Wisdom from the Cupboard:

1. In order to break a bad habit, wear a rubber band on your wrist. Snap it when the habit reoccurs. I'm two days and counting not thinking about a particular person. (snap)
-Aubrey Johnson
2. You can always exchange what wanted before for what you want more, now. It might be difficult at first, the change becomes easier and more appealing every time.
-Hannah Johnson
3. Take your first impressions of people into account (intuition is key) and when you make friends, learn their impressions of themselves.
-Courtney Perry
4. There must be moderation in all things. Also, people are just happier when the dishes are clean.
-Chantelle Fowler

These are not direct quotes from any of the Cupboard girls, but a FEW (or just one) of the things I have learned from them.

By the way, our apartment is nicknamed the Cupboard Under the Stairs. It's 'cause we're in love with Harry Potter.

Today

Fast forward to the present for a moment, if you please. All I can say is that my roommate and close friend Hannah and I reorganized our schedules so that we have a whopping THREE classes together on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It has been supa fun. I love that girl.

In conclusion, friends are good because they don't steal your bicycle, and they let you take classes with them.

Some things I am thankful for:

1. Good people and bicycle thieves, and learning from both.
2. A new sketchbook (which I have only drawn typography in so far).
3. Lemon tea and craisins.
4. Roommates who love Harry Potter as much as I do.

5. The gorgeous sunset over Provo tonight.
6. Speaking, hearing, reading, and writing poems. (Also, BKDG.)
7. Phone conversations with my mom about recipes, boys, and life.
8. Picking out a Christmas tree for the TMA office today with Elizabeth (my boss and good friend).
9. Letters and emails from my missionary friends:

Sam and his doodles of us.
Molalla, Washington

Mike (nice tie.)
London, UK

10. The healing power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Cosas

Today I am working on a poem in Spanish.
I am talking to friends about life and learning things.
I am being productive and getting work done.
I am writing a new song.
I am clipping all my fingernails.
I am playing silly songs on the guitar for my roommates.
And... sleep.

(Photo: householdname.typepad.com)

I live in a house of poets. They fit into the first category.

Editing!

This site editing is taking a lot more time than I expected it to! I get so picky about designs and the feel I want that I can't make any decisions. :P

In other news, Happy Easter! I stayed up until about three yesterday dying easter eggs and doing stuff to surprise my roommates for today. It turned out pretty well. I love holidays. :)

I've also been watching General Conference this weekend, which is a meeting Latter Day Saints attend or watch (it's broadcast worldwide!) and listen to the teachings of our spiritual leaders, including our prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and others. It's been a great edifying experience watching it so far, and I've got one session left to see, from 2-4 this afternoon!

Also, I've updated my music blog, so check it out here!

OH MY GOSH!

I FORGOT TO SAY THAT I DONATED BLOOD TODAY! And I ALWAYS blog about that!

So, today, admittedly, it was scary. I'm not really sure why, since after all four times I've donated, I like to think I'm pretty experienced.

Apparently not, because I was freaking out.

In the end, Charné couldn't donate and Marissa went before me, so once it was my turn, Charné came and held my hand while I freaked out some more. This is why roommates are cool. :) Donating blood was pretty uneventful, but as always, I'm weirdly fascinated with seeing a bag of my blood on the table. It's just interesting to think that a part of me that I had, walking around, going to work, talking and moving, is right there in a bag.

Yup.

Anyway, I have to sleep now because work is early. :/

Let's Harmonize.

So. Today my friend came over again and we practiced his music and I made up some cool spontaneous harmonies for some of his songs. We're also playing my song called "Don't Call Me Sweetheart," which I'm pretty excited about. The show is this coming weekend, and it's a masquerade, so I get to be all dressed up and such. The only sad thing is that some other friends of mine will be out of town this weekend, so they won't be there. :(

Anyway, today I visited Greta's grandparents' house with her. Her grandparents are super funny. We talked out a bunch of ideas for Greta's essay on a poem by Auden called "That Night When Joy Began." READ IT. It's really good. I also went to FHE and had some good conversations with my roommates.

All is groovy. :)

Miss Brown Attends Her First Rugby Match.

First, this morning my really talented friend came over and we practiced music. Actually, it wasn't really morning. More like 11.

Later, as I stated, I went to a rugby match with my roommates. It was Utah State vs. BYU. We won, naturally. I learned a lot about how the game works and had fun ogling/making fun of the players with my friends. Afterwards, we went to Kneaders for the most amazing sandwiches EVER.

Oh, and tonight there's a dance. We're all dressed up. Charné did my hair and makeup. I look cute.

Pictures soon to follow. :)

This is Not A Landmark Post.

It's looking pretty dreary outside today, but it's been a decent morning so far. It's raining, which I always love. :) Today, I'm planning to clean my room, get some homework done, go to the Walk of Life sponsored by the Black Student Union at BYU, and then come home for FHE with my awesome group. I might hang out with a friend of mine at some point too, since we were talking music and record deals last night and he might be able to help me. So... if he remembers to call. It should be a great day!

Oh, and my roommates and I rearranged our living room and it looks awesome. :) I'm excited for the semester.

Regarding the title: today is my 162nd post. I think I'd like to get to 200 soon. That would be cool, eh? :)

CRAP!

I forgot to post yesterday! So here is what I did, I guess, and I'll post twice today??

Anyway, I went in for training at my job in the TMA office (WHICH I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT!!!) and learned a lot about InDesign and how fun and amazing that office is! I'm so psyched to start work there. I'm going to get to do all these awesome design projects all year. I think I'm going to learn a lot, which is what I'm looking forward to the most.

Later, after that, Charné and I went on an adventure and got lost on the bus system until we got to the post office in Provo (which, thankfully, was where we were headed). There, we got a very important letter my mom sent to me which the postman, for some reason, thought I needed to sign for. Anyway, it was this big stupid mishap. We rode back to campus after that, and I went to the Student Employment Office and finally got hired OFFICIALLY. Maybe I can get paid before Christmas. That would be amazing, because then I could get everyone amazing presents.

After that, I walked home through the snow with the best intentions of being productive. And then I got home and just... wasn't. :/

Later, Charné, Marissa (our kind of adopted roommate) and I all went to a farewell party for two guys in our ward who are leaving on their missions soon. It was really fun. :)

We got home around two in the morning. And then I knocked out.

In a few random pieces of news:

I think I've finished my song in G... but I'm kind of afraid that it will say too much.

I love the Weepies. I LOVE them.

I can't wait to come home and feel the sun and see all the people I miss!

On the Second Day of Christmas...

Today, my random act of service was exceedingly random. I'm not even sure it counts as service. Therefore, after I post this, I'm going to do the dishes in our apartment (hopefully before my roommate gets home).

Here's what happened:

Around 4ish, I went to the library to check my email for updates about a job I'm getting hired for (hooray!). There weren't any, so a while later, I left the library, planning to walk home. However, as I was walking toward the entrance, I heard, "Emily Brown!" coming from somewhere. I looked around lamely and then saw two of my friends who really like my music! :)

We started talking and I told them about how I'm writing a new song. They wanted to hear it, so we walked back to their dorm and I played it and a few other things for them. It was really fun and a nice way to do "service" for someone. Though I'm not positive it counts, as I mentioned before.

As a random aside, I love Christmas so much. My roommate and I are decorating our apartment with lights and snowflakes and other Christmassy stuff. It's so pretty. Pictures soon to follow!

10 Things I've Been Doing Lately

Hello, my dears! So much has happened in the past month or whatever that I think I will just make a list.

1. Last Friday, I bought my first pair of TOMS. TOMS is a wonderfully humanitarian company that gives a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair of shoes you buy from them. It's really a beautiful thing. I bought the Aira Cordones, and they're adorable!

2. Registration has begun at last. It's pretty near impossible to get exactly what you want; therefore, I'm enrolled in Psych 111 and trying switch it for an impossibly full creative writing class.

3. My roommate Charne and I Skyped each other from adjacent rooms yesterday. It was hilarious.

4. I have written a new Sestina and a Villanelle, which are both really good.

5. I was accepted into BlazeVOX Fall 2k9 yesterday! Once the issue is up, please read my three poems here.

6. I finally have a job as an accompanist for a friend of mine. He's taking voice lessons here and needed someone to play his pieces. This is really good for me, because it gives me a more concrete reason to practice, and I have to learn pieces I wouldn't have picked myself.

7. If you are near Provo, check out the newest exhibit at BYU's Museum of Art, "Mirror Mirror." It's a really interesting look at how people perceive each other-- and who can beat the flaming moustache? (also, admission is free!)

8. I was a flapper again for Halloween, only this time I was Daisy Buchanan and I friend of mine was Jay Gatsby.

9. I'm trying to write a song in G, since I have this idea that I'll do a show and move up a key for every song. G is such an awkward key for my voice, though. I don't really know what I'm doing. :/

10. Sammy's has the best milkshakes EVER. They are also having a "Hot Chocolate Kickoff" this weekend that I really want to go to.

The Parable of the Bicycle Thief

This is my second This I Believe essay, and I think I've done a slightly better job this time around. Enjoy!

I named my bicycle Alex, after the artist, Alexander Girard. It was a vintage-style beach cruiser, candy-apple red, with Mr. Girard’s “Madonna” painted on both sides of the skirt guard. It had a chrome lamp on the front, powered by the wheels, and a silvery-sounding bell, which friends, acquaintances, and even strangers would ask to ring.

Most days when I go to ride my bike to school, I scan the rack for a minute or so, trying to remember where I parked the day before. Last Thursday, I did this, weaving through the rows and glancing around for that familiar flash of red.

It was several seconds before I realized that my bike simply wasn’t there.

Later that morning, I told my friends that our beloved Alex had been kidnapped. Some told me furiously that they would knock over anyone riding my bike. More than one of my good friends has scoured Craigslist and the rest of the internet, hunting for my bike. That night, my roommates walked with me in the freezing cold to every single bike rack in our apartment complex to look for Alex, and at last, to the one I used to park at.

“I feel like we’re standing around a grave,” said Chelsee.

“Alex was a good bike,” I said, jokingly.

“Whenever I saw him on campus, it made me smile!” said Charne.

I have wondered about the kind of mean-hearted person who stole my bike. My thoughts, originally, were full of prejudices and resentment, but mostly pain that any feeling person could do that to me. I will probably never meet the bicycle thief, but that person hurt me without any reason to. Conversely, since I'm a freshman in college, the friends of which I speak are people whose trust and love I have gained over mere months, weeks, or even days.

Lying on the grass with one of my new friends, I listened to her tell me about how maybe the bicycle thief was a kind of Aladdin character. She said maybe he’d stolen the bike to pay for a dying child’s operation, and once he had a magic lamp, he’d give me my bike back.

Obviously, this is extremely unlikely, but despite the fact that there are bicycle thieves in the world, there are friends who make up ridiculous stories to comfort you. There are roommates who will walk in the freezing cold with you for a nearly lost cause. There are people who will search all over the internet for something formerly irrelevant to them, just because they care about you.

All people have the power to be bicycle thieves, but every human being also has the power to share happiness . My encounter with the bicycle thief taught me that bicycle thieves are, fortunately, a minority, and that there are people who will wrap you in love whenever you even vaguely need it. Thankfully, those are the people I find around myself now.

Emily and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Yesterday morning, things were going all right. I looked cute, my homework was (essentially) done, and I was writing a new song.Then I walked outside.Those of you who know me are aware that I am the proud owner of one of the prettiest bikes ever. It's truly beautiful, and it makes me happy to ride it. It also brings spice and smiles into the lives of people around me, and even passersby on the street.
Yesterday morning I walked down the stairs from my apartment and then to the bike rack where I park every day. On Wednesday, I hadn't ridden my bike to school because of the rain (my roommate gave me a ride). Standing before the bike racks, I tried for a few seconds to remember where I had parked my bicycle two days before. I scanned the rack for it and couldn't see it. I walked around the rack and couldn't find it.Then I realized my bike simply wasn't there.

I mumbled exclamations and gasped Nos for a few seconds and then whipped my

phone from my bag and called my mom, crying, and beginning the long walk to school. It was 10:40 or so. I had a class at eleven. I talked to my mom for a long time, crying and worrying about what I should do. In my classes, the friends of mine who know my bicycle (whom we have fondly named Alex) mourned with me, gave me hugs, and offered hilariou

s consolations about bike thieves.

I feel like someone's died, and as if it was one of my best friends.

I have registered my bike here at stolenbikeregistry.com. If you live in Provo, or anywhere thereabouts, please keep a lookout for any bike like mine. Here is a picture of it, in case you don't have time to check out the link.

I am also keeping an eye on all the Craigslists around Utah and the KSL classifieds. I plan to look at Ebay as well.

My bike's information is all online, so please help if you can! Thanks so much!

Yours sincerely,

Emily Brown

I am BYUSA!

Yesterday Charne (one of my roommates) and I went to the Wilkinson Center and signed up for BYU's Student Service Association! BYU doesn't have a student government like most schools, but BYUSA is a kind of equivalent. As a church-subsidized school, 80% of every student's education is paid by the tithing of church members; we are here, in many cases, because of the widow's mite. BYUSA is one way we give back to our school; it's a volunteer association in charge of many student activities and leadership.

Anyway, Charne and I went on a tour of the office and we talked to a guy who helped us get involved, and now, we are in charge of planning a formal dance in February!!! Thankfully, there are people over us who will help us when we start planning our event. We're super excited!

I have to get to the testing center soon, so I will update more later!

Update. Sort of.

I'm not really sure what to write, but since you wanted an update, I will give it you.

We need a vosotros in English, by the way; I meant "you" as a plural.

Today, I got up. Really! I got up, for once this week! I walked over to the church building at Wyview with my roommate, Chelsee. We had interviews this morning. Guess what my calling is?

The best calling ever, of course! Ward Organist!

I'm really tired, so that will have to be all.

Love you, Mom. Dad. CollinMadelynSpencerMelissa.

Various family members. :)

More News About BYU!!

I know where I'm going to live next year! Last week I got my housing all ready and such and I also found out who my roommates are and added them on facebook! They seem really cool! One is from South Africa.
I am so psyched about being able to study what I want to study at college! I am going to be double majoring in English and Music Composition! It's going to be amazing!!!
Plus, I have all these cousins who will be there and we are going to rule the campus!
In unrelated news, I took the AP Government Test today and it wasn't half bad. :)