Not Happy......

......with orchestra.

Almost a Disaster!

There was almost disaster at lunch today. I went to Scoreboard grill, not because I'm in love with there burgers, but because I AM in love with there fries. As I got closer though, they had different fries!!!! Steak fries!!!! I couldn't believe it, lunch was going to be ruined!!!!!!! Luckily though, those were gone by the time they got to my order and the orginal fries were back.

On another topic, I saw Happy Feet this afternoon with Shawn and it was HILARIOUS!!!

Enough is Enough...

Really, economics needs to be over. My dream last night is that we were having Sunday dinner and everything and everybody was the same except we were at Kearl's house instead of Grandma Chatfield's!!!!

Almost Done!!!

I finished my last paper for the semester last night. It was the last major thing besides finals that I have and I can TASTE the end of the semester!!!

Although I'm enjoying life here mostly I feel I need a break from this crazy college town. Hopefully Houston can do that for me, I'm kind of sad that most of my friends will be gone before I get to Houston and not back until after I leave, but I'll just have to make the most of my time there.

Not in the Mood

As I think about the coming week I'm not in the mood for anything. Not for writing my paper, not for going to concerts, not for studying, not for anything. I wish Thanksgiving was the end of the semester.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.....

Break

The Thanksgiving break has been great. I have been able to get my homework done without much effort really. All I have left is the paper for American Heritage.

I drove to Salt Lake to get a Chocolate Cheesecake from Marie Callendar's and it has been amazingly delicious.

Thanksgiving was pretty sweet, there was so much food I had to pick and choose what to actually eat!

Today BYU beat Utah on the last play of the game. It was the scariest last play I have ever seen in my life!

And now, I'm going to take a shower in an attempt to stop the pain that is shooting down my back.

Wonderful Weekend

So, my weekend was kinda busy but really fun.

I worked Friday afternoon and then went to dinner with Megan, Holly, Roxy, and Julie. Then we went to the mall and also played some Uno and Skip-bo.

Saturday I watched Holly on the news! She was amazing! Then I went to work, and then the game. I went to the Cougar Club with Shawn and it was amazing. So much food and so little time! I ended up not having to go to work again Saturday night so I went to Shawn's and watched the Da Vinci Code. I was worried that it wouldn't be as great as the book, but I was surprised. It was awesome!

Church was alright on Sunday. I really liked the talks, they were on prayer, I just was fighting a sleepy spell the whole time. Then when the girl whose mother passed away two weeks ago got up and taught a relief society lesson about enduring trials I was absolutely amazed.

I went to Shawn's for a Thanksgiving Feast Sunday night. Finally the turkey I had been craving for months!!! Then I played some Skip-Bo with Holly, Megan, and Ben. I LOVE LOVE LOVE playing skip-bo with Megan. It's hilarious and it had been way too long.

I took my Music 101 test today so I have nothing class or test wise tomorrow. Not really sure what I will do with my day. I know there will be some shopping involved, and I should probably work on some type of homework but we'll see what happens!

And going right back down....

Stupid economics.

Looking UP

Things seem to be looking up towards the middle of this crazy week. I did pretty well on the American Heritage test, at least the multiple choice part. I feel pretty good about the econ test tomorrow, especially since I know I have an hour to study between classes.

Work was fun tonight. It wasn't too busy, but we had fun people there so we enjoyed each other's company. Shawn and Jeff came in to say "hi" too.

Anyway, I guess I should go to bed since I have class at 9.

Goodnight.

Tired

I'm tired.......mostly of school and studying, but also tired of drama. Maybe I bring some of it upon myself, but I think some of it just comes to me. Also I'm just tired, so I'm going to bed after I write this.

A random thought......

When I think about reincarnation I really don't want to be a clock. I think counting to sixty 86400 times a day would be really boring. And.....you never get a break, unless you're batteries run out!

Two Decades

To commemorate my 20th birthday I figured I would share twenty accomplishments or cool events in my life until now and also 20 people who have been influential in my life. Here goes nothing. The twenty accomplishments might be bragging a little, but it's my birthday, I can do that. (This post makes it look like my birthday is really Halloween, and it's not, it's November 4th, today!)

Twenty Great Accomplishments/Events:

1. My Birth- without it I wouldn't be here to do any of the rest!
2. Visiting Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch - a city in Wales with the third longest name in the world.
3. My Baptism
4. Starting to play the violin- it took me two years to convince my parents to let me.
5. Stopping the elevator in the mall on an orchestra trip- 8 of us jumped at the same time. When the door opened our director was standing there. Hilarious!!!
6. Learning to ride a unicycle- I doubt I could do it anymore, but before we moved to Houston I was getting pretty good.
7. Quartet in B- The quartet I was in in Bartlesville. Lots of fun and lots of great memories.
8. Getting my driver's license- amazing new freedom! It was a tramatic experience the morning of my 16th birthday though because Dad had the papers I needed in Houston. He overnighted them though so I only went one day without a license.
9. Playing in the Virtuosi of Houston- The best orchestra I've ever been in, and the greatest conductor's in the world!!
10. Going to Disneyworld- I finally went spring break of my junior year. Tons of fun! I wish I could go back and back and back. The Buzz Lightyear ride was amazing!
11. Getting a 30 on the ACT- Pretty sweet since I didn't bother studying at all.
12. Attending prom twice, in different states!- I went with one of my best friends in Bartlesville and got to see everyone again which was awesome. Then I went spur of the moment in Houston with Alex. I had given my ticket away but it made it's way back to me.
13. Graduating from seminary- Now when I have to get up that early it's really hard. I look back and can't figure out how I did it for four years.
14. Graduating Summa Cum Laude from Cy-Fair Senior High School- yeah, I was the 23rd person to walk. The boring part was the 700 plus after me!
15. Being admitted to the University of Houston Moore's School of Music- I'm pretty sure it's the best music school in the world.
16. Getting four scholarships to the University of Houston- turned out to be basically a full ride altogether. Dad was pretty excited.
17.Visiting the Sacred Grove- I really wish I lived in Palmyra so I could go there every Sunday afternoon. It was the coolest place in the world!
18. Moving to Provo- Although the Moore's School of Music is amazing life here is sooooo much better. I pretty much love every minute of it.
19. Buying a piano- It took a lot of saving, but now I have my very own piano and it is SWEET!
20. Getting a job at Archivers- Talk about a dream job, I was also pretty excited to leave the BYU custodial

And now....twenty people (in no specific order):

1. My Parents- Without them I wouldn't be alive, and I wouldn't have many of the things I have or know many of the things I know.
2. Caleb- My best and only brother. I love him to death and he's always there for me.
3. Mr. Grabiec- A great violin teacher and conductor, but the best teacher in the world. He taught me soooooooo much about music and how great it is. He's always happy and always willing to listen and talk.
4. Mr. Krager- The best conductor in the world. He taught me how to appreciate music and make it come alive. He is extremely passionate about what he does and is a great example to me.
5. McCall Sessions- One of my young women's presidents and a great friend. We've shared good times as well as bad and since she's older than me I get great advice from her!
6. Bridgette Solomon- The coolest laurel advisor ever. She taught me a thing or two about going with the flow and getting the most out of each and every experience.
7. Jeri Wyn Mumford- Another young women's president. She was the biggest help in convincing me that life was not terrible after we moved to Houston and she became a good friend.
8. Holly Flanagan- The coolest sister-in-law in the world, and also my one and only sister-in-law. We have a ton of fun together, I'm not sure how I lived without her until now.
9. Chuck Shearer- A friend of Dad's from work. He's amazing to talk to and will teach you anything he knows, he's also always willing to help with anything from Physics homework to tornado's while your parents are out of town.
10. President Hinckley- Basically the only prophet I remember a lot about and an amazing man. Each time I hear him speak I feel like I gain sooooooooo much knowledge and also motivation to endure to the end. He is a great example to me.
11. Tamyra Smith- My very first violin teacher. She was great and got me started in my music career.
12. Mrs. Hershberger- My middle school orchestra director. She had an amazing love for music and middle-schoolers which is amazing in itself. She retired after I graduated 8th grade, but I still get Christmas cards from her and she wrote an amazing letter of recommendation for me on a moment's notice.
13. Tammy Bitter- Alex's mom. She's amazing at talking, I'm pretty sure it's one of her talents, and I love talking to her about random stuff to get my mind off whatever is going on in my life.
14. Mrs. Hicks- My senior english teacher. She cared more about having fun than passing the AP test really and did everything she could to ensure we had a great senior year!
15. Debbie Thompson- My freshman seminary teacher. Without her starting off my four years of seminary with a bang I'm not sure I would have made it through. Calvin and Hobbes and hot chocolate make seminary great!
16. Stephen Consedine- A constant friend in German class and an amazing person. He was student body president his senior year and let me ask him to his own prom so that I could go back up to Bartlesville!
17. Mr. Kasberg- My world geography teacher senior year. Only he and his crazy personality could have made that freshman class bearable senior year.
18. Shawn Saunders- A crazy guy who proposes to me all the time. I keep saying yes!
19. Bishop Lundwall- My bishop in Houston. He's kind of a crazy guy but the look of wonder on his face when we sang "How Great Thou Art" gave me a new outlook on everything in the world.
20. Caroline Ewan- I don't really have a best friend, but Caroline comes close. We shared a lot of great times in Calculus and survived orchestra together junior year.

So that's it for me. Here's to the next twenty years!

Nifty

Kearl just said "nifty"

Busy But Good

My day was pretty crazy busy today but it all went well. I don't have orchestra wednesday now so it can be a relaxing-get-homework-done day. Joyous.

I got 100% on my music test today, kind of funny since I studied the least for it out of all of them so far.

Tonight at work while I was putting away pens with Lee I said plasmoid instead of plasma pink. Lee thought it was hilarious and made fun of me the rest of the night. I thought plasmoid sounded pretty cool.

Four more days as a teenager, I'm not really sure what to do!

Business As Usual

General Business, that's what I've decided. And I think if I can just not take quite so many credit hours I will be able to play my violin more and decrease the desire to be a music major again. I think I only have that desire because of the lacking relationship I have with my violin at the moment. So, I will proceed to with a graduation plan in General Business.


Now, on to class and mounds of homework.

I Really Hate This...

So today I went to Professor Belknap's masterclass as part of my lessons and I learned soooooo much. I didn't even have my violin and yet there was so much to learn. From this stemmed the desire to once again be a music major. I think it's probably because I went from my life centering around music and always having time for as much music as I wanted to only having time to practice twice a week. It's not working for me.

I hate it when this happens (although I love love love the things I learn) because I have to stop and reevaluate my life and try to figure out if what I'm doing is right. Right now I'm still not sure. Tonight I just wish I had time to practice for three hours a day again, and I wish I had a group of orchestra friends that were always willing to talk and hang out. Basically I just wish my life centered around music again.

Ugh....I don't know what to do.

Crazy Week

So this week started out terribly. So many tests so little time, and the usual mountain of homework on top of it. The end of the week looked up though.

I got the job at Archiver's and started work today! For eight hours today I built shelves and placed pegs, etc and loved every minute of it. I think this job will be amazing!

In BOM this Thursday, Brother Larsen was talking about the different things that were going on when Isaiah writes. As he was talking about the ten tribes and Israel and everything else I thought about when we talked about the parable that describes how Christ will visit all his different worlds and creations in D&C last week. Then I had this thought and I really don't know the answer or if anyone has thought of it before, so let me know what you think (or know)! I was thinking, if Christ created inumerable worlds then does every world have the bible? did the same events happen in every world? was there a restoration in every world?

Usually I don't think too deeply on the events of religion but this one kinda hit me and I really wonder what the answer is. Let me know what you think!

Hmmmm.....

My life keeps going, but I don't really know how it does. I'm confused about a lot of things, such as how I got an 82 on the econ test. But I did, and that's all that matters.

I think I got the job at archiver's, they called back but still haven't told me for sure. Hopefully I will hear today.

I still need to come up with a great idea for my novel.....hopefully now that my tests are done for a few days I will be able to think creatively.

Wow, this post is boring. More later!

Self.....Great Day!

Today I got my piano and it is great. Getting it was even greater. Shawn was documenting the whole adventure with his video camera. Two guys were sitting in the truck bed holding it, and Jeff decided he would serenade Provo as we drove back to Caleb's with it. I laughed so much while we drove back as I watched Jeff sit on the edge of the truck and play the piano. We got some really funny looks!

Also, I interviewed for a job at Archiver's today and I'm pretty sure I will get it. I should know by the end of the weekend though.

I'm trying to think of a great idea for the novel I will write for National Novel Writing Month but nothing is coming to me yet. Hmmmmm....

More later.

Saturday???

When I woke up this morning I thought it was Saturday.....I'll let you imagine how my day went.

On a good note...I bought a piano yesterday and it shall reside in Caleb and Holly's house starting on Friday! I can't wait!

Craziness

Life is totally crazy. No matter how far ahead I think I am as soon as I start thinking again there is something I have to do. When I think about it I wish life weren't so hectic, and then I realize it's not even close to what it could be. There are so many things I want to be doing right now that I'm not which would just add to the craziness.

So all in all, life is crazy and there's no way to stop it.

Just Around The Corner

I will be twenty in one month from today. I can't wait because nineteen is the wierdest age I've ever been.

A theory about showers...

Because of my experience in showers (a glorious two a day when I'm at home, but only one here at college due to a lack of towels) I have come to a conclusion about the effects of shower water temperature on my day. I assume it's probably the same for most, but maybe I'm wrong.

So this morning for the first time since I've lived here, for some reason the water had no semblence of being warm. Not even close. It wasn't cold, but it wasn't warm. I guess it was mediocre. Anyway, I got out of the shower cold and for the rest of the day stayed cold. I didn't matter where I was. Even in D&C where it is usually steaming I kept my jacket on for fear of freezing!

On the other hand, when I have my normal hot shower in the morning I always have a great day. The temperature inside most buildings is great. The temperature outside obviously depends on the wheather and is out of my hands, but this week it has been great.

Anyway, just thought I'd share my days contemplations with the world. Enjoy!

WOW!

My props to those who were in the choral showcase (probably only Ben reads this)! It was a magnificent concert. Definately showed what the music school can really do, or maybe we just have a ton of really really talented singers. At any rate it was a very enjoyable evening. The only thing that could have made it better was a date....too bad I didn't think of that until I got there!

The Definition of Jostled

These really are some jostled thoughts I've had in the last few days.

First, do people in the southern hemisphere hang up christmas decorations like snowflakes or frosty the snowman, etc. when it is actually summer at christmas time there? I think it's wierd if they do.

Second, I know I keep repeated thoughts related to this, but I wish I could have the music in Houston and the acadmia of BYU together up here. Life would be perfect then. Well, almost.

Third, I'm really excited for the new season of 7th Heaven to start on Monday. Call me lame, but I'm a faithful watcher of the Reverend and his family and problems. To me it's a great show, easy to watch, and faces real problems in the world. I was devastated when it was ending, and I almost threw a party when the day after the finale my dad told me it would be back

Fourth, I'm sooooooooooooo excited about my religion classes here at BYU! I learn so much every time I go. It's just amazing the amount that I can learn in an hour. I'm really happy that they are as great as I thought they would be.

Anyway, this is nothing special, just some things I've thought about lately. Hope everyone who reads this enjoys it.

I Can't Believe This Happened....

Guess who didn't show up to rehearsal today! The conductor!!!!!

Guess who was left in charge........some random kid!!!

I won't rant, I'll just let you imagine how well that worked out.

The picture is of my friend Eric at UH....I miss his hair mostly, but him too.

Houston's Professionalism

I may not have a lot that's postive to say about the City of Houston, but after my first week here at BYU I have a lot to say about the Moore's School of Music.

Here's what they do right:

1. They have one hour lessons, which actually gives you time to accomplish something unlike the 30 minute lessons BYU offers music minors.

2. The orchestras are conducted with the utmost professionalism. People don't talk during rehearsals, etc. Things are run like a professional symphony in other words, not like free time.

3. Their actual faculty teaches lessons instead of mostly students teaching other students. I hate to say it, but I pay to come to a University in order to learn from someone that has a prestigious degree, not from another student.

Anyway, I'll finish ranting and just say that I miss two men greatly. Mr. Grabiec and Mr. Krager are amazing at what they do and I've learned a ton from them. Hopefully I will still be able to participate in music with them on a regular basis.

Up and Running...

Here goes nothing. I'm hoping to actually have something insightful to share once in a while, or at least something I thought was insightful myself. Now that it's up and running I'll catch some z's and some insight and post later.