Wreck this Journal.

Yesterday I decided to officially begin my destruction of Keri Smith's Wreck this Journal, as part of my summer bucket list. I am growing more and more bored as the days get hotter, so this became my next resort.

For the first day, I flipped open the book and found these words at the top of the page:

"DO A REALLY UGLY DRAWING
(use ugly subject matter: gum, poo, dead things, a badly drawn bird, mold, barf, crud.)"

I promptly drew an ugly set of toes, a warty witch arm, a moldy sandwich in a bag, a pile of trash in a corner, and cluster of bugs. (I'll add pictures later, since I don't have time to take them now.)

(Also- the bugs, sadly, turned out cuter than I'd intended.)

For the second day, I numbered all the pages in the book. There were ninety, which I liked, because I like the number eight and I got to go through all the eighties before the end.

Also today I painted a postcard, worked on the score for Troilus and Cressida, read House of Leaves for a good hour or so, and helped my dad move stuff from his old office to a new one.

P.S. I miss everyone. A lot.

That's what I get for telling people things.

Cosas y otras cosas.

I'm home/in the desert.

It's hot and I'd rather be back in Provo.

But the nights are clear and starry, and my family is funny, and I wrote a new song today.

Should be a decent few months. :)

Young at Heart? Promise, Frank?

Today I was feeling low, when this song came up on Pandora.



Frank Sinatra, you are my new best friend.

Bucket List:

21. Visit Sinatra's grave in Palm Springs.

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. :)

Summer Bucket List (continued)

11. Make pretty new skirts.
12. Plant and grow strawberries.
13. Learn to make a lemon meringue pie. Well. Famously.
14. Hike Fossil Creek when we visit Pine, Arizona.
15. Do something like Richard Schilling's "Land Art":

16. Visit a zoo.
17. Meet five new people and keep in touch with them.
18. Write a message in a bottle, sail out to some buoy with my dad, and leave it in the ocean.
19. Take my brothers and sisters to the Festival of the Arts.
20. Write a new song on the guitar.

Yesterday I took Ginsberg (my guitar), a notebook, and some pens, and walked to that park at University and Center Street to brainstorm. It was kind of like this (not that I took these yesterday):

Two hours, seven blocks, and a nap later, I finished a new song. :)

For fun, I make charcoal out of harmless cookies.

Maybe I should start listing “burning baked goods” as a hobby.

Summer Bucket List

I leave in 12 days for my hometown- Rancho Mirage, California. Since I have come to terms with the realization that I will be languishing in boredom and 115 degree weather, I've also decided I need to make a list of things I want to do this summer.

So to start with, here are the first ten things on my summer bucket list:

1. Take my sisters to the beach for a week (again) this August.
2. Do one page of Wreck this Journal every day.
3. Practice tennis with my dad. Cultivate a decent serve.
4. Read House of Leaves.
5. Write a poem every day of the summer. Share some of them. Maybe.
6. Draw a sidewalk chalk mural on my driveway.
7. Learn to crack an egg with one hand.
8. Memorize "Fern Hill" again, and "Soneto de La Noche."
9. Write three This I Believe essays.
10. Read the Book of Mormon in Spanish.

Notice

(Photo: David Shrigley)

A weird limerick.

I wish I lived inside your heart
I'd pay the rent, appease your brain
At night I'd stroll
Through each ventricle
And keep you living, stall the pain

Let it Snow?

I meant to post about this earlier, but my camera wouldn't jive. It snowed last Monday, on May 24th, in what was hopefully the last snow/weather tantrum of the season. I took some pictures:

That killed me. It really did.

(A collection of my favorite Catcher in the Rye quotes)


I think if you don't really like a girl, you shouldn't horse around with her at all, and if you do like her, then you're supposed to like her face, and if you like her face, you ought to be careful about doing crumby stuff to it, like squirting water all over it. It's really too bad that so much crumby stuff is a lot of fun sometimes. 


Then she left. The Navy guy and I told each other we were glad to've met each other. Which always kills me. I am always saying "Glad to've met you" to somebody I'm not at all glad I met. If you want to stay alive, you have to say that stuff, though. 


About all I know is, I sorta miss everybody I told about. Even Stradlater and Ackley, for instance. I think I even miss that g----m Maurice. Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody. 


It's funny.  All you have to do is say something nobody understands and they'll do practically anything you want them to.


I have a feeling that you're riding for some kind of a terrible, terrible fall.  But I don't honestly know what kind.... It may be the kind where, at the age of thirty, you sit in some bar hating everybody who comes in looking as if he might have played football in college.  Then again, you may pick up just enough education to hate people who say, 'It's a secret between he and I.'  Or you may end up in some business office, throwing paper clips at the nearest stenographer.  I just don't know.


Among other things, you'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior.  You're by no means alone on that score, you'll be excited and stimulated to know.  Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now.  Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles.  You'll learn from them - if you want to.  Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you.  It's a beautiful reciprocal arrangement.  And it isn't education.  It's history.  It's poetry.

Windmills

This year I moved to Provo, Utah from the Southern Californian desert. Driving away from my hometown, as on any road trip, I passed these and several hundred other windmills on the way out:

(Photo: Jeff Turner)

Imagine my pleasant surprise when, from the top of Maeser hill, I spied these windmills on the edge of Utah Valley:

Last night, I had a conversation with a friend about what makes the place you live home. My parents moved to a new house while I was away at school, and so when I visit the desert, there are places more familiar to me than the house my family lives in. I was looking at a PostSecret book, and someone had sent in a card reading, "I want to go home. But I am home." It reminded me that (no offense, family; I'm excited to see you) I will probably wish I was back in Provo when I go back to the desert in about two weeks.

I think that this year, Provo has become more home to me than the desert. It amazes me how quickly it has become the setting for great memories, the milieu for my friends, and the backdrop for my life.

This I Believe essay in the works?

Cumpleaños.

On Thursday, I finished my nineteenth year of life. 6,940 days/9,986,400 minutes/599,582,288 seconds since my birth.

And right now, as I type this post, I am  19 years, 3 days, 4 hours, 53 minutes, and 55 seconds of age.

The internet knows what's up.

Just so you know...

This is what I look like when I'm bored, slightly frustrated, and stuck in my office for three more hours.

And fooling with poladroid on my break.

I think I'm going to open the windows.

Hey, Make Up Your Mind.

I want to post something, but I don't feel like writing anything. So- this:

There are a few things I've forgotten to tell you...

Remember a while back when I was talking about how I wanted to get to 200 posts? That post about my basil happened to be 200. This is 202.

I bought a guitar for $30 at a yard sale last weekend. Or maybe the weekend before. I can't remember. Anyway, I've been practicing the guitar more lately and I started writing a song the other day. Hello, Open-Mic. Now I'll actually have two whole songs to play on the guitar.

P.S. I named it Ginsberg.

I've started a project involving way too many picture frames, gold and silver paint, and chalkboards. It'll be up in my living room once I'm finished, but for now, that explains any gold or silver on my hands when I see you (and getting on my clothes- argh). (And yes, I referenced this in my last poem.)

I've actually started/conceptualized a lot of crazy design projects. Most of them are only in my head, but you will see them once they are finished (via pictures if not in person).

It's vaguely late and my room is an awful mess.

Looking up. (II)

Gold and silver on my hands I peered through the lenses of my eyes

Low on the grass,

Book in the foreground and

A stretch of green blades, all glowing in clarity, just behind

In the periphery (above my lids) the sun breathed gold on my hair
There and then we were,
Lying on the ground, our heads
Touching, our words circling up again, and only while the stars stayed.

My basil sprouted. The whole world is a miracle.

10/6/09

Then when there were sunflowers in the garden
Green beans running up poles and a red plum tree in front of the house
When my hair was dark in the shade
And gleaming in the sun
When I had a swing in a blooming tree 

And when I had a brother, close, to push me on it

My own face used to smile at strangers and
My voice used to sing in supermarkets
But she folded in on herself and sank to the bottoms of my feet
Buried, like seeds, she is starting to grow
Up
To the sun of knowledge

I portend eloquence
I have hurriedly constructed the facade of confidence

But walking down a crowded alley

She turns

my lips

up

And runs a bow over my vocal cords

As I walk by the plums and green beans.

THINGS I HAVE LEARNED THIS YEAR:

(I found this in an old notebook I took to school with me.)
6/15/07
1. Playing the triangle is not for timid people.
2. You actually do need to study chemistry to get good grades.
3. Failing is not at all a joke.
4. Sometimes good people turn rotten; you have to leave them.
5. Sometimes bad people are really good; you just have to let them in.
6. Singing requires breathing.
7. Everyone eats mangoes differently.
8. It REALLY doesn't matter what other people think.
9. Having fun is easy. You just have to keep a smile pasted on all the time.
10. Boyfriends can be toxic.
11. Clinginess can get you somewhere.
12. People say things on the internet that they would never ever say in real life.
13. You don't have to love someone back.
14. True love is reciprocated.
15. Older brothers graduate. It's what they do.
16. The sunshine is good. Clouds are nice, but in the same way that it's nice to be depressed. Being happy is more splendiferousful.

(Some of the grammar sucks, and I'm a bit immature, but at least I had that much down when I was 16.)

Life, I love you.

All is groovy.

Tree Lamps

I am addicted to Moleskines, and yesterday I bought this little red book:

--with the intention of learning to draw, and to draw something new every day in it. I love doodling, and I've always been interested in art, but I'm not a particularly good artist. So, since I'm terribly bored most days this Spring, I decided to pick this up.

At Open-Mic, I drew a tree on the list while I waited for my turn. Later, sitting in the back, I opened my little red book and started drawing a lamp, which turned into this:

I like drawing trees. Also flowers. I like drawing inanimate, manufactured things like lamps and boxes and lightbulbs. The tree lamp was bound to happen. And it turned out cooler than I thought it would. Anyway, this is tree lamp the second:

Cody drew one, too:

And so did Scott:

Note the moths around the tree lamp. And the little bulbs. :)

P.S. We concluded yesterday that Scott is incapable of writing a bad song, and would therefore own us all were we to hold an improv open-mic night.

I love that nearly all the practice rooms are empty during Spring. At any time of day, you can walk down those stairs in the HFAC and find a Steinway grand waiting to be played.

(photo credit: The Piano, directed by Jane Campion)

Things Greta and I like

Soup in bread bowls

Pretty music

Fresh strawberries

Night walks

Cool air

Big trees
Twisty trees
Blooming trees
Uneven sidewalks
Musicals
People who quote books

Libraries

Dandilions

Slow Spring days

Bright nail polish

Irish movies

Looking up.

Today is the first of May.

It's been raining for days now and I

(hoping you will find something on your tongue to tell me)

am hearing you here, in my heart.

On the first night I spent in this room,

I opened the window wide

And looked out for a bright moon

The moon, luminescent and pure

(And I, disoriented and spent from the drive)

Squinted through the black silhouettes of leaves at me

The rain falls still, filling the potholes and seeping beneath the cement.

There are three big windows in my office, and I love it when the day is grey enough to open the blinds on all of them.

Happy Friday. :)

Hanging Out In the Sistine Chapel.

This is so neat. Thanks, Sam.

http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html

Broke my favorite sunglasses.

THEY GOT ME THE BIKE!

Whatever shall I name it?

:)

Bike. Biiiiike. BIIIIKE.

My parents might get me this bicycle.

I hope so.

I really hope so.

I really, really hope so.

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!

Revamp.

Friends, I am going to overhaul this site in a few days. I'm going to change the layout entirely and maybe even get a new url. I'll keep you updated, so be sure and change your subscriptions or bookmarks or however you're following this!

Emily

I would gladly pay you Tuesday...

That's the only quote I know about Tuesdays.

It's March 1st.

Once again, I am beginning the month with the resolution to actually post every day. The theme for this month is Strange(r). It should be fun, since I like posting about strange things and strangers already.

The first thing that pops into mind regarding those two? The time a hobo slapped me on the streets of Paris.

Fun stuff.

Look what I found in the cemetery!

It appears to be my headstone.

Today Dad and I went to the Provo Cemetery and found a lot of our relatives there. I took some pictures. Unfortunately, I did NOT take pictures of my hair the other day. :/

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!

It's Tuesday, but... it's Monday?

Eh. We had Monday schedule today, so I went to my lovely film class. Then I came home. Now I'm doing study guides. And stuff.

Lunes

Today I went to the temple.

And after that, it was all downhill on the interesting scale.

Then again, I wrote a great new lyric for a piece I've been fooling with. :)

Valentime's

I've got a love/hate relationship with Valentine's Day. It's a nice excuse to tell people you love/care about them or just that you think they're cool. I didn't really celebrate it conventionally today, though, since it's Sunday. Rather, today I taught my first lesson in Relief Society as an instructor, which was five minutes too short and a bit ill-prepared. Ah, well. I can do better.

After church, I slept for a while. Charné and I had every intention of walking to downtown Provo to explore housing, but we ended up sleeping forever. Later, I walked to Greta's and she and I walked to her grandparents' house while we shared our Valentine's adventures from the night before. Hers was definitely more interesting and seasonal than mine. :)

Later, I walked home and ran into a million people and their dates from my ward, all walking back from a Valentine's fireside. I talked with my cousin and friend on the way home, made it to ward prayer with Charné, and promptly knocked out on the couch when I got home. Until now.

Tomorrow, Charné and I are going to the temple. Other than that, I have no idea how I'm spending Monday.

Peace and blessings. :P

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. :)

Friday

I don't really have a lot to say today. Tonight I Skyped the fam and did stuff.

-Emily

I am doing poorly with this bloggage thing, eh?

Okay. Today I have an excuse. I was at a practice. Until one. That is all.

P.S. I cheated and changed the date on this.

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(post)

Pretend I wrote this yesterday.

I know, I know... I have a tendency to screw this up. BUT the good thing is that I blogged twice the day before yesterday, so it kind of counts. Right?

Anyway, I'm really busy today, so that's all for right now.

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. :)

Sunday, Domingo, Sonntag, Dimanche.

BLAM. Sunday in the four most influential languages on earth. Not bad, eh? Too bad I only speak/understand two of them, and one of the two very poorly. :/

Anyway...

It's been a good Sunday. I got to fast and pray for some pretty significant things right now and I felt good about them. Meetings at church were great, too. Tonight, I'm going to meet Greta's family, since they're visiting from Fallbrook. I'm pretty psyched.

I'm going to go get ready.

I'll pick this up later if I have anything more interesting to say.

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. :)

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I am posting at MIDNIGHT for today's post!

Yup.

Bicycle Hunting.

And it came to pass that the new bicycle was to be a green (or maybe blue) vintage Schwinn, according to the preference of Emily. And the bicycle would be named Cummings. Or maybe Henry. Or maybe Teasdale or Torjussen or... something else.

And the bicycle would be there before Spring was.

Time it was, and what a time it was.

Tonight I played at Acoustic Explosion and had so much fun. Music + close friends= the best nights of my life. Thank heaven I can find those two wherever I go.

Here's to old and new friends. Here's to home and to getting away. Here's to new songs surpassing the old ones. And here's to knowing who you are and what you want.

And finally, here's to holding on and letting go at the same time... which I'll have to manage very carefully.

P.S. I really want to go to the World Ecological Forum this summer.

P. P. S. This means I'm officially more of a geek than ever, doesn't it?

Day Two.

And it came to pass that it was a long day that started and ended with music and laughter.

Love,

Emily

Mes

This month I'm trying to get Madelyn to NaBloPoMo with me, since I failed in December. I figure if I do this with someone I'll be more committed and whatever.

This morning I went to work, where I sent a bunch of emails for some professors I know who are advancing to full professor. After work was French and Italian Cinema, which is one of my favorite classes this semester. We watched a film called "Rome: Open City" today. Basically, every day in film, I fall asleep for about fifteen minutes-ish and then wake up and pick up the story again. Today I fell asleep for a long time, though, and woke up to see the end, which was one of the coolest endings all semester. I'll have to re-watch it.

Anyway, after that I met up with Greta and we talked for a long time about life and such. Then I walked home and called my mom and argued with her for a while, even though I can't figure out the basis for my argument entirely(Don't ask, it's not really relevant). I got home and listened to Simon and Garfunkel for a while on Marissa's computer.

Later tonight, we're having FHE at our apartment and then an extremely talented friend of mine is coming over to practice. I'm playing the piano for him at a show he's doing in about two weeks. I'm psyched, to say the least. :)

Madelyn: this is your queue. Go write something.

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? :)

Hola!

It's been a while-ish, but here are some things I've been doing (in list form, as always):

1. Glorying in this awesome vintage bag my Grandma Nora gave me over Christmas break.

2. Writing letters to my brother Collin, who is serving a mission in the Dallas, TX area. :)

3. Yesterday I went ice skating with two of my friends at the Gallivan in Salt Lake. It's the cutest little rink and I think we all had a fairly good time, despite falling over on the ice a few times.

4. International Cinema-ing. I LOVE INTERNATIONAL CINEMA, and the new season kicked off on Friday by sh0wing the last season's most popular films: Psycho and Pan's Labyrinth. Some friends and I saw Psycho last night, which isn't very scary the second time around. Anyway, I'm really excited for the new season!

5. Starting my new job! I've already said how excited I am about this. I get to work with some of the coolest people on campus, in my opinion. :) I've already made two posters and I'm going to have many more opportunities to develop design-wise.

6. Starting classes, which are going well, now that I've got my schedule figured out. I'm especially excited for... pretty much all of them? Astronomy, French and Italian Cinema (no french/italian required, thank heavens) and Vocal Training! Also, my friend Greta and I are taking a jogging class together, which will be a great experience!

7. Looking through my sophomore year notebook. I wrote a bunch of really cool songs when I was a sophomore, and I am increasingly more proud of 15-year-old me as I dredge them up and start working with them again.

7. Planning my amazing Maeser show, which will either be at the end of this month or sometime in February. I'm trying to pick a day when there's a "lull," as my friend Greta put it. Yesterday I found a bunch of songs on iTunes that have my full name in them, which I think would be hilarious to play before the show starts.

8. Cooking/trying to cook. The other day I made fried rice, which was a great success. I've always been good at making that, though. I'm planning a little dinner party for next week for a reunion with some of the girls I know, and I'm making curry. THAT should be exciting. Mmmmm... curry. And today, I am making muffins. From a box, though. Doesn't really count.

9. Missing David Tennant as Doctor Who. REALLY, REALLY MISSING HIM. :/ (Even though the episode with the new guy hasn't aired yet.) (Or at least, I haven't seen it yet.)

10. Being myself. We'll see if I can keep that up...

Urgh.

So... I've pretty much royally screwed up the whole NaBloPoMo thing this month. It's not really a HUGE deal, since I did it pretty successfully this May and can therefore keep my participant sticker up. Better luck in 2010, I guess?

Anyway, Christmas was lovely, as I expected, and break has been going fairly well so far! :) I've gotten to see lots of old friends who I missed tremendously, and this next week I'll get to see more of them. Hopefully today I will start doing some recording with a friend of mine, but I'm mainly excited because I get to see him again!

In some weirder news, today I walked around our old house, which I lived in from age 5 until I left for school this past August. My family moved to a different neighborhood while I was away, so it's been kind of odd. Our new house already feels like home, however, and the old one just felt really... surreal. Everything looks smaller without our furniture, and it was also kind of like when you go back to your first grade classrooms and realize that everything was really, really little. Only I haven't gotten taller. The house just felt weirdly small anyway, and my whole life there kind of felt like an odd dream, even if that sounds super cliché. It also brought back the memory of moving in when I was about five years old, and I remembered picking my old room for Madelyn and I, because I thought it looked "pinker." Both rooms were white. :)

Another thing- my mom is making me these two really pretty skirts that I found a cool pattern for. I'm super psyched to wear them once they're done. I love clothes...

That's all for right now, I guess.

Christmas Eve...

This was most interesting and culturally enriching Christmas Eve I've had in a long time, if not ever. It starts with me getting up and eating cornflakes, and it ends with our yearly tradition of bread and cheese (Mary and Joseph style) on the living room floor. The interesting part comes in between these. :)

Yesterday the ward missionaries came over. One is from Tonga and the other is from Chicago. They were there to make a test call, since the Tongan elder is making his annual phone call from our house today. Anyway, they ended up staying at our house most of the day, playing ping-pong in the backyard and serenading us on the guitar and the ukulele. Our Tongan elder even played us a song he wrote for his girlfriend.

My family is really good friends with a Mexican family in our ward, and I didn't know this until last night, but it's a Mexican tradition to make tamales on Christmas Eve. After having their boys over the whole day to hang out with my little brother, they invited us over to learn to make tamales. We ended up making dozens and dozens of tamales with them and taking them home with us. We even got to speak a little Spanish. :)

Christmas Eve ended with the usual tradition. We read the Christmas story in the Bible and sang "Silent Night," complete with random harmonies everyone made up on the spot (this is normal at my house). We stayed up and talked a while, I wrapped my present for Madelyn, and then I went to sleep.

Bless the Card!

Today I am reading a cute story called The Romance of A Christmas Card. You should all pick it up, or read it on Google Books here, if you have the time. It's about a lady who designs a Christmas card that affects a bunch of people's lives for good. At the end of the book, all the main characters exclaim in a state of Christmassy content, "Bless the card!"

It reminds me of how, for my job, I get to design a Christmas card next year. When I told my friend Greta, the first thing that came to her mind was "Bless the card!" :P We both had to read this book earlier for our history class.

Anyway, Merry Christmas, and hopefully I'll have a more interesting post tomorrow!

And this is the last of the three!

I am finally home for Christmas and having a lovely time seeing all my family! My grandma had a Christmas party last night, which was really fun. My sister and I played Mele Kalikimaka with her on the ukulele while I harmonized. It was great to see a lot of my relatives and friends of the family. :)

So I am posting three times today. :P

Stuff.

Okay. I am about a full three days behind.

(continued in next post)

Still more...

In other news, yesterday I gave Sam a bag shaped like a taco for Christmas and he loves it, which made me really happy. :) Also, I Skyped Charné yesterday and told her about life since Tuesday, which was fun. I CAN'T WAIT TO GET HOME.

My Grandma Nora is having a Christmas party on Monday night! I can't wait to see her, since it's been such a long time. She's definitely one of the most prevalent influences in my life. :)

Anyway, for the party the family and everyone are all doing something musical. I think I'm going to arrange a piece and sing it or something. :)

ADKFHLSJ;AKSD

I never know what to title my posts. Today I am STILL in Provo and I don't come home until tomorrow morning. So I get to think of ways to use up my time. I already passed my cleaning check. I think now I'm going to finish Mansfield Park, since I started watching a decent version on Hulu yesterday night. I also found out that we DON'T have to take down our Christmas decorations, thank goodness! I like having Christmas up as long as possible. :P

This post is kind of for yesterday. I shall continue in the next possssssst...

Okay...

I tweaked the time on this post, because I don't feel like today is really over yet. Today I went to the Joshua James Christmas show with my friend Sam and then he came over and we made cookies, worked on our song that we're writing, acted goofy, and hung out until 1:30ish. :) It's been a nice end to the day.

Comments

MADELYN COMMENTED ON A ZILLION POSTS!!!!!

(I love you like a sistah, sistah.)

Hi.

I am in the library right now. I am going to go do my project. Talk to y'all laytah.

I think it's sad that now that I'm in college, I've created the label "stress. " It will probably appear on a lot of posts in the future. :(

It's been a good day.

If unproductive.

Today I got up and eventually went to campus and ate lunch at the Cannon Center with Charné and Marissa. Then I went to the actual campus and hung out with Greta for a long time, walked home, and am working on my project.

So I am going to do that...

Yup.

Peace and Blessings.

I forgot to post yesterday. AGAIN.

Okay, so yesterday I went to church and everything was really slushy, so my feet got all wet. In church, I played the organ, since I'm the ward organist. However, this was our last Sunday with our callings, so it was the LAST DAY of that calling. :(

Later I went home, researched random things on my computer, did some work, talked to my family, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera...

Oh! Something funny happened last night! One of my friends came over to my apartment because he wanted to hear my music, and afterward, he, Charné, Marissa, and I were talking. We told him about how we sometimes spy on people from our top-floor window and stuff. Anyway, he left later and Charné went to take the trash out. A while afterward, Marissa and I were looking out the window to see where she was when we noticed a group of people to the side. We were looking for Charné among them when we realized our friend was there, and he looked just as I wondered aloud if it was him!!!

Marissa and I went down behind the windowsill like little kids when suddenly we heard a snowball hit our window. We popped back up and he and another friend were throwing snowballs at us! We cracked up and made faces; I fell off the couch, I was laughing so hard. Charné came up again later and they were still throwing snowballs at us, so we opened a window and yelled at them a bit from it. Eventually we waved goodbye. :)

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.

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!

Last Day of Classes!

Today was the last day of the semester, as the title denotes. I went to all my classes and whatnot. Yep.

In more interesting news, today I went to the Sloan Speech Showcase with Greta, which was way fun, and later she and I and our friend Caitlin all went to Five Guys Burgers or something together. The burgers are HUGE, which is why all my fries ended up in my fridge. Anyway, those were the highlights of my day. :)

Blah

It's been a good day, kind of. Finals and final projects are eating me alive. I think I'm getting sick, too, and on top of all this, it's FRIGID outside. Augh.

Still, it's good to remember that I'm going home soon and that everything is going to work out all right. Anyway, I have to go make a PowerPoint and write some stuff for my classes tomorrow.

BLAM! I have this awesome job.

Today I got up and trained for a job I'm taking once winter semester starts. I'm going to hold two positions- the first is what's called the Fulton Secretary, which means I keep track of and organize applications and such for the Fulton Grants. The other is the actual TMA Assistant- I'll be designing cards, posters, etc. for the department throughout the year. I'm really excited to start and I think this will really develop my creativity, design-wise. :)

In other good news, I made a really great friend today, the snow is still here, and BYU's Got Talent is tomorrow!

SNOW!

It keeps snowing, and I love it! :) My friend and I were walking around campus today and it looks so different! This should be a great week!

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!

Hi.

Blah blah blah blah blah.

(post)

Sorry. :(

Technically...

It's the next day already. In fact, it's 12:51 tomorrow right now. Forgive me that my days end later than most do.

Anyway, today my bit of service didn't really happen. :( I'm pretty disappointed with myself. It's just been kind of a busy one.

ACTUALLY, I think I did do a kind of service today, but I don't think it's blog-worthy. Ask me if you want to know more, I guess.

I really need to sleep, since I'm doing SERIOUS service in the morning with Rural Housing Development. I'm so excited!

Piano=Service (in more cases than not)

Since I might be home later tonight (and I don't really have anything better to do, I've decided to post in the morning. Today, my act of service is accompanying one of my best friends for a musical number he is doing. It's "Abide With Me, 'Tis Eventide" and we arranged it ourselves over the past few days! I'm really excited to play for him and serve while doing something I'm good at. :)

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!

NaBloPoMo and This I Believe

Hey, everyone! I've decided to participate in NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) for the month of December (and CHRISTMAS!!!). It's my goal this month to do something specific and good for someone every day, so you'll be hearing about that a lot, I guess. In fact, that should continue after December. :) It just so happens that the theme for the month is "Mitzvah," which, according to Wikipedia, refers to 620 commandments in traditional Judaism. However, the word also means "an act of human kindness," which goes right along with what I hope to do.

Anyway, for my first post, I've decided to put up my most recent This I Believe essay. Enjoy!

Thicker Than Water

I have a personal mandate from the universe which is literally in my blood.

I learned this as a senior in high school, when I donated blood for the first time. I have O-Negative blood, which means I can donate to any other blood type. I'm what's called a universal donor.

We'd known about the blood drive for a few weeks. I was seventeen, so I could officially donate by then. The only thing holding me back was my own fear. It creeped me out that the nurse might dig around in my arm for a vein, or that I might pass out if I hadn't eaten enough. My dad, who is a giant at 6'4" and the last person you'd expect to freak out, faints when he gives blood.

I went anyway, of course, and missed my Spanish class fifth period less-than-grudgingly. Some friends and I walked over to the gym at our school and waited in line. I was terrified, to say the least. Waiting in the queue with my friends, I kept saying out loud how unafraid I was, as if it would help me feel better. Eventually I went into a booth where a lady pricked my finger and found out that I'm not anemic. Shortly after that, I was sitting in a chair with blood flowing out of my arm.

Despite my thin, deep veins, the nurse had found my vein without a hitch. The needle didn't hurt. I wasn't passing out. I was just talking to the nurse about vacations I'd taken, and suddenly I was drinking water and eating cookies before going back to class.

Donating blood, however, wasn't successful because I evaded pain or because I managed to stay conscious the entire time. Donating blood is simply a form of service, something I can to do keep someone else from dying, or worse, from the immeasurable grief of losing a loved one.

Just as I was afraid to open a vein for a dying patient, I believe that it's hard to find room in my schedule, my home, or my heart for serving other people. It can appear inconvenient, time-consuming, and downright frightening. Yet, in the long run, I believe that when I give up part of me for the sake of someone else, I am doing my part as a member of the human race.

I believe we're all universal donors of a different kind: we have the power to donate our time, our love, and ourselves in the service of another person. In our blood, which we share, we have an infinitely more unifying factor than inherited antigens or whatever it is that makes a blood type singular. We share our humanity. This brotherhood and sisterhood is our mandate from the universe to do everything we can for one another. I believe in giving my blood and my life to someone else, because every person's blood and life are equally important as my own. Every human bleeds red. There is no one on this earth who doesn't need to be loved. I believe our blood unites us. I believe in being a universal donor.

Thoughts

It's only 12:17 right now in Arizona, and nearly everyone is asleep.

I remember when I was eight years old and used to think that nine was late. I'd be up at night with my little light on, reading Harry Potter books and thinking I was so mature to be awake at ten o' clock. The house was dark and everyone else was already asleep.

My cousins' house is so quiet now. It makes me wonder if my mind determines lateness by how much things slow down. At school, it feels like nothing ever slows down.

Well, I'm heading back tomorrow. See you again in a few weeks, family. :)

Comments

Also, if you visit today, could you try and leave a comment on this or the next post? I need to know whether comments are fixed yet, since I've been having complaints about that!

Thanks so much! :)

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.

Minstrels on Campus

The other day, after our Progressing in Honors class, some friends and I were walking through the quad in front of the JFSB when we saw a small band, (consisting of a violin, a guitar, a mandolin, and a small harp) playing outside! We walked over to them and sang along while they played "Hallelujah," and it was all so nice and poetic.

There is not much else to say about this, but Greta thought I should blog about it, so I am. Plus it is a cute story. :)

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