Looking Back

Well it's the end of 2008. What a year. A lot's happened. And typically this would be the time when I would write a list of my favorite CDs that came out this year. The problem? I think I've listened to somewhere between one and three albums that were released in 2008. So that puts me in a tight spot. So what I'm going to do instead is write my top ten albums of all time. Now that's quite the feat for me. I have over 300 CDs. Choosing 10 is going to be a monster. But it should be done. Realize that this is subject to change at any given moment. And by the time I'm done it will probably be different haha. Oh well. Enjoy!

10. Weezer - Weezer (the Blue Album)
Now this CD is just a classic. I don't pull it out all that often but when I do it's just great. I enjoy every single song on it. And an album that so many people know and love has got to be great. For extra credit download the album Jay-zeezer. You won't be disappointed. I love it.

9. Fall Out Boy - Take This To Your Grave
I don't care whoever says whatever about Fall Out Boy. This is a solid pop punk record. Yeah they seem to have slipped and lost their touch but I really like this music.

8. Motion City Soundtrack - Commit This To Memory
Motion City Soundtrack is an amazing band. They have the same beginnings as Fall Out Boy, from the same place around the same time. But the incorporation of a moog is amazing. In all honesty I'm not sure what to write about this album. It's just good. Shut up.

7. Ben Folds - Rockin' The Suburbs
Ben Folds is an amazing man. He has a solid control of that friggin piano. His lyrics are thoughtful, music can be light or depressing, and he covers a wide variety of themes. Sure he can be a bit weird, and his mouth can be a little iffy for those sensitive to language, but The Luckiest is the single greatest love song that Conor Oberst hasn't written.

6. Straylight Run - The Needles The Space
I'm actually listening to this CD right now. The first Straylight Run record was a very straightforward emoish rock blurb (albeit a good one) and this time they had such a huge departure they might as well have been a different band. This CD has a lot of indie elements and includes just about every instrument you've heard of and some you haven't. It took a while to get used to it but now that I have I strongly recommend.

5. Rascal Flatts - Melt
Alright now that you're all done laughing and moving on past the CD, I have to say that it's solid so you can all shut up. Mayberry is a great song. Rascal Flatts have really done a great job of merging the incredibly iffy country genre with some poppish rocky kind of stuff. I don't listen to this CD much but it plays me like a harp every time I do.

4. Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous
Go buy this CD right now. Seriously. Sure it has a girl singing but that's alright. She's dang good (you know the girl that sings in The Postal Service songs? Yeah this is her) and this band knows how to play. The lyrics are more like poetry and it's sung to some sweet acoustic and electric guitars with some awesome synths. Like I said. Go buy it. It's bright even when dealing with morose topics and is a great CD to play in the mornings.

3. Relient K - Mmhmm
Seriously do I have to explain? Great guys with great music. Sure three guitars is a little weird but they do it very well (unlike, say, Hawthorne Heights). This album is upbeat, quick, and even has a friggin banjo. Do I have to say any more? Matt Thiesen's voice is incredible and the four minute songs seem over too quickly.

2. Ace Enders and a Million Different People - The Secret War
The first time I heard this album I literally got chills. Sure it's only an eight track EP but it's solid as a rock. It works together as an album and I enjoy every track. When I first got the CD it was the only thing I listened to for two or three weeks straight. Yeah. It's that good. When I remembered this CD I started playing it just now haha. Ace is a musical genius with a great voice and his music is refreshingly slightly different from all that's out there. He definitely does his own thing and it definitely shows. I will burn you this CD. And I will do it with no regrets because he never sold it. It was just up for download haha. Anyway. This is a must have. Seriously. Get it. Any way you can.

1. Brand New - Deja Entendu
This CD is absolutely amazing. I love every song and it's never let me down. It's heavy on emotion through the lyrics and music without being pretentious or super emo. I can listen to it no matter what time of the day or what I'm thinking or feeling and it will have something that fits. It also played a big part of my life during college and before my mission. And I know someone who would literally not be alive if this album hadn't been made. So emotional ties plus amazing music equals great album.

Anyway these are my opinions that, like I said, are subject to change by the minute. What about any of you? Chandrew is probably the only other person who would do it and even then I think it's too big of a task for him haha. He would die from indicision. Anyway. This was great. I needed that. Hope all of you are having a great day.

And I'm still listening to Ace. Seriously go get it.

Millstone

I made this bed now I can't fall asleep in it
Take me out tonight
This ship of fools I'm on will sink
A millstone around my neck
Be my breath
There's nothing I wouldn't give

Intelligence

I just saw a little smudge on my computer and spent a good 15 seconds trying to wipe and scrape it off until I realized that it was part of my wallpaper.

You can see why I go to college.

Update soon.

Listen to: Rascal Flatts - Mayberry
Ben Folds - Landed
Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous

Prologue

Well the holidays are almost over. Actually they're not. Christmas is over though. And it was...pretty good. Nothing spectacular happened, nothing groundbreaking, but it was a very nice day. I fell asleep at about 2AM Christmas eve after just kind of hanging out on the computer and was rudely awakened by my sister with the words "Jameson wake up it's six!" Not the best way to start the day haha. But it was alright. We went and woke the parents and opened the presents and I came away with a pretty sweet year. Here's the detailsish:
-120 gig iPod classic (sweet! My first one)
-Two books (The Five People You Meet In Heaven and The Princess Bride, I'm super excited)
-Candy naturally
-Hoodie
-Shirts
-A Blanket from Vic
-A bunch of little things like memory cards, a backscratcher, body wash, etc
So I'm pretty pleased. Now I am not some materialistic person. I know the purpose of Christmas and my focus wasn't on presents. But they're fun to talk about. And have.

So I went over to Tommy's house later and got to talk to him for about five minutes and it was sweet. He's on his mission and Carly and I swung by to see his family and say hi. Not sure if that's legit. But it happened. Good kid. Doing pretty well.

Later I watched a bit of The Office and we had an amazing turkey dinner and had a bit of company over and then I went and watched August Rush at Carly's house. Oh. my. That movie is amazing. It's probably in my top 10 list now. And I fell asleep for what I thought was like 15 minutes but then I watched it again yesterday with Nik and it was like 5. So not bad at all. I was tired guys. Four hours of sleep doesn't cut it haha.

Well that was my day. I've also officially quit work. Yesterday was my last day. And it feels so good haha. I get to sleep in now.

To do list: Find a coat for Utah, Buy sweet shoelaces for my converse, ride the ferry with Carly, cash my check, find out what I need to download to put my DVDs on my iPod (suggestions?)

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas! Keep a smile. Just because the holidays are over doesn't mean you should be sad. Life is still good.

It's 9:00am and still pretty dark outside. Crazy.

Hearts.

Ska speaks

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
This Time Of Year

The bells, the bows, the flashing lights,
the mistletoes and the 'Silent Nights'
It's all for show, but that's all right.
That's not why I love this time of year.

This time of year,
It gets me, and never lets me
Act like I don't care.
This time of year,
Is my favorite time of year,
'Cause all of us are here together.

The stores are packed
With stuff for us to by.
The shelves are stacked
A mile high
But let's get back
To what I love about this time of year.

It gets me, and never lets me
Act like I don't care.
This time of year,
Is my favorite time of year
'Cause all of us are here together.

There's crap - it's true --
What can you do?
It's simply spending it with you
That keeps me looking forward to
Lookin' forward to this time of year

It gets me, and never lets me
Act like I don't care.
This time of year,
Is my favorite time of year
'Cause all of us are here together.

Comments

My sister just sneezed in the other room and muttered in a disturbed voice, "That's disgusting."

My day is made.

Influences

Well Chandrew asked a bit ago about the most influential song in my life. And that's something that I've never thought of but has been on my mind since he brought it up. And I can't say that I can narrow it down to just one song. So here are a couple of the most influential songs in my life...and just like him, note that these may or may not be my favorites. They just changed my outlook so it would never be the same.

1. Eve 6 - Inside Out - S/T
Well I stumbled on this song in 6th grade or so at my friend's house and fell in love with it. This song changed my outlook and really opened up music for me in general. Before, like some kids, I wasn't that big into music. I liked it, but listened to what was on Radio Disney or something or other I can't remember. When I heard an actual rock song by Eve 6, I was forever changed and have loved electric guitars ever since.

2. Seal - Kiss From A Rose - S/T
I still adore this song. I know this song was on the radio when I was fairly young and I thought it was funny. But in 9th grade when I was at a friend's home he had this song playing and it brought a whole new spectrum of music into my world. Before this moment I had been focused on the rock vein inspired by Eve 6. But after I burned this song from his library my horizons were broadened and now I still listen to music like Seal and Peter Gabriel.

3. Mest - What's the Dillio? - Wasting Time
The Ataris - I Remember You - N/A
The tie between the Ataris' cover of Skid Row and Mest is because of the time period. I was in high school and my friend would drive me to work every day and play Brand New, Mest, The Ataris, etc all the time. And it opened up my mind to punk rock, eventually leading me to the more indie style, and to this day those are both of my favorite genres.

4. Bright Eyes - First Day of My Life - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
There really can't be any explanation given for this song. But it will always be dear to me.

And there you have it. I'm sure I'm missing some, but those are milestones in my music lifetime. My music tastes are now very eclectic and my library includes everything from straight up metal to classical. Labels and genres suck.

Well, a milestone has happened. You have now just read the first post typed on my laptop! I haven't even had to get up today haha. Anyway I hope you're all doing well. And I'm going to continue my attempt to put all of my music onto my laptop. It's going to take a very very long time. Have a great day everyone...hope it doesn't snow me into work. That would suck. We're supposed to get 6-9 inches today.

Oh and I might be so bold as to recommend this activity. It provoked a lot of thought. Good times down memory lane. That road is unfortunately very dusty and grey, but hey. Any trip is good.

Love.

Boredom

Google search hits that yielded no results:

-Throwing tv's in lava
-Sacrificing bass guitars
-Dropping pennies on heads
-Dropping couches off of a cliff
-How to escape from a velociraptor
-Pterodactyl vs velociraptor
-Spearfighting babies

Search hits that I thought would be empty but actually came up with things:

-Fire extinguisher battles - 10 hits
-Lighting guitars on fire - 18 hits
-Flying babies - 42,000 hits
-Melting pennies - 574 hits (my friend actually taught me how to do this on a desk)
-Flaming golf clubs - 5 hits
-Raptor bombs - 8 hits. Apparently these are real things
-Children driving cars - 109 hits
-Babies driving cars - 21 hits

Highs and lows

So I had an amazing day yesterday. It was awesome. Carly came and helped put up our Christmas lights on my house...and that is no small feat haha. But good times. Afterwards we gathered up Nik and Zerr and went out to Seattle to go to a vegetarian Thai restaurant which was actually fairly good. It didn't floor me but I enjoyed it. Tofu is not something I can eat a lot of but otherwise was very flavorful. Afterwards we went to the mall for a bit and checked out Barnes and Noble which just made me realize how much I hate not having all the money I want. Man, if there are any stores that make me sad it's a CD store and a book store. Carly described it accurately: "it's like heaven...but I don't have the money to buy anything. So it's really like...hell..." haha. Well we watched a couple movies that night and then I came home...and the depression set in. I don't know why it happens. Just very random times. But I got home and got super depressed last night. I felt lonely and down, and I'm the kind of person that, when in that mood, seeks out things that are like the mood I'm in. That didn't really make sense. Example. I was listening to some Jason Mraz before when I was on my comp and then started feeling that way and had to turn it off because it was upbeat. I put on some Brand New album demos to depress me a little more. I'm weird that way I guess.

Well the mood carried over to today. I woke up sad, wrote a letter sad, and played guitar depressed. I went to church and people could tell that I wasn't myself. It's not like I can hide it. Anyway later on, just being around my friends for a while took it's toll and I turned myself around so I could have a great night.

I'm so confused as to why this happens. I find it a little immature...but I don't know how to fix it. I think it just started with something very simple. I wanted to cuddle last night and Vic was obviously not around. And that kind of just worked in me little by little and I didn't notice it being around people. But once I was alone it started to hit me and I overreact. I start to think that I'm just the kid that people keep around because they'd feel bad not to, and how proof of this is that I'm always the one to call people and hardly ever get calls to hang out from others, and so it goes. And I know it's irrational. But I don't know how to fix it. I'm not a depressed person, this just happens sometimes. Interesting.

Normally you wouldn't be reading this. This isn't something I would usually share with anyone. But because this is the only place to put this right now you're privy to my thoughts. Take with it what you will. But don't pity me for it. I'm still me. Pity is a terrible thing to have.

And I'm normal now. I don't know if you caught that or not.

E11

The Early November
Long Talks

All we know is change
In friends, faces, and names
That's why I'm falling apart and dangerous
I never know where to turn
I mean for all that I know
We're all on our own
We're leaning until we fall

But somebody's got to fall

And we're jumping to know the truth
But we're lying to say to you (Now we've got it)
We're so far from the words tonight
That could then break the wall we hide (Now we've got it)

I love to watch some people read
Just knowing you're learning everything (there is to know about life)
That's why I'm falling apart and dangerous
I never know where to turn
I mean for all that I know
We're all on our own
We're leaning until we fall

But somebody's got to fall

And you're jumping to know the truth
But we're lying to say to you (Now we've got it)
We're so far from the words tonight
That could then break the wall we hide (Now we've got it)

Anyway
Anyway

I want it anyway you know it
I want it anyway you know it

And we're jumping to know the truth
But we're lying to say to you (Now we've got it)
We're so far from the words tonight
That could then break the wall we hide (Now we've got it)

Insomnia

I will now be able to answer the question "what do you think is the most irritating thing ever?" Well, not that I've ever been asked that question, but it never hurts to be prepared. In case nobody knew, the answer is insomnia. Now I like staying up late. But when my body hates me and wakes me up at 8 or 9 every morning I start to have some issues with sleeping. Last night I got home at 12:30 and hopped on my computer for a bit to browse around. Then, deciding that 1:30 was a good time to go to sleep I went upstairs. And my brain decided to say "hey! I'm still here!" and worked at about 80 thoughts a second. After laying in bed for a half hour I decided to come back downstairs. Now I work today. 2:00-11:00pm. I would have been less irritated had I not worked today because this gives me no chance to take a nap. I promise you I will be dead for work, come home, and just collapse. Either that or I'll be semi-conscious during work and then come home and start the vicious cycle from the top. I tried everything to get to sleep last night. Well, not everything. I read scriptures, patriarchal blessing, listened to soft classical music, the works. And finally somewhere between 3 and 3:30am my brain decided that it was a good time to sleep. And of course, my mom being the way she is has company over at 8:00am and wakes me up with their laughing. And now I want to die. My brain is only half working, but once I wake up I can't go back to sleep for a while. Usually until the afternoon. So I'm listening to Billy Talent to try and kick start some sort of thought process. Not working. Hope you all have a great day, because mine is going to suuuuck.

Ramblenet

Thoughts on this past week:

Well my mood on Thanksgiving passed. People showed up and I spent some time with cousins and I was better. Thanksgiving was great. I was a little sad at first because I wasn't full to the brim but then we ate pie and I had too much and I didn't feel well for about an hour so I think I filled my Thanksgiving quota haha. The berry was just too good I couldn't resist. Anyway it was nice to have all of the family there and to see them all. It's been too long. Such great people. Of course by all the family I refer to one family of cousins, my brother, sister, grandma, and another cousin in the army who's stationed out here in Seattle somewhere.

It was great to have my bro and sis home for a while. It was the first time I had seen them since before my mission so it was awesome to finally say hi and see them. They haven't changed much in all honesty. Not that that's a bad thing. And I don't really have anything else to say about that. So...moving on.

I go to school in a month! I'm so excited! I'm going to miss a couple people here, but I get to move out and be in school again. It's so cool. I like living on my own. I mean, I love my family. But being out on my own is just awesome.

Black Friday was pretty crazy. I worked in the furniture section from 2:30pm-11pm. Now, I'm glad it wasn't the toys...that must have been pretty insane. But the furniture section is sometimes just as bad because almost all of our furniture is stored in the backroom. A lot of the stuff out on the floor is only on display. So I got a lot of people asking "do you have x in y color?" And I'd have to check and go to the backroom to get it. But it wasn't too bad. I bought The Office season 3 for 14 dollars. Sweet.

Um, and that's all I have to say. Nothing exciting. Just a couple thoughts. Mainly I just wanted to tell you not to still think that I was a weird emo kid for Thanksgiving. I was only for a little bit. So don't worry.

Anyway I'm out. Maybe later today or tomorrow I will tell you about my awesome day yesterday where Carly and I bought art! We're still excited about it haha. And today I'm going shopping for Vic's Christmas present. Well have a great day!

Brand New

Brand New - The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot

If it makes you less sad, I will die by your hand.
I hope you find out what you want. I already know what I am.
And if it makes you less sad, we'll start talking again.
And you can tell me how vile I already know that I am.
I'll grow old and start acting my age.
I'll be a brand new day in a life that you hate.
A crown of gold. A heart that's harder than stone.
And it hurts a whole lot, but it's missed when it's gone.

Call me a safe bet. I'm betting I'm not.
I'm glad that you can forgive.
I'm only hoping as time goes, you can forget.

If it makes you less sad, I'll move out of the state.
You can keep to yourself. I'll keep out of your way.
And if it makes you less sad, I'll take your pictures all down.
Every picture you paint, I will paint myself out.
It's cold as a tomb, and it's dark in your room,
when I sneak to your bed to pour salt in your wounds.
So call it quits or get a grip.
Say you wanted a solution. You just wanted to be missed.

Call me a safe bet. I'm betting I'm not.
I'm glad that you can forgive.
I'm only hoping as time goes, you can forget...



Honest to goodness truth? I'm still confused. After all this time.

Oddities

So it's Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving! I love Thanksgiving. Food, family, friends. It's all great. It's 3PM right now and it's just my family and grandma here right now...I hear we have a lot of people coming in a little bit. And it will be great. I'm watching What's Up Doc and looking around on the computer. Nothing exciting. For now.

The real reason I'm writing is because I'm in one of the oddest moods right now. I want to be alone. Now that's not inherently weird for me; it happens a lot. But it's sad because it's a holiday. Thanksgiving no less! The only worse day would be Christmas. But I'm in this mood. A few people are playing games right now. They invited me and I didn't want to. But here's another thing. I want to talk to people. But not...people...here which is weird. I've talked a bit to Chandrew, Carly, and Zerr. But the thing is, again, holiday. Nobody really wants to text a friend on a holiday. So I'm just kind of stuck. And I don't know how to get rid of it. I'm not in a bad mood or anything. I just feel like a hobo haha. Maybe if I go around people it will go away. Not sure. We'll have to see I guess.

I'm also tired. What a way to waste a holiday. Sit on a couch alone, watch TV and sleep.

Reminds me of my mission.

But without the TV.

Nerdy nostalgia

Here's where you're going to catch a glimpse of just how nerdy I am. We have family coming in for Thanksgiving so I'm upstairs cleaning my room and everything to make it presentable. You know the drill, picking up what's on the floor and actually putting it in drawers or on hangers. Well I was going through stuff that I had before my mission and I found a big box of...Magic cards. It was awesome. I spent like twenty minutes going through them and thinking about how cool that used to be. Then I put them all back in the box to give to my mom to take to the DI or whatever it is she does with things that I don't want anymore. It was a weird feeling. I had Third Eye Blind going at the time and that made it even more surreal haha. But yeah just thought I'd share that intimate moment of my nerd life with you all. Take what you will from it.

And I totally kept a deck just because.

Playlist

Well I've gone ahead and added the little music dealy on the left. I'm sure that if you're reading this you probably already know that by now haha. Well I'm not sure what to think of it right now. Aesthetically it's a little unpleasing to the eye. It's split down the middle and the color is a little clashing with the background. Of course, I can always just change the layout and that might not be a problem at all anymore. I was thinking about getting a new layout anyway. But that's that. There it is. Twenty songs of artists and bands that I really enjoy. Of course, they may not be the best songs, or even my favorite ones, but I'm pleased with the overall outcome. Go ahead and play with it and let me know what you think. First impressions, later impressions, if you hate the music, whatever. I'm open to suggestions.

On a completely unrelated note, I'm gonna get, if not sappy...then a word I can't think of at this point in time. I have friends here now haha. Well, that statement is a little misleading. I've always had friends here. But I now have a friend I can actually talk to about things. Guys are great, but guy to guy talking about deep stuff can only happen with some special guys. That sounded creepy. But it's the truth. I wouldn't think twice about sharing most of my life with Chandrew because he's not judgemental at all. And other stuff I can't describe right now because I feel dumb. But anyway. I finally found a girl who's just a friend that I can talk to and that's a pretty frickin good feeling. Maybe I'm kind of girly like that but every now and then it's good to just talk to someone. And she's willing to do that. And it's pleasant and, because we both have significant others, there are no hormones involved. That's something that I've missed for about two years. But it's awesome. So there's your random blurb for the day. Take what you will from it.

I just overheard my 16 year old sister talking on the phone about this guy she likes and how he's not marriage material. My day is officially made.

Well I hope you're all having a great day. I'm having a super awkward first conversation with Vic's brother. Awesome. I'ma go die now. Peace.

Memories

So I logged on to facebook today as I usually do and I noticed that one of my friends from my mission had put up a video slideshow of about six minutes devoted to the OCM (Ohio Cleveland Mission). I decided to watch it cause hey, why not? And it honestly just took me back. Now I'm terrible at putting my feelings into words and so this is probably going to be very disoriented. But it was a really interesting feeling. Now there is a lot of crap that happens when you're on a mission. A lot of people think that a mission is just great: you knock doors, teach lessons, baptize people. Yeah well it isn't like that. At all. Well, I guess I can't say at all but it wasn't like that for me. My mission was rough. There was a lot of crap that happened to me and I can honestly look back and say that from this point in time it looks like I really didn't do much good in Ohio. I worked my butt off and got a lot of crap for it. I honestly feel like my mission was more for my benefit than the benefit of anyone else. I got a lot more out of it than other people.

I guess to digress I have had some people tell me of good that I did do that I wasn't aware of at the time. Most of these insights happened in the last three weeks of my mission honestly. I think that strengthened my testimony more than anything about the effect of a good example, of always just doing what you know you should be whether or not you're seeing any results from it. For example, I made a few really good friends in the mission that weren't missionaries. And I remember one, who's almost 50 years old, is one of the coolest people ever. I've talked to him a few times since I've been home. But when I got back to Cleveland I was over at his house at least once a week and talked to him more than that. We went over to eat, to help him with yard work and house work, to go golfing, whatever. And when I was just about to go home he told me that if it wasn't for those small little things he would have gone inactive. It blew me away. I couldn't believe that I had really made a difference because from my point of view I got to take away a couple of hours of tracting to hang out with a friend and move some rocks or whatever. It was amazing.

So it's not like this is a wo is me post. In fact, it's quite the opposite. I was getting to a point before I started rambling. My mission was rough. I was depressed for a lot of it. And hard or rough experiences are always more fun to talk about than mundane ones or whatever. So I've focused on a lot of the bad things that happened. The crazy people or the hourse of ineffective work or what have you. And then I saw that slideshow and I remembered a whole different side of it. Just the joy. Not necessarily the joy of baptizing or whatever, though there is that. But just the joy of being a missionary and the little things that make it fun. Sneaking into your apartment at night to see if you can catch the cockroach that's been living there. Telling jokes to lighten a day. Doing stupid things at 11:30 pm when you should be sleeping. Whatever. Just the fun there was. There's an odd innocence that comes over missionaries that I really believe that only they can understand. Most don't think about it. I definitely didn't until just now. But just being a missionary was such an excellent experience. I wouldn't trade those two years for anything. I knew that I would never be able to call my mission the best two years of my life because of all the crap I went through. I still can't say it was. But it was amazing. And it was so worth it. Every hard time I had has improved my life in some way or another. Funny how it works sometimes.

Like I said, there really isn't any coherant thought process behind this. I've just been writing the feelings and impressions that I've had. It only works sometimes. But I'm not embarrassed by it. I really wish there was a good way to close this. My mind has just kind of gone blank and I don't know what else to say. Conclusions are always the worst. But if there's anything I know now that I didn't before is that it's all about love. Nothing matters until you love. That's what it boils down to. Pushing and scolding are completely ineffective. Loving and leading are the best combination.

So internet hating is really lame haha. Oh man. Only Chandrew knows but it's hilarious to me.

And any more comments about the music deal are welcome.

Spitting sounds

So I know a couple people that have these little music things on their blog sites. You know the kind, has a dozen songs or so and it plays and you can pause it and change tracks and whatever. So I've been thinking whether or not to get one of those. I mean...music is the shiznit. But I don't know if it would get annoying or whatever. If I would get annoyed with it. Or anyone else. So...thoughts? Ultimately it's going to be my decision obviously but I was just wondering if anyone had anything to say about it. Let me know.

Sorry. Nothing spectacular. My head is a box full of nothing.

And that's the way I like it.

Everybody look what's going down

Well I went to the OneRepublic concert last night. And I really enjoyed myself. I got picked up at 4:30 which seemed really early but it wasn't too bad. We went to pick up a friend at Target and I buckled...I saw season one of Arrested Development for 15 bucks and had to pick it up. Got lost in Seattle, the whole deal. Then we finally got there about 6:15 or so. It was at a theatre called the Paramount. Now, this was the first time I have ever been to a concert where there have been seats. And that was a definite drawback. But it was actually alright. Not too bad of a setup at all. We head over, there's a small merch table where my friend bought a 20 dollar shirt. Other people were buying shirts as well...but they did the unthinkable. They bought the shirt then put it on. So not scene. I also noticed that these were ver un-concert like people. That was my first impression. These people do not frequent the rock venues. They're wearing khaki. Flip flops. They're old asian women. Preppy guys and girls. It was a really kind of awkward little bit where I was just looking around...these people would die at a Reggie and the Full Effect concert. Anyway. Doors open, in we go.

Now we're seated on the ground level, but a fair ways back. Row EE. Not terrible, I could see the stage very well, but it wasn't the best. The theatre is pretty empty until about 6:55 when people started coming in. And they kept coming in late. Now that's awesome at a rock club. But when there are seats, you gotta be there on time man. Not only do you piss off the people in your row because they have to stand up to let you in, but everyone behind gets to watch you as well. Awesome. Anyway. A little more to set the stage. We're in Seattle. Now SLC has a good reputation for putting on great, energetic shows. Seattle is kind of the opposite. We're all indie here and nobody really moves during a lot of concerts. Just kind of the checkin the band out, nodding my head kind of stuff. It's also so much worse in a theatre. And when the crowd members aren't frequent fliers in the concert world. So I feel kind of sorry for the bands when they tried to get us all riled up. Dissappointing for them.

The Hush Sound opened first and it was the first time I've ever seen them. They were awesome. They sounded just as good as they do on their albums. They played songs off of their new album as well as Like Vines. And it was just a good show overall. And the girl who sings and plays piano is hot and that never hurts haha. But anyway. They put on a very polished show. I was very impressed and recommend them. It must be so much better in a venue.

Next was The Spill Canvas. Great band. They had a little bit of trouble...I think. Maybe he just sang too softly for the mic to pick up sometimes. But they were energetic and engaging. And even busted out into a bit of Carry On My Wayward Son. Good times...the only thing that was a little sketchy is when the guy said "I'm not trying to be immature here..." and then said that the song was a great song to have sex to. Now, is that tacky? To recommend your own song? Not sure. Kind of a grey area. But it was pretty funny.

Then there was another intermission...and unlike the others, this did not last for 15 minutes. The sound guys spent about ten minutes setting up lamps and a piano and then the stage was empty. The setup lasted for a whopping 45 minutes...with an empty stage for 35 of them. Kind of sad. I'm not sure what they were doing, but oh well I guess. And then the show started. Now, I have no idea what OneRepublic sounds like in the studio. I've only heard two songs, and only once or twice. But I was very impressed. The singer's voice reminded me of Justin Timberlake mixed with Jason Mraz (which is a good thing) and the music was a cross of The Fray and Matchbox 20. I liked it. Not enough to go out and buy the album. But I really enjoyed it. Highlights? A freaking spanish guitar solo for two or three minutes. It was seriously some of the best I've ever heard, that guy's got skillz. They covered Crazy by Gnarls Barkley, some Bette Midler song, and did an awesome job covering For What It's Worth by Buffalo Springfield. Great song. Anyway, it was a very big sound and extremely musical and talented. I highly enjoyed the show. I guess the only gripe I have is that they're a "singles" band. I guarantee you that at least 75% of the people there had no idea who they were, they just knew the two singles. And I had another problem. The girl sitting two seats down from me and her friend were incredibly annoying. Screamed the whole set of OneRepublic. And I'm not talking high pitched girl squeals. I'm talking throaty yells. I hope they got hit by a bus yesterday. The world would be a better place.

And we didn't get shanked in Seattle.

Well we got home late last night and I had to wake up at 4:45 this morning to get to work. I'm exhausted. But it was so worth it.

Now I don't expect that this thrilled you. I just wanted to write down my thoughts of the evening. And since when am I writing this for you anyway? Jerks...

just joking brah.

Uninteresting

Well, I haven't written anything in almost a week. That may not seem like much to you, but ever since I've had this and even in the blog I had before I think a week was the longest I ever went without writing something. I figured it's about time to throw something in here. The problem, however, lies in the fact that my life is completely stagnant. I'm not progressing anywhere. I'm living at home, have a normal part-time job, and on my off time I hang out with one of two friends or play guitar. And that sums up my life. Not interesting in the slightest. And I feel the need to make this interesting for the two people that actually read it. I'm not certain why. I think this is also the same reason I've only written in my journal once since I've been home. I wrote every day for the last three transfers. I was pretty proud of myself. Then I got home and things came to a standstill. What am I going to write? I feel kind of sorry for future generations...they're going to think that I was the most boring sap on the planet. Of course, all of my journal entries were the same anyway...woke up, taught ___ about ___, maybe a funny or interesting experience. That was it. Of course interview days were different. But that was my standard day. What really goes in a journal? What you do? I'm not one to throw in my sins and faults in a journal. I don't think that's a good idea. So...what goes there? Any thoughts? Ideas? I'm really at a loss.

Sorry this is so incredibly uninteresting.

Wow I just wrote about writing in journals. If you can get any more pathetic than that I will give you mad props.

Truth

Sometimes, when we lose ourselves in fear and despair, in routine and constancy, in hopelessness and tragedy...there are Bavarian sugar cookies. And, fortunately, when there aren't any cookies we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin, or a kind and loving gesture, or a subtle encouragement, or a loving embrace, or an offer of comfort. Not to mention hospital gurneys, and nose plugs, and uneaten Danish, and soft spoken secrets, and Fender Stratocasters, and maybe the occasional piece of fiction. And we must remember that all the things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties which we assume only accesorize our days, are in fact here for a much larger and nobler cause.

They are here to save our lives.

I know the idea seems strange. But I also know that it just so happens to be true. And so it was...a wristwatch saved Harold Crick.
-Kay Eiffel

Jameson 101

I usually dislike these dealys. But I'm bored today. I have time. And there's not much else to do other than watch House of Wax. Um...yeah I'll take this. Don't expect a lot of these don't worry.

1. I'm 21 years old
2. I wish I was about two inches shorter
3. I've moved all over the place. Sammamish, WA is my current home.
4. I wish I wouldn't have to move to Utah to go to school
5. Sometimes I get antisocial and a lot of the time I'd rather be alone than with people
6. The only thing is, I need to have friends to hang out with around. I need that option because I can't be alone too much.
7. I get distracted incredibly easily.
8. I think too much
9. I have a hard time getting bored. I don't even have to be entertained...in all honesty sitting on a couch sometimes is just fine with me.
10. My sister is one of my best friends.
11. I would rather be barefoot most of the time but unfortunately my feet get cold easily.
12. I hate wearing just socks. If I have socks on I strongly prefer shoes as well.
13. Music is one of my biggest loves and inspirations. I love all sorts of music from pop to rap but punk rock is my favorite.
14. I can get pretty moody sometimes.
15. I hate people knowing how I feel most of the time. I'd prefer to hide it.
16. I feel responsible to cheer people up
17. I absolutely love playing guitar.
18. I lack confidence in my appearance and abilities in general.
19. I like stupid movies
20. I love my hair and like to take good care of it. Sometimes I wish it was longer.
21. I've recently started to love wearing hats and beanies.
22. I'm most comfortable when I'm in jeans and a tshirt.
23. One of my dreams is to be in a rock band haha
24. I hate the cold. Absolutely hate it.
25. Sunny and 75 is absolutely perfect.
26. I love the lake but I'm not the biggest fan of swimming. I love just going down and hanging out on the dock in the sun.
27. Wakeboarding is friggin amazing.
28. I used to skateboard but stopped when I almost broke my leg. At least it felt like it. Bad crash. I still think it's the coolest thing ever.
29. I'm really lazy
30. I like having things neat and clean, but not too neat. Unfortunately, like I said, I'm lazy.
31. I generally don't care about football at all.
32. I'm a social sports watcher. I will never turn on a game when I'm hanging out by myself, and I'll never go to a game alone. But if I'm with people who love sports or whatever and turn it on, I'll enjoy watching it just because I'm with them.
33. I love candy. I eat it all the time.
34. Same as above but with chips.
35. I hate anything that has to do with needles. I even hate watching it on tv.
36. Lots of blood makes me nauseated.
37. I have only had 2 girlfriends.
38. I'm super nervous to meet the family.
39. I like cooking and wish that I knew how to cook more meals
40. Photography is amazing. I also wish I was better at this
41. I'm boring. I'm struggling to come up with 101 things about me haha.
42. I can stay up late and wake up early. I'm not sure if I'm a morning or night person.
43. I think eating out is one of the greatest things you can do to have a great conversation
44. I love going to concerts. I would be at one every weekend if I had the money.
45. I get the feeling that I forget things a lot
46. I wish I had a stronger chin. But what can you do?
47. I had jaw surgery after 8th grade and still haven't regained all of the feeling between my chin and lower lip. Luckily my lip is fine and I can feel every kiss.
48. I'm afraid that I'm a terrible kisser but there's really no way to know.
49. I've only kissed two girls. I'm embarrassed and proud of that fact at the same time.
50. I really don't want to live in Utah when I'm raising a family. But I might.
51. I rarely get sick and really want it to stay like that.
52. I'm a terrible dancer. I don't like it at all either. But I wish I could dance at the same time.
53. I write lyrics and poems all the time but think that they all suck.
54. I hate packing and travelling and all but I like being on vacation. It's good to see other things and places.
55. I hate looking like I don't know what I'm doing. So even if I don't, odds are I'm faking it so I'll look like I do.
56. I'm afraid of being a father. I'm nervous I'll screw up my kids.
57. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the most important thing in my life.
58. I'm going to either get married in the temple or not at all.
59. I like shopping if it's for certain things. Clothes? Depends on my mood. I love shopping for CDs. I will literally spend hours if I can.
60. I'm not photogenic.
61. Dr. Pepper is the best soda in the world. Or Wild Cherry Pepsi.
62. I like chick flicks
63. I really enjoy watching music videos. Fuse is a great channel when it's playing good music.
64. Ever since I left on my mission I've kind of disliked new bands. Every band I listen to was formed before I left. I just can't get into the new stuff for some reason. Even if it's in a genre I really like. They all seem like they're 15 years old.
65. My favorite sports are ones without teams.
66. I don't have a favorite number or color.
67. I look best in browns, blacks, and blues. And whites. I'm not a fan of wearing bright jewel colors (though I do have one red shirt).
68. I'm really interested in being a young adult counselor.
69. I don't know much about cars.
70. I love my dad. And I love how he can fix almost anything. This guy is a genius with tools. What a role model.
71. I've realized more as I've grown up that my parents are actually people, and I like the new relationship we've had since I've been back.
72. I'm still a momma's boy
73. I live in the here and now. What does that mean? Well, it means I usually just focus on what's going on. Because of that I have a really hard time missing people. It's not that I don't love them. It's a weird feeling and makes me feel bad sometimes.
74. Contrary to what I just said, I miss someone right now.
75. Because of the same reason above, I have a hard time worrying about things.
76. I consider myself a laid back person.
77. I dislike when people complain for serious. I mean, complaining isn't going to change things so why bother. On this same topic, I complain the most out of anyone I know but it's all in good spirits. It doesn't make sense on paper, but it really does work.
78. The reason I feel insecure is that I don't feel original at all. I feel that I'm just your average guy and there are too many people out there who are above average that I shouldn't be worth considering.
79. I have online friends I've never met in person.
80. I'm a closet nerd. I know a lot about Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Halo, and a slew of other fairly nerdy things. Nobody knows unless they're a good friend.
81. I've never broken a bone. But I've had surgery twice.
82. I work hard on not being jealous. Those people drive me a little nuts.
83. I have the need to be needed. I'd rather be hated than ignored by people I care about.
84. I really enjoy reading classic novels. Or not even novels. But books like The Great Gatsby, Tuesday's With Morrie, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Lovely Bones, whatever. I love those books.
85. The Office and Scrubs are my favorite TV shows.
86. I don't hate things that are popular, but I do love having a couple back pocket bands, movies, etc.
87. I usually don't think before I speak. This gets me in trouble a lot.
88. I have a hard time expressing myself sometimes in words. Written down things make more sense.
89. I have a hard time yelling.
90. I'm indicisive. And I believe it's an acquired trait. I've come to realize that a lot of people care about a lot of things, and a lot of things really don't matter to me. So I usually just step back and let those other people decide. So I've gotten used to not making decisions and so when I need to it's very hard for me. I don't like making decisions that affect more than just me.
91. At one time I promised myself I wouldn't marry a girl who had gone on a mission. That was dumb.
92. I love to watch people. They're super interesting.
93. I do things on impulse.
94. I love awkward situations.
95. I love the Christmas season. It's the best. I just love the feeling. Despite the cold.
96. I hate revealing my weaknesses to people.
97. One of my biggest pet peeves is disrespect. I hate it when people are too self centered to show a little respect to others.
98. I don't think I've ever liked a girl who's taller than 5'4" ish.
99. I've never cried watching a movie. Everybody tells me I will when I watch Charly. I don't believe them. I don't have any plans to watch the movie to prove them wrong though.
100. I don't like the feeling of being scared.
101. Going on a mission was probably the best decision I've made.

The best part of waking up

I had one of the worst yet best TV experiences ever this morning.

So we have this running exercise machine in our house. I'm not sure what it's called. An elliptical? I don't know. But it's a machine where you run, and exercise...and all that fun stuff. Anyway. The point is we have one. And ever since a couple of weeks ago, I decided I want to use it. So in the mornings I don't work I come down to run. You know, to lose weight. Eventually look good for my girlfriend. All that jazz. And there's a tv in the exercise room. So I come down this morning and check my tivo stuff to see if there's anything I want to watch. Now I've seen most of the shows and I've watched Orange County three times in the past two weeks or so so I don't want to watch that. So I just flip on the normal TV and am browsing through and see a movie on the SciFi channel. From Dusk til Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money. It's got about an hour left. I decide to check it out.

Now, you know those grade B horror movies? This tops them all. I cannot accurately describe the scene that happened this morning. I turn it on and start running. Now the premise of the movie is that these guys are going to Mexico to rob a bank and stop at a bar that turns out to be full of undead monsters. Well I turn it on and I'm at this part where they're at the bank now. After a couple of minutes I find that a couple of the guys are now vampires. Well things happen, cops come and surround the bank. Eventually all of the guys are vampires but one. The cops finally throw some tear gas inside, the guy escapes out and gets arrested. All the SWAT team (or whatever it's called in Mexico) rush in with guns and get eaten. Suddenly! The sun rises! And right when the sun rises it's suddenly bright enough and the sun is high enough to be 11 AM, not six or whatever it is. So the vampires start screaming and all and then! Suddenly! A complete solar eclipse! The sun is completely covered in a matter of five seconds. It's now dark as night again somehow. The rest of the cops start freaking out and the vampires come out with guns and start mowing them down.

I'm not sure why, but the vampires were shooting the cops instead of biting them to make more vampires. Except for this one girl they bite who, predictably, conveniently shows up about fifteen minutes later to ruin the police's carefully laid plan and then quickly die. Well back to the story they're shooting and the police are dying and finally it's the bank robber who escaped and two other people. They figure out that the vampires are afraid of crosses and put together a plan (that aforementioned girl vampire ruins) involving crosses and stakes. Well long story short one cop dies, they impale the rest through sheer luck and random superhuman feats of strength (one involved a guy kicking a vampire off of him with enough force to push him back onto a car to be impaled on a mounted bull's horn). Well it comes down to one vampire and the old robber (the cop is somewhere else...I'm not sure where). Now the vampire's pissed because the robber gave them away. So he's kicking him around, throwing his face into poles and generally beating him up but not hard enough for the guy to have any scratches or broken bones. Suddenly! Conveniently the sun comes out again. Keep in mind this complete solar eclipse has lasted about twenty minutes, all the while it being pitch black outside. Then the sun comes out in another matter of five seconds or so and the last vampire gets burned up. The robber and cop talk, laugh, share a cigarette, and then hear more sirens coming. Well the robber decides to get out of there and the cop lets him go.

Moral of the story: it doesn't matter how many minor characters die, you can still laugh at the end as long as you're alive. You'll have no permanant psychological damage from seeing vampires eat people.

Wow. I think it was the dumbest movie ever. Like, honestly. I wasn't laughing, but I was definitely amused. And it was supposed to be a scary horror movie. You know those shows where you have to watch it because it's just so stupid? Yup this was one of them. I honestly give it zero stars. If you're looking for a good laugh, go ahead and turn it on. I think it's probably originally rated r, but you could tell this was edited because a guy said butt and I laughed.

Anyway. More great TV. While I was watching this show, a commercial comes on. This is what it said.
You want to keep warm when you’re feeling chill. But you don’t want to raise the heating bill. Blankets are okay, but they can slip and slide, and when you have to reach for something your hands are trapped inside. Now, get a Snuggie! The blanket that has sleeves! The Snuggie allows you to keep totally warm and free your hands. Now you can work the remote, read a book, eat a snack, or use your laptop all while staying snuggly warm!
It shows people out camping in these 100% soft fleece Snuggies, walking around the house, whatever. And I think, wait…isn’t that what sweaters are for? I was honestly laughing out loud at this commercial. It doesn't sound funny when I read it, but watching it was definitely a highlight.

And then it turns out they're coming out with this reality show on SciFi where people apply and they choose ten of them. They're supposed to run and get this money. Or maybe they have money and they're supposed to escape. I'm not sure. Anyway. They run. And there are these people called Hunters who chase them. Maybe they're called Chasers. I don't know. But they're supposed to run away from these guys. How sweet would that be? It would be like you're in a movie. I want to join.

Well now that I've bored you. All this seemed amazing this morning. Reading it all seems stupid. I guess you would have had to be there.

Oh and listen to this. It's one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands.

First Day Of My Life

This is the first day of my life
I swear I was born right in the doorway
I went out in the rain suddenly everything changed
They're spreading blankets on the beach

Yours is the first face that I saw
I think I was blind before I met you
Now I don’t know where I am
I don’t know where I’ve been
But I know where I want to go

And so I thought I’d let you know
That these things take forever
I especially am slow
But I realize that I need you
And I wondered if I could come home

Remember the time you drove all night
Just to meet me in the morning
And I thought it was strange you said evertything changed
You felt as if you had just woke up
And you said “this is the first day of my life
I’m glad I didn’t die before I met you
But now I don’t care I could go anywhere with you
And I’d probably be happy”

So if you want to be with me
With these things there’s no telling
We just have to wait and see
But I’d rather be working for a paycheck
Then waiting to win the lottery
Besides maybe this time is different
I mean I really think you like me
-Conor Oberst

Nostalgia

So, getting back from my mission, I had the job of going through all of my stuff I had left behind and deciding whether or not I wanted to keep it. It took a while but I finished...almost. I've had one box left that I've been putting off going through. I was tired of it and I knew that most of it was trash anyway. A bunch of CD jewel cases that I'm not sure why I kept. But finally I had some time today. Well I've had time a lot of days but today I got bored enough to actually go and do it. So I go upstairs and sit on my bed and put on one of my favorite CDs of late: The Elected - Sun Sun Sun. For those of you who care or want to know, that's a great band. The singer and drummer are from the band Rilo Kiley (not Jenny Lewis the girl singer, but Blake Sennet). But anyway. Random sidenote. So I'm listening to that CD which just might be one of the greatest to give you a nice feeling of nostalgia in the first place. This wasn't my intention. I just wanted to get rid of the box. So I'm looking through not really caring, throwing out old magazines and CD cases when I get to this box. The box is full of pictures and letters and old random memorabilia of when I was in Junior High. And before that as well. Suddenly this box got a whole lot more interesting. Now I'm not usually one to sit and wish that I hadn't gotten older (despite the post a couple days ago that pretty much said just that...) but I got to thinking just how good life was back then. Back when my dad going on a business trip for a week or two was depressing. When I didn't have any responsibilities. Back when the only thing I cared about was fireworks and my dog.

Now I'm into guitars and girls.

Meh, let sleeping dogs lie. I'm going to go call Vic. It's her birthday you know.

Gather round little children

So I'm a story guy. Not in the sense that I tell stories. But because I thoroughly enjoy them. Reading, hearing, whatever. I am naturally attracted (not in the romantic sense) to people who have good stories to share and can tell them well. I really like reading. I love movies. I love listening to people tell stories as long as it's something I'll be interested in. I love music that tells stories (read: Coheed and Cambria). Maybe it's because I view my life as typical and boring. I'm not sure. But I'm a story guy.

So that's why I like video games in a sense. It lets me get out of myself for a little bit and be somewhere else. A lot of people knock them because they're dumbing down america or ruining kids or whatever the heck they're saying now, but I've learned a lot from them. That's sad when you think about it. But true. And good storylines are essential to a quality game in my opinion. Most of the time. Obviously Rock Band can't have a classic story. But there are great games with great stories. It's one of the reasons I like Halo much more than I'll ever like James Bond. Play Goldeneye or whatever and the missions are as follows: bad guys A and B have taken over base Q. Infiltrate Q, plant X amount of items and get out. Yeah it's a good formula for a cool movie. But there's no real story there. You're following around a guy that's going to destroy America or the earth for whatever reason. But Halo? That game has a storyline that starts before you even see the opening cutscene (you're just thrust into the middle of a storyline), lasts 3 games and still isn't over. The storyline is book material. I know because they've made four of them. And they're good.

Now another game with a great storyline is Resident Evil. I started Resident Evil Zero, which I've never played, this morning. These games are sweet. Honestly I would recommend it just to have your mind blown by the story. And to get the crap scared out of you. This one's not as scary but it's still an eerie feeling. But this brings up another point. Why are people so stupid in horror games/movies? Honestly. Let's start with the beginning of the original Resident Evil. You're Jill Valentine (or some other guy I can't remember depending if you play on Hard) and you're in this unit called STARS (Special Tactics And Rescue Service). The Bravo team had gone to investigate something or other and the helicopter had crashed (that's the storyline of Zero). Alpha team (your unit) goes out to see what's up. Well you're in the forest near this mansion and you find the helicopter and the pilots had been eaten by something. So you have your group (including the heavy weapons guy that's always there with the irrational gun that's way too big for what you typically should be needing to do) and you get attacked by these crazy zombie guys and undead dogs. Well out of your whole group only three or four survive by escaping into the mansion; the rest have become a dead guy's dinner. And of course, right when you all get inside, the leader turns to everyone and says, "let's split up." And everyone thinks it's the greatest idea since napster and runs off alone. Hello? If I were there I wouldn't agree to that. I'd be more like, "HELLO?! Are you #@%$ing retarded? Did you see those things out there? No way!" (yeah I'd say the f word if I was almost eaten by zombies). Anyway. I think it would be a much better idea if everyone just stuck together and solved the problem together. I guess training would fix me straight though.

That was a lot funnier in my head. It sounds really stupid all typed out like that.

Oh well I guess. Anyway, rule of thumb, if appliances in your house start operating on their own, move out immediately.

And then tell me the story.

Montage pt. 1

So I have a few little thoughts running around in my head that aren't worth making a whole blog post for each one. So this one is just going to be a mashup of all the thoughts. I'll probably do this much more than once. But here y'all go.

-So winter semester at college. Now some people stare at me blankly when I say that. Most colleges don't have a winter semester. Well they do. But it's the "spring" semester. And the people I've talked to think that BYU is weird when we call it winter. Wait. Doesn't that just make a whole lot more sense? Out of the four months you're in the semester, almost three are in the winter. So why would you call it spring? Whatever though. To each his own.
-Post offices need to explode. Same with the DMV. Mostly the DMV. Or DOL. Or whatever it's called in the state you're in. For us it's the DOL. The place where you get your license. The place is a black hole of happiness. Have you ever seen a cheery person in there? That's why nobody smiles for their license picture. They've been stuck in a room sans happiness for a couple hourse. If dementors were real that's where they would be. But yeah. Post offices. Nobody there is happy either. I had to go there yesterday and again today to try to mail this package to Vic. Now that line needs to die. Who's mailing things at 2 pm on a Tuesday and Wednesday? Weirdos.
-Have you ever listened to the words to that song Love Potion #9? The song's about about a dude who can't get a girlfriend so he goes to some creepy old lady's house who checks out his hand and makes this potion in her kitchen sink. She gives him the goods and he starts making out with everything and everyone. I think the "little bottle of love potion #9" was a shot of bacardi spiked with a couple hits of ecstasy. That woman should not be practicing medicine. Or whatever she does.
-I was bored yesterday so I painted the fingernails on my left hand black. Now that was a lot harder than I thought. I figured you just move this brush loaded with paint on your nail and it turns that color. Well that's the basics. It's incredibly difficult to get an even lair over that sucker. My nails look really rough and DIY but I think that, coupled with the fact that it's only on my left hand, adds to the allure.
-I've been catching up on Red vs. Blue. Now that is about the most hilarious thing in the world. But I don't recommend it for everyone. It's pretty much one of the nerdiest things in the world. But it's so good.
-I've pretty much officially run out of minutes. I need to stop making phone calls. "Stop being so dramatic" I can hear some of you think. But it's the truth. I actually need to wait until our night minutes start to listen to my messages. And for some reason our nights don't start until 11 pm. So yeah...lame.

Well I had a ton to say and for some reason I can't think of anything else. Weird. But it's not like I'm going to run out of space on here. I'll just post them later. Ah, modern technology. Anyway. Hope you're all doing great!

CDs I've listened to within the past two or three days: Acceptance, Aqualung, Coheed and Cambria, Eve 6, The Matches, Relient K, Motion City Soundtrack, Thrice, My Chemical Romance

You need to listen to: Eve 6 - Showerhead

Decisions pt. 2

So I've been on the hunt for a deodorant I really like for a while. Whoo I've thrilled you all already. haha. But I used to use some Old Spice stuff a long time ago but switched to Axe once they got some cool flavors. But I was getting kind of tired of it on my mission so I bought Right Guard or whatever it's called. But that was the gel kind. Like it's got all the holes and it's a straight up gel. Anyway I'm still using that now and it's not so bad. I like it. But I need something that will help me, you know, not sweat. Do what it's supposed to do. And I don't think the gel really helps with that at all. So today I got called into Target to work at 9 and got off at 6 and decided to look. So I head on over. I'm looking. Now I'm terrible at this game. I can't just up and decide on a deodorant. I'll be sticking with that decision for like three months or whatever. So I'm looking around and I see the other Right Guard. Or is it Rite Guard? I dunno. But the one with the power stripe.

Now I think I've got it. I remember those commercials. With Bam Margera. Those little girls beat up those football players or whatever. I think I might have a winner. If it's good enough for Bam Friggin Margera, it's good enough for me.

On a whim I pick up some new kind of Old Spice I had never heard of and smelled it. Wow.

Screw Bam. You lose.

I'm a Toys-R-Us kid

So the time has officially come to start looking for classes that I'm going to take come Winter semester. Wow that brings me to a whole other tangent...I'll have to discuss the Winter semester later. ANYway. Back to the story. Paragraph. Entry. What have you. I need to sign up for classes. Now, for my freshman year this was a very unstressful occasion. I was going on a mission the next year, I hadn't decided what I wanted to do with my life, yadda yadda. I'll just take my generals and see where it goes. So second semester of that year comes, I decide I really like psychology, I take a couple more classes but that's that. Just take more generals.

Well now I'm at the point where decisions matter haha. I remember before I left on my mission my friend Megan was freaking out about the stress involved with registering for classes. I'm glad I wasn't talking to her face to face because I honestly laughed when I heard that. It was so simple to me. Just don't worry about it, things will end up alright in the end. Do what you feel like you should do. That's been my motto for life and why should it change? If things aren't supposed to work out they won't, but I bet they will. Such were my thoughts.

I look at that now and shake my head. I'm stressed. I need to choose these classes, and these classes are going to play a big part in my future. I need to take the right ones otherwise I'll need to spend more time and money. Now, I'm not overly stressed. But it's not a relaxing sit in this chair browsing a couple hundred classes anymore either. I've looked around, looked at the maps I need to graduate with the major I want, all that fun stuff. And yeah. It's a little more difficult this time around. Here's what I'm tossing around so far:

Classes for my major:
Psych 301-Psychological Statistics
Psych 302-Research, Design, and Analysis
But maybe I'll throw in Psych 220-Human Development/Life span
My major is psychology. If you hadn't figured that out, jump in a lake. Preferrably Erie, it's really gross. The classes now are pretty boring but once I finally get into the 400s there are some really cool classes I want to take. Psych 111 is the only one I've enjoyed so far...210 was absolute death. Luckily I escaped with a C+.

GE's:
I'm tossing around a bunch of them. I did a lot my freshman year, but I still have about half to take. Of course some of the classes I will invariably take will knock out a couple of these requirements. But here's a couple I'm looking at:
Eng 312-Persuasive Writing
Phil 300-Philisophical Writing
MFG 201/202-History of Creativity (I'm not really sure what MFG stands for...and 202 sounds more interesting. It's Rennaisance to the present.)
Eng 201/202-Masterpieces of World Lit

And Religion gets its own little section:
Rel C 324/325-Doctrine and Covenants
Rel C 234-LDS Marriage and Family
Vic threw out Rel A 327-Pearl of Great Price which sounds really cool
And my friend/future housemate's uncle is teaching a class on the reformation which looks awesome.

Classes I want to take but don't need to:
Eng 218R-Creative Writing
And some class that I've heard about that gives free access to BYU's recording studio. Fame here I come.

Anyway those are the things I'm playing with in my head. Advice is welcome, but obviously in the end it will probably just be "hey that sounds good" if nothing really sticks out. Anyway. I realized that while life moves on and we get older it gets a whole lot more stressful. That's a long story to make that point. But it needed to be made.

All this makes me realize that I don't want to grow up. Maybe Neverland has a spot for me.

Kris Roe said it right: Being grown up isn't half as fun as growing up. These are the best years of our lives.

It's happened

So I was just going to post my exciting news but then I realized that nobody would know what I'm talking about so I have to give some background information. So there's something called the 100 Hour Board. It's run by a bunch of students at BYU (not under BYU jurisdiction though) and it's kind of a forum. Ask any question and get an answer in 100 hours. I've been reading it since I was a freshman and there are some great answers...some hilarious some informative. Well I used to have an account to ask questions, got a lot of dumb ones answered. But I asked what I thought was a fairly creative question and hoped for a good answer.

The answer wasn't as funny as I had hoped. But not bad.

The board isn't as funny as it used to be. But hey. I still like it.

Wish you were here.

sigh

Ever have that time in your life when everything blows up in your face no matter how hard you try and how good your intentions are?

That's my life right now. sigh.

I'd like to thank you all...

There are certain things that you just don't say when you give a talk in church. Coincidentally, these are also the things that almost everybody says. It makes you look tacky. Here's a list that isn't all inclusive. But still.

"I'd like to thank the presidency for giving me the opportunity to speak."
"I've been asked to speak today on ____" (come on, we're going to find out in 30 seconds anyway)
"Wow, this ward looks a whole lot bigger on this side of the podium."
"When I saw Brother (insert second counselor's name here) on the caller ID I didn't even want to pick up the phone!" (followed by laughs every time)
"I'm a terrible public speaker, so please bear with me."

And then there's the things that RMs shouldn't say:
"Wow, it's amazing how two years can turn little girls into beautiful young women."
"I see a lot of familiar faces out here! Some not very familiar, but a lot of familiar faces!"
"So I just served a mission!"

And so it goes. I'm not saying that I'm expecting everyone to be refined public speakers when they give their talk. But there is a point.

This was going to be a whole lot more humorous. I guess that's what I get for waiting to write this until 7 AM. Oh well.

Tchaikovsky's got the news

Let there be light.
Sound.
Drums.
Guitar.

Let there be rock.

A time to speak

Well I'm supposed to be writing a talk right now. I was asked two weeks ago to assist a high councilman and speak this Sunday. Unfortunately, my memory being the way it is, I forgot until this morning. The topic? Faith. I have to give an 8-10 minute talk and I'm about 2/3 of the way done. My problem is how easily I get distracted. I have other work I need to get done along with the talk and I'm headed out to buy some shirts for work this afternoon and what do I inevitably end up doing? Getting on the internet and looking for things to waste my time. I wish my attention span was a little better. Oh well. Preparing talks isn't a challenge for me anymore, maybe that's why I don't stress out about it too much. I wish I did sometimes. Maybe I would actually get it done earlier than the Saturday before.

Earlier doesn't look like it's spelled right. hm.

I just wasted 1 minute and 57 seconds of your life.

In the beginning...

So I guess I should probably write something here. I have an old blog I never go to anymore full of stuff from before my mission. But I kind of wanted a fresh start. So I created this blog. Now, I thought at the time that I needed a really good first post. Something to really set it off on a good note. Maybe inspirational to myself or something. Well...I couldn't think of anything at the time. So I just left it blank and postless. Well a day or two later I got an email...they thought I set this up to be a spam blog. So they shut it down for a couple of days to check it out. It finally got unlocked tonight.

Yeah. I'm off to a great start.