I hung out in Provo last week.

It was fun. I don't take pictures.

Some things I did:

• Baraka with Scott and Maddison.
• Played music with Chris and Brooklynn.
• Salt Flats with Parker and Maddison.
• Les Femmes De Velour.
• Village Inn.
• Seviche with Collin and Jennifer.
• Hung around Utah Lake and downtown Provo.
• Sticky pudding with Pearl.
• Tacos, rainbow jello, playing music, and Rocksmith with BoTW and the Hansens.
• Walked to the Provo cemetery.
• House hunting with the Mads.
• Open Mic.
• O Brother, Where Art Thou? with Chris, Maddison, and Niels.
• Slept over at the Bennions.
• Lunch at Pei Wei with Scott and Maddison.
• Flew at night.

10 Things I Have Been Doing Lately.

1. Getting a dog. Its name is Biko. (Courtesy of Dad.)
2. Listening to Music for 18 Musicians by Reich.
3. Reading Dubliners by James Joyce.
4. Giving 50 things to DI.
5. Editing poetry and writing in journals.
6. Writing ideas and goals on my mirror.
7. Looking at jobs and old pianos on Craigslist.
8. Scribbling in charcoal. (Sometimes drawing).
9. Reading the Book of Mormon for rhetorical devices.
10. Winding up my snowglobe and watching Maren tip it over to figure out how it works.

Also, I'm playing at Velour this weekend with Book on Tape Worm. Come say hi.

A Growth Chart

So far:

I came home to Provo and reunited with friends.

I moved into a fantastic ward.

I played piano at my friend's wedding.
I wrote letters and songs and poems.

I went to lunch in Maddison's studio.

I made clouds and rain and hung them around Velour.

I met a boy who liked my music.
He told me his name and then kissed me.

He said he loved me and met my family.

He doesn't see us getting married.

I listened to Pasty Cline for three weeks after.

I talked with Pearl and met her kittens.
I saw the Head and the Heart when they came to Provo.
I watched a beautiful sunset over Utah Valley from the hill at the edge of campus.
I don't see us getting married either.
Sam sent me a letter, and it was good.
I went to BKDG at Laura's house.

I went to Arizona for Thanksgiving and played with my sister.
I came back and kept taking pictures of a tree by the Maeser.
I went on a train ride in Colorado with some dear friends.
I took some tests and wrote some papers.
I learned some Christmas songs and played "Pie Jesu" at the Christmas special.
I came to the desert for Christmas.

So Long, Sam.

Hi. This is Sam.

I met Sam in my freshman English class (Honors 150: Writing and Rhetoric) this year. We realized very soon that we had a creepy amount in common and became really good friends.

I think the time we first hung out was after a football game. We saw a weird movie at International Cinema, played penny golf, rolled down the library hill, and then got a guitar and a ukulele and played music on some stairs by the RB.

Good times.


Some of the vaguely strange things we have in common are:

• We own the same shirt, from American Apparel (in the respective Mens' and Womens' versions). On top of this, that shirt happens to be my absolute favorite color and therefore one of my favorite things to wear.
• We enjoy all the same books: Steinbeck, Fitzgerald, etc. We are both borderline obsessed with The Great Gatsby. Oh, and Harry Potter.
• And my personal favorite: We were sitting next to each other at the 2009 Anaheim Choir Festival, and had no idea that less than a year later, we would become very close friends. 

This is one of many times we went to Salt Lake City. Sam's grandparents live up there, so we'd go visit them and finish his grandma's puzzles for her. We'd also walk around Salt Lake looking around in different stores. On this night, we just explored, along with our friend Dan.

We reference Harry Potter constantly, which is kind of part of our generation. This picture is Sam/"Harry" looking into a Pensieve.

Other Harry Potter references:

• Once we got wheat grass shots at Jamba Juice and called it Polyjuice potion.
• People: Sam- Harry. Dan- Ron. Emily- Hermione. Asian Girl in our class- Cho Chang. President Gordon B. Hinckley- Dumbledore. Karl G. Maeser- Godric Gryffindor.
• Places: Velour- The Leaky Cauldron. Wilkinson Center Terrace -The Great Hall. JDawgs -The Three Broomsticks. Etc, etc.

Anyway, the point of all this is that Sam is leaving on his mission today, and I am going to miss him exceedingly. He's one of my closest friends and I'm so pleased that I met him this year. I'm going to see him  and talk one more time today and then he's off to the MTC and later, Portland!

In conclusion:

Sam, you can be sure I'll be writing, fool. Even though you're not going to read this.

The End. :)

FAIL.

Okay. I missed- what, four days? That being said, I guess I'll keep blogging this month, but I'll probably have to do a legit NaBloPoMo next month. Maybe I'll just try every month until I actually get it right.

Today my dad is in Provo!! We've got a lot of fun stuff planned, and I'm pretty psyched. Already this week, I've shown my Dad around Provo (the highlight of which was giving him a tour of Velour, where I play sometimes), and yesterday I took the train to Salt Lake City and met up with him for dinner there. I felt very metropolitan and cool, especially because Greta did my hair yesterday and it looked amazingly classy and gorgeous. She is seriously brilliant in a million ways. :)

Anyway, I'll be taking my camera with me today, so there should be some pictures soon!

Last Night...

WAS AMAZING. I played in Velour's Valentine's Masquerade as part of my friend's solo project called Book on Tape Worm. It was a beautiful night and I was privileged to play some very lovely music. :)

Cosas

Hi. This post has to be kind of quick, because I have a lot to do this evening.

I really, really, REALLY wish I could go see NightNight at Velour tonight, but I can't. Because I procrastinated myself into a terrible pit of destruction and the only way out is to finish this crazy project.

So. Today I went to the mall with Charné, procrastinating some more. I smelled perfumes. I'm still in love with GAP's Heaven. Not only is it what I would smell like if I were bottled, it is my favorite color. So we are perfect for each other.

In related news, I'm not really in love with the mall in Provo and I will probably end up doing any real shopping at quirky indie stores from now on. Which is way cooler anyway.

My life is a liiiiittle bit scattered right now. I don't really know what I should do. I think I'm going to fast tomorrow.

Sunday...sundaysundaysunday.

Only a very select group of people will get that reference.

Like, Madelyn.

I need to organize my ideas. I think I'm going to do the list thing again. That's always fun.

1. Today is Sunday and IT SNOWED!!!! That is- it's snowed before, but this time it's sticking, and it's deep, and it's unbelievably gorgeous!

2. Yesterday, our ward had an activity and we rode the train to Salt Lake City and walked around temple square together! It was so pretty to see all the lights, spend time with friends, and get to know some of those people better. (I feel like I don't go to those activities enough)

3. Tomorrow, a great band called NightNight is playing at my favorite music venue: Velour! I can't wait to see them play!

4. If anyone feels like obliging me for Christmas, I'm in love with these boots. Click here for the link.

5. I'm writing my next This I Believe about serendipity... and sort of finding something good when you're at an ultimate low. It should be good. :)

I guess that's all for now!