Pseudo-Christmas

Since I worked for Christmas Eve and Christmas day, yesterday and today are the substitutes. Yesterday evening we went to a sushi place that was delicious and quaint. That afternoon I went to see DreamGirlz with Kristi, Kristin, and Jenny, and I must say that the movie will be a surprise to those who watch it. Warning: Expect impromptu singing dialog at any moment.

This morning I learned how to cook lasagna and I think we may play a few games. If you have never palyed games with my family you must still have a shread of respect for us. Just ask Kristi, we become completely competitive and viscious. I am excited to see who cries first.

my music lately

Ok Go
site: http://www.okgo.net/news.aspx
videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NINJQ5LRh-0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEYSlut0Iuc&mode=related&search=

hellogoodbye
site: http://www.hellogoodbye.net/
videos:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1ryiaPD47A&mode=related&search=
http://www.myspace.com/hellogoodbye

Dandy Warhols
site: http://www.dandywarhols.com/news.html
Bohemian like you (Warning: if you watch the video on youtube be prepared for flashage)

Regina Spektor
site: http://www.reginaspektor.com/
video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=4NBArHgZntE

jack's mannequin
site: http://www.jacksmannequin.com/
music: http://www.myspace.com/jacksmannequin

dancing in style

when you've got time on your hands:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUxXpEiVXHc

a little fun

weeeee!

the most wonderful time of the year

I love this season when the christmas tree glows in the living room, people bring by cookies for the fun of it, and songs play on the radio that i know the words to.

I especially like this time of the year because it's when i get to participate in some of my favorite family traditions. Growing up my dad and I used to attend the local sing-in of Handel's Messiah. This year I flew solo and heard it at the Provo Tabernacle last Saturday, and I must say the soprano was the best I have ever heard in my life. well done, soprano lady, well done.

Overall, it was two sections sung by the base that hit home. I must of never payed much attention to them before because this is the first year the words had meaning. The sections were Behold, I tell you a mystery and The trumpet shall sound. I suggest listen to it (along with Worthy is the Lamb).

In the program was a synopsis of the life of Handel and how he was inspired to write such a influential piece. It states:
"The time he received the libretto for Messiah was the lowest point of his career. He was suffering from serious illness, extreme financial difficulties, and constant overwork. Thus, Messiah is a masterpiece born of deep despair and humility."

I don't know about you folks, but this past year was one of the most trying of my life. I recognize I am young and that saying that sounds pretentious and silly. But for me it has been a tough one. It gives me comfort to know that even those considered the "greats" of our time felt the strains of daily life, and hope seeing that in our lowest moments our most important work can come from us.

horrified

as we all know, my brother is a player. nix that, he is a man whore. yesterday i called him up to let him know what time dinner was.

he answers. "Hell0"
me: "Hey brother. dinner is at 5:10"
-giggles of girl in background
me: "you busy?"
greg: "yeah"
me: "so which one is this, the eight year old" (side note: he is dating someone who is 18)
greg: "uh huh"
long pause...
me: "well, i gotta go"
greg: "k." (but when he said "k" it was muffled like someone was sucking his face)
me: "are you making out with a girl with your sister on the phone?!?!"
greg: uncontrollable laughing, cummings's style
-disgusted, i hung up

TAKE A MOMENT, MAN, TO BREATHE

i'll work on it

i have been a bit busy these past few weeks, and i have some good news. so far i have been invited to interviews at three schools including St. Francis, Drexel, and Arizona. I am waiting on my top two choices including U of U and Southwestern. But let's be honest, i don't have three years health care experience, so little hope at the U of U. and with my GRE score, the folks at Southwestern know why I always am allowed to get the kid's meal at Fudrucker's. i'm special.

Other events include creating my own theory in my psychology class (it sure looks a lot like Newman and Newman's theory, but with a little Erickson and Freud added in). i have also been trying to write and grade two exams for the parasitology class. Thus, the busy week with no writing.

i know what you're thinking... lame excuses, jackie, for not writing, but i promise i'll work a little harder this week.

an interesting night

Last night I sat through my cousin's high school rendition of Henry V. Though it may sound dreadful seeing Shakespeare performed by 12 year olds, I was highly entertained.

Aside from the bit of confusion of who Harry was (apparently the actors version of the name Henry pronounced with a British accent), along with the muffled dialogue, I believe I got the gist of what was going on.

There was a war between England and France, and that's about it.

Side note: You know those moments in your life where you can't control your laughter when you know you should, especially because you are laughing at, not with, someone and you just know that someone's parents are sitting directly behind you in the theatre. so you muffle your laughter, but it keeps on coming throughout the entire scene. and then the next one.
that might of happened.

peer pressue at BYU

this is a conversation i overheard while walking through the library yesterday (names have been altered to more fully reflect the innocent):

Esther: ...my roommates and I are baking cookies tonight. do you want to come?
Nephi: sounds great! i'm there. how about you Nebuchadnezzar?
Nebuchadnezzar: Um, i have a lot of homework to catch up on and.....
Esther: oh, come on. it's only cookies. and there'll be hot chocolate too...
Nephi: ...and everyone is going...

Stay strong, Nebuchadnezzar, stay strong.

decisions

It's soon coming up on December and awhile back I decided that it would be best for me if I moved back to Texas come January. The only thing preventing me from returning is the thought of moving back home. just the idea of living with my rents again makes me cringe. Not that I don't love my parents and all, but it feels like I'm regressing. I thinks it's time for a list.

Pros of moving back:
free rent
establish residency for PA school
more to do
not Provo
TV in house
no crack dealers on my block
new start

Cons:
moving home
i hate my room
no job down there
rent for my own place is 3-4 times as much
the sun scalds
the water tastes funny
other lame reasons to make this list longer

If i get accepted to PA school then it wouldn't be that big of a deal since school would start in May or August. But if I don't, then I couldn't afford my own place and I'd be stuck LIVING IN MY PARENTS HOUSE.

some good advice is needed

what will be the end of me

I posted this a few months ago, but somehow removed it. i'm giving it a second go:

I took a stroll around my neighborhood a few days ago to get acquainted with the area. As I was walking, I noticed the singing birds, the wind blowing in the trees, the graffiti of multiple gangs living in the area. All the makings of a pleasant experience.

Well, as I was contemplating what would be the best opportunity for someone to mug me, I heard a faint noise. It was a far distance off so I couldn't pinpoint what exactly was curdling my blood. But as it came closer my face turned white, for here pulling up next to my house was a 1987 Geo Metro that someone obviously had installed the entire electronics section of Wal-Mart playing music I can only describe as instant death. The booming base line, the accordion trills, the screeching voice. Indeed, I had experienced Mexican music in Dolby surround sound. For a good sampling of what I hear every morning, simply go to this Wikipedia site and listen to the Audio Sample of Nortena over and over again. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Mexico

what scary dreams are made of

I went to California this past weekend to visit some friends and while there I went to a Pirates Dinner Adventure show. It was explained to me that the show was like Medieval Times but way more entertaining. And how it was.

The basic plot line included a busty princess and a "magical golden gypsy" (a.k.a. a scantily clad acrobat) being kidnapped by Captain Sebastian the Black's crew. As luck would have it, Sebastian's son, Benjamin the Blue, falls in love with the princess and has to fight with the five other crewmen (each dressed in a color of the rainbow) to win the heart of his lady. I was assigned to be on Jack the Red's cheering team, who was the oldest and roughest looking of the six but still had a defined six pack and won the position of first mate. Jack looked the role of a pirate, whereas poor Benjamin just lost his job as a Power Ranger.

My Review:
The pirates shirts are ripped/taken/fall off and the audience is left starting at six beyond buff men performing song and dance on a makeshift pirate boat.


If you'd like to learn more of how to see these half naked men, please visit their website:
http://www.piratesdinneradventure.com/california/home.html

where i get my wandering mind

i was talking on my phone tonight with my mom and after hanging up i realized that the conversation followed a rather off-the-wall path. Topics included normal things like my day/work/school, and then violently veered toward: her finding me the perfect man (who happens to be 10 years older, "but Jackie he has is house paid off"), how when people age they start to smell, how i don't smell (thanks for the compliment mom), to how much dresses cost at the Rose Parade, how my mom plans on buying me one, to how she got trapped in an elevator and started to scream so loud the fire department was called, to circumcision, to vomiting, etc. Please note I did not bring up a single topic.

where on earth does this come from

i am the worst person ever

While driving to work today a lady pissed me off by slamming on her brakes at a light that wasn't red. I was so livid that I not only flicked her off while waiting at the light, but also as I drove by her once we got through the light. As I walk into my work, I see the driver and her boyfriend/husband walking towards the building. For all I know she was visiting her baby in the NICU or dying mother on the floor.

I felt so guilty that I am making myself do 10 hail mary's and 12 of the lord's prayer.

my new fourth roommate

two days ago i woke up to find a note on the fridge from a roommate saying that she had just seen a "large mouse" run across the kitchen counter. this is real nice place i moved to.

October

I am having a Halloween party (everyone is invited and it'll be grrreat) on the 31st and I need some good suggestions for games. We already have a huge wall with projector for watching the classic Pyscho, and bobbing for apples and doughnut games in the basement, plus white chocolate popcorn (Kristi I need the recipe) and a ghost pinata. But I need a good idea for games for a large group of people.

Joyful News

I submitted my application to PA school!

Gifts

While at work yesterday I received a call from a local flower shop asking for my correct address and when I would be home because my mother bought me something for my birthday. As a previous gift, my mother bought me a full size turkey breast and had it shipped to me (along with three baskets of sausage links, cheese, dried fruit and nuts). So forgive me if i was a bit hesitant. I was trying to think of all of the off the wall possibilities that could be used as a gift from the flower shop. The worst I came up with was a box of tissue paper and some string, so overall not too bad. By the end of the day, I was convinced that my mother got it right this year and was sending me some nice flowers.

I went home and excitedly anticipated my flowers. A half an hour rolls by when my doorbell rings and I open it to find a man standing there with a tree in a pot with a small purple bow stuck in the dirt. That's right, I said a TREE. The man comes in saying "Happy Birthday" and starts to explain where I should put the tree. In shock I let the man in and he starts to look around for the best place to put it. We tried the kitchen, but the ceiling was too low for my tree, so we settled with putting it smack dab in the middle of my living room (where the love sack was). A few minutes of chatting and I find out that he dropped off another tree to my brother. I started to chuckle picturing my brother standing by his tree in the middle of his house (or in the words of the guy, "a dungeon"). I said to the guy "Ha! My tree will live and his will die" in a joking manner and the man paused in his tracks and looked at me in such as way as if I had just convicted one of his flesh and blood to some horrible fate. Trying to comfort him I told him I would check on the tree every week. We said our good-byes and I walked over to the couch, sat down, and marveled at how my mom topped the turkey.

My Links

You may have noticed that I have been experimenting with my links located to the right of your screen these past few days. The reasons are twofold. Firstly, I felt smart tinkering inside the code of my blog (it is called code, isn't it?) so i have been changing the only thing i know how to. Secondly, I have been trying to decide what goes in people's links section. Seeing as how I have not yet figured that out, I am listing sites that I use everyday or so.

Firstly, the news. And what better way to find out what is going on over the pond than by reading the BBC news online. Below that link is something I find near and dear to my heart: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This was tough to put under BBC. Now that you all have quick access to it, I know you'll be visiting it multiple times a week. Third, we have the dictionary, to use when browsing the first two links. Then, the standard friends links. You may notice that a few people are missing from the list. this is either 1. those people have not blogged in a long time or 2. those people have not made comments on any of my blogs (all three of them). Thus, as soon as they change their sinning ways, their links will be beautifully displayed. For the last spot I want to put in a new link every few weeks that I have found interesting on the web. Currently we have Wolfgang's Vault, which has a continous free streamline of classic rock and vintage posters. Enjoy!

How my Mother Uses up her Time

I was lying on the couch today watching some silly movie set in space when my mother, sitting behind me at the computer, started to blast the Duke and BYU fight songs. I have no idea what drove her to all of a sudden look up such music but I prayed that it might cease as quick as it came. In the reflection of the TV I could see my mother's poofy brown hair (which could hold its own if ever in a fight with an afro) bobbing back and forth to the beat of a big brass band belting out the classic college notes. The music progressed in such perfect timing with my movie that during the fight scene the computer would chant "Go! Fight! Win!"

This continued with my mother repeating and bobbing with the songs until she actually started to clap her hands and sing the words to each. It is my wish that you could hear my mother sing, for mere words would not do it justice. Let's just say she sings a few notes behind and few notes off. with a lot of pain. When we mention to her of her poor singing she says "You guys used to love me singing to you when you were kids." True, true. That's when we didn't know any better and were partially deaf. My movie was complete with the trumpets blazing, hand clapping, broken dialog, warbling that composed the new soundtrack.

It worked! i am so proud of me.

i recognize that to technically savvy like Adam, Greg, or the Cookie Monster, this might not be a matter of pride, but of sheer competence. Nontheless, i got me a blog.

well, as all must know by now, I have moved to a new house (new meaning built in the times of Yore) and today I am going to my new ward for the first time. I hear that it consists of nine people, and they are really rooting for a tenth attendee, so if I skip, I will be missed. Perhaps I should think this through.

k bye

First attempt

please work