting one side of the story, but I trust her when she tells me these things) he has been completely and totally immature and childish about this whole situation. Instead of being an adult and talking with my friend, he has decided to plot with her roommate as to how he can make my friend stop liking him, without jeopardizing the friendship. Their plan: treat my friend like complete dirt for three days, so she can "get over" this boy. Well, it worked, but I don't know about the status of their friendship. And to throw the roommate in the mix is just absolutely ridiculous!
How juvenile is it to think, "I don't want to tell her the truth, because that would be too difficult for me. I don't want to have that talk, so I'm going to act as though she's the annoying, tagalong friend who got invited out of pity, and spend all my time talking to her roommate. But I still want to be her friend." Good laws, boy, grow a pair and talk to her! She's an adult, just like you (are supposed to be)! Yes, "the talk" is going to suck. Yes, her feelings will get hurt. Yes, she will probably take a few days to start acting normally again. But it will all be to your benefit. Because instead of thinking of you as a coward and a jerk to boot, she'll think back and think, "Wow, that took a lot of guts to talk to me. And now we can be friends without all this awkwardness." But no. You missed that opportunity by plotting, and by talking to her roomates about her, when she knows full well you were doing it. (For pete's sake, the kitchen isn't that far away from her bedroom. If you're going to talk about someone, be smart about it, at least!)
It just really makes me angry when people can't just act mature about their interactions with the people around them. Sure, I'm guilty of it at times. We all are. But some things are more serious than others, and toying intentionally with someone's emotions is one of them. Just because you're afraid of how someone will react to the truth doesn't mean the truth isn't the best option. It usually is. So next time you're faced with the prospect of a not very fun conversation, a potentially awkward conversation, stop for a second and think about what would be most beneficial for the person you're talking to. Stop being selfish and do what's right. We're all adults here, so act like it. We can handle it.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Happiness
What is happiness? Is it working with amazing people in my field? Is it being published (finally) after years of working toward that goal? Is it knowing that I am fast on my way to becoming a successful, accomplished, independent woman in the workforce?
Is it basking in my newfound love of instrumental music? Or basking in my long-standing love of music in general? Or losing myself in books I've devoured over and over, enjoying them just as much the twentieth time as I did the first?
Is happiness knowing I have some specific talents that I love to share? Is it singing in an ensemble in Sacrament meeting, or singing a solo with my guitar at a talent show? Or is it singing at the very top of my lungs to "Wicked," or rocking out to Sherwood, or chilling to Harry Connick, Jr., on my way to my internship in Bluffdale?
How about playing Mario Kart or Tetris and talking trash and knowing it is all in good fun? Is that what happiness is? Is it eating massive amounts of frozen yogurt with fresh fruit and trying to throw my spoon in the light fixture seven times before finally succeeding? Is it playing charades boys against girls and soundly beating the boys?
Maybe happiness is knowing someone is interested in me, having the knowledge that to someone, at least, I am appealing. Maybe it is flirting and poking and teasing someone and having him flirt and poke and tease in response.
So what is sadness? Is it waking up to three inches of snow and a crappy commute on March 30? Is it watching $25 come out of my account every month for a gym membership when I've only worked out once in the past two weeks? Is it not sleeping on a Sunday night because tears were keeping me awake? Is it being on the verge of tears for three days and not really being able to formulate why? Is it wanting a friend to talk to about fears and frustrations and insecurities, but not knowing who, and not even knowing what to say? Is it knowing that I have so, so very much to be grateful for, to be happy about, but not feeling it?
Three questions asked once in Relief Society, and my answers:
Am I happy? Not particularly.
Can I feel the love of my Heavenly Father daily? No.
Am I optimistic about my future? Yes in some aspects, no in many others.
I need to fix something. Unfortunately, the hard part is figuring out what.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
A Monster...
I have always been into music. I love listening to it, singing it, playing it, just being a part of it in any way I can. It's in my blood, I think. As long as I can remember, music has been an essential part of my family. Everyone in my family sings; my dad and my brother play the drums; my dad and my other brother play rock piano (meaning they play chords, they don't read music); my sister and I play the piano; my brother, my mom, and I play the guitar. We've even had a family band, and yes, we did perform. It was awesome. My brothers actually want to start that up again. We'll see if that ever happens.
So pretty much music is a part of me, and has been my whole life. I've been listening to The Beatles my whole life (literally--probably since the womb), so of course I love them. I love a lot of oldies. I also love Sherwood (they're freaking amazing!), Jimmy Eat World, Snow Patrol, Dashboard Confessional, Peggy Lee, Norah Jones, KT Tunstall, Reign of Kindo, and a whole bunch of other stuff that I really don't have to list here. I'm always on the warpath for new music, because I listen to it all the time.
But the one thing I've never been too into is instrumental music. I like some classical, but I just don't listen to it very often. And I've never really been into movie scores. Until recently. Maren and Jonathan have together effectively created a monster. I had gotten some soundtracks from Maren and Jonathan a few months ago, but I didn't really listen to them much. Then I started my new jobs, and the work that I do is such that silence makes it boring, but instrumental makes it much easier to focus and work. So I started listening to the instrumental that I had, and I quickly found that I absolutely love James Newton Howard.
The soundtrack that really spawned this big love is The Village soundtrack. I love this soundtrack so much! It's the kind of music that as soon as it starts, I feel like I'm going to burst with the beauty of it. I don't quite know how to explain it. It's almost a transcendental experience. Is that too strong? I don't know, but the music elicits such emotion from me that I just can't explain it. I have listened to The Village soundtrack so many times recently that I can listen to a song and name the track. That's pretty crazy, seeing as how they all blend together.
I am now thoroughly obsessed with James Newton Howard. I have eight soundtracks that he composed or helped with, and I just ordered a ninth today. There are at least two more that I know I want. I just absolutely love his use of strings, and how the piano blends right in and often takes the melody. It's beautiful. I have discovered that I love strings, and woodwinds. When it comes to soundtracks, I'm not the biggest fan of a lot of brass, like John Williams. He seems to use a lot of brass, and I get tired of it very quickly.
My love of strings also comes through in my love of the October Sky soundtrack, which is not James Newton Howard, surprisingly enough. It's by Mark Isham. I love the strings in this one. This is another soundtrack that gives me that surreal, transcendental feeling. It's amazing the power that music has over me. It can completely transport me. Maybe that's why I love music so much, and why it is such a big part of me. It's amazing the emotion can can evoke in me, with absolutely no effort on my part. But that also means that music can affect me in a bad way. In my Music 202 class a couple years ago, we studied an opera called Wozzek. That music gave me the worst feeling ever. It was physically repelling, I don't know how to explain it.
Anyway...wow, this is a random post. A long random post. A little insight into my loves, right? Right. And if anyone has any suggestions on new bands that I should listen to, or any amazing movie scores or instrumental in general, give me a holler. I'm always on the lookout for new stuff.
So pretty much music is a part of me, and has been my whole life. I've been listening to The Beatles my whole life (literally--probably since the womb), so of course I love them. I love a lot of oldies. I also love Sherwood (they're freaking amazing!), Jimmy Eat World, Snow Patrol, Dashboard Confessional, Peggy Lee, Norah Jones, KT Tunstall, Reign of Kindo, and a whole bunch of other stuff that I really don't have to list here. I'm always on the warpath for new music, because I listen to it all the time.
But the one thing I've never been too into is instrumental music. I like some classical, but I just don't listen to it very often. And I've never really been into movie scores. Until recently. Maren and Jonathan have together effectively created a monster. I had gotten some soundtracks from Maren and Jonathan a few months ago, but I didn't really listen to them much. Then I started my new jobs, and the work that I do is such that silence makes it boring, but instrumental makes it much easier to focus and work. So I started listening to the instrumental that I had, and I quickly found that I absolutely love James Newton Howard.
The soundtrack that really spawned this big love is The Village soundtrack. I love this soundtrack so much! It's the kind of music that as soon as it starts, I feel like I'm going to burst with the beauty of it. I don't quite know how to explain it. It's almost a transcendental experience. Is that too strong? I don't know, but the music elicits such emotion from me that I just can't explain it. I have listened to The Village soundtrack so many times recently that I can listen to a song and name the track. That's pretty crazy, seeing as how they all blend together.
I am now thoroughly obsessed with James Newton Howard. I have eight soundtracks that he composed or helped with, and I just ordered a ninth today. There are at least two more that I know I want. I just absolutely love his use of strings, and how the piano blends right in and often takes the melody. It's beautiful. I have discovered that I love strings, and woodwinds. When it comes to soundtracks, I'm not the biggest fan of a lot of brass, like John Williams. He seems to use a lot of brass, and I get tired of it very quickly.
My love of strings also comes through in my love of the October Sky soundtrack, which is not James Newton Howard, surprisingly enough. It's by Mark Isham. I love the strings in this one. This is another soundtrack that gives me that surreal, transcendental feeling. It's amazing the power that music has over me. It can completely transport me. Maybe that's why I love music so much, and why it is such a big part of me. It's amazing the emotion can can evoke in me, with absolutely no effort on my part. But that also means that music can affect me in a bad way. In my Music 202 class a couple years ago, we studied an opera called Wozzek. That music gave me the worst feeling ever. It was physically repelling, I don't know how to explain it.
Anyway...wow, this is a random post. A long random post. A little insight into my loves, right? Right. And if anyone has any suggestions on new bands that I should listen to, or any amazing movie scores or instrumental in general, give me a holler. I'm always on the lookout for new stuff.
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